AFFORDABLE HOUSING DRAFT - Salisbury, CT

details, please see the answer to Question 2, “What would be the effect on our taxes if we had topay for fire and ambulance services?”]As taxes begin to rise to pay for services formerly performed by volunteers, higher taxes wouldbe added to the burden of high home prices and more citizens with moderate incomes would beunable to remain in Salisbury. And the spiraling trends would continue to reinforce each other.Salisbury will become an upscale, retirement community. In the words of a local wag, it will becomea place where old people come to visit their parents. The number of young adults and children willdecline. There is nothing pejorative in this description. It is neither good nor bad. There arecommunities like the one Salisbury will become all over the country, especially in the Sunbelt. Thequestion for the citizens of Salisbury is simply, “Is this what we want to become?”These trends are not unique to Salisbury; they exist statewide. In a 2007 report to the GeneralAssembly, the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) stated that Connecticut has lost “youngworkers and families (20-34 year olds)” at a greater rate than any other state”. Connecticut was 46 thamong the states in the construction of housing units per capita. OPM estimates that Connecticut’spopulation will grow only 8.3 percent between 2000 and 2030, less than one-third the nationalaverage. They predict that all of that growth will be citizens 65 and over. There will be a loss ofpopulation of those under 65. Those over 85, “who are very intense users of health and socialservices” will more than double. HOME CT concludes, “Attracting or holding young populationthrough creation of starter homes and affordable rentals could help significantly.”Salisbury faces extreme challenges. We are the eighth least affordable town in Connecticut afterseven contiguous towns from Greenwich to Wilton along the Gold Coast. Our poverty rate of 7.8percent is twice that of Litchfield County’s and equal to that of the state as a whole. Our beautifulcountryside, cultural and recreational attractions, and easy access to New York City make usespecially attractive to the well-to-do looking for a second-home or retirement location.But, Salisbury has advantages other Connecticut towns and cities do not have. Our low mill rate(second lowest after Greenwich) and an excellent credit rating give us the flexibility to act, if wewish, before the requirement to fund services now performed by volunteers raises our mill rate. Wehave cadres of knowledgeable, involved, and energetic volunteers serving on the boards,commissions, and committees that can effect change and a streamlined Town Meeting governmentthat can express the will of the citizenry. Our future is in our hands and the choice is ours.4. Q: Where are all the people who will live in the 200 units of affordable housing that theHousing Your Neighbors in Salisbury: 2020 report says that we need to provide? I don’t seehundreds of homeless people around town.61