This Week’s Letters to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The Letters to the Editor section in the Woodbridge Town Chronicle is a place where community voices can be shared and heard. In the print newspapers of years past, letters to the editor were often the liveliest section, where readers spoke directly to one another, the broader community, and its leaders. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.

Reader asks: What has happened to Woodbridge?

To the editor,

Lately I find myself wondering what happened to Woodbridge. What used to be a quiet, peaceful bedroom community has now become a constant battle to maintain what we all love about the town. Many of us have seen our tax bills rise significantly with revaluation and annual 5% budget increases. In addition, we are being asked to help financially to fight the two 100-unit apartment complexes being proposed for Fountain Street and Beecher Road, which if approved, will change our town forever and decimate our schools. All this because the Town Planning and Zoning Commission decided to change our zoning laws with no input from town residents, only to change them back 13 months later. What a terrible decision on their part with no reasonable explanation from them. The worst decision ever by TPZ.

Now we are dealing with the Woodbridge Board of Education and their ridiculous proposal to demolish Beecher Road School and rebuild it. Realize that nothing is immediately required to be done at Beecher, certainly not total demolition. The tax consequences of this will mean thousands of dollars in tax increases for 20 years for all taxpayers, a large increase in the Beecher budget, and a reduction in our house valuations. 

Woodbridge has lost its way. And if these horrific proposals are approved it will change Woodbridge forever. I truly hope the residents are taking note of theses radical changes and are ready to tell the Board of Selectmen that they are opposed to destroying our town. In the meantime, the four Democratic members of the Board have voted in favor of the Beecher proposal, without any verifiable financial information. They have completely ignored the obvious detrimental impact this will have on the town and its residents. 

— Matthew T. Giglietti

The writer was a member of the Woodbridge Board of Finance from July 1986 to December 2023 where he served as Chairman for 35 years (1988–2023).

Editor’s Note: Letters reflect the perspectives of their authors. They are published to foster dialogue about issues of local concern, including questions of governance, transparency, and accountability, as well as topics such as highlighting upcoming or past events from community groups. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.