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Tetreau Talks School Safety In State Of Fairfield Speech

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – First Selectman Michael Tetreau promised tighter security at Fairfield’s schools and called for residents to “take a stand” in the gun control debate in his State of the Town Address on Monday night.

Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau gave his annual State of the Town Address on issues such as school safety, green energy and Fairfield's finances Monday night.

Fairfield First Selectman Michael Tetreau gave his annual State of the Town Address on issues such as school safety, green energy and Fairfield's finances Monday night.

In his annual speech to the Representative Town Meeting, Tetreau covered a range of issues, including the town’s response to Hurricane Sandy, Fairfield’s financial standing and the government’s efforts to promote green energy.

One of the first topics Tetreau covered in his speech was school security after the Newtown school shooting. Fairfield plans to make physical improvements to schools to make them safer and to institute more training for teachers and students to prepare for emergencies, he said. Security upgrades would come from the town’s budget, not the school district’s funding, Tetreau said.

In the speech Tetreau also said the town would “need to reflect on what changes we want in our laws” with respect to gun control and mental health issues. He did not explicitly voice support for any specific policies but suggested that Fairfielders “take a stand” in the issues.

“Fairfielders have taken the lead in shaping our nation since Colonial times,” Tetreau said. “We need to continue to be on the forefront of making progress.”

Another change Tetreau outlined for 2013 is in the town’s web presence. Fairfield will roll out a new website this summer with “several new and innovative features planned,” he said. The new home page will work with changes the town already made to its Facebook accounts and public access station FairTV.

Tetreau also mentioned some of Fairfield’s accomplishments in 2012. He again congratulated the Fairfield American Little League squad and the Giants Pop Warner Pee Wee cheerleaders on their runs to national tournaments last year. He also thanked his staff for starting Fairfield’s first Restaurant Week, for adding more green energy options to Fairfield and for doing other programs. 

On the financial side, Tetreau praised the town’s ability to remove the negative outlook on its credit rating and to add money to its internal service fund and general savings account. Yet, he also admitted that the town still had work to do to keep taxes down.

“We are working on getting our taxes under control and managing our investments,” Tetreau said. “This is and will be a major focus of this administration.”

Click the attachment below to see the full text of the 2013 State of the Town Address.

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