Two new bills in our state legislature, House Bills 5254 and 5361 will stop towns with town beaches from offering discounted parking fees to residents, prohibit towns from setting aside parking for Fairfield residents and limit our ability to address traffic and pedestrian safety concerns. So, in terms of access to parking at a town beach, there is little to no benefit to the resident who live and invest in that town, pays significant property taxes to that town, actively contributes to the community that maintains the beach in that town and/or supports the neighborhood where that beach is located. This is bad policy and a safety issue.

Maintenance of the beach does not come without costs. It falls directly on the taxpayers of the town that the beach is located. Fairfield welcomes residents from our neighboring communities to visit our beaches, but as the taxpayers that financially support these public beaches, it is only fair and equitable that nonresidents pay an additional cost to contribute to the maintenance of our town beaches.

Anthony Calabrese, Director of Parks and Recreation, Town of Fairfield submitted testimony detailing the devastating financial impact H.R. No. 5254 would have on the Town of Fairfield. By his calculations, this legislative measure would deprive our town of $1.2 million dollars.

Passage of these bills will place an additional tax burden on residents where the beach is located as the town will not be able to recoup additional fees from non-residents. It will also limit Fairfield's ability to address parking and traffic concerns, which is a great concern because our beaches are in residential neighborhoods. Nonresidents should be welcomed on all public beaches, but these bills are wrong on the simple principle that everyone who uses our beaches should pay their fair share to maintain our beautiful town beaches for generations to come.