Politics & Government

Town Council Candidate: Deborah Peruzzotti

Patch asks the candidates for municipal office their thoughts on the most pressing issues in Groton.

Editor's note: Seventeen candidates are running for 9 seats on the Groton Town Council on Nov. 8. Below is a Q&A with one of the candidates.

Name:  Deborah Peruzzotti

Age:  40

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Family:  Married.

Education:  I attended the University of Connecticut, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science.

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Work Experience:  I have 12 years of management experience in the food and beverage, production and, currently, landscaping.

Civic/political experience:  I served as an RTM member for the Town of Groton from 2005-2009. As an RTM member, I served on the education and community and development committees.  I currently serve as a town councilor and have done so since 2009. As a councilor, I serve on the appointments, community development and environmental committees.

Why are you running for this office?  I am seeking reelection because I would like to continue serving our Town of Groton.  I have been a lifetime resident and take pride in participating in the decision-making process and I am invested in the future direction of our town.

What do you believe is the greatest challenge Groton faces today, and what would you do to meet this challenge?  I currently feel that our town's biggest challenge is to support the great services offered but ensure that taxes do not continue to rise. In order to tackle this issue, we need to ensure that we are continuing to hold the town departments, the Board of Education, City of Groton, Groton Long Point and outside agencies accountable to the budgets they set each year.

Another challenge we face is our deteriorating roads. Unfortunately, funds for road repairs are the first thing to be cut from the budget and we need to take preventative action to ensure our roads are safe and avoid another Thames Street expense.  

In order to tackle this issue, I feel that we need to submit a roads referendum. This would allow us to reexamine the road management plan, evaluate priorities, determine the costs associated with action, and send the plan to voters for consideration.  This would address the issue while easing the burden by spreading the expense over the next 20 years and ensuring current safety.

How would you rate the performance of the current board overall, and what, if anything, would you do differently?  Our current council has made great strides over this last term to set goals and strived to achieve them.  We were able to send both Thames Street and Phase 2 of schools to referendum, we have formed numerous committees to ensure that the vacant school buildings are put to good use, and we are in the last phase of submitting a blight ordinance for the town.


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