Patch Candidate Profile: Mike Rettger For Ridgefield Board of Finance

RIDGEFIELD, CT — Election Day on Nov. 4 is fast approaching, and there are a number of key races on the ballot.

Patch reached out to candidates for office to get more information on their campaigns and the issues that are facing their towns.

Candidate's Name: Mike Rettger

What office are you seeking? Board of Finance

What town do you live in? Ridgefield

Campaign Website

Party Affiliation: Democrat

Occupation: Retired. Previously 35+ years of experience in the financial services industry in various senior management, operational, financial analysis, and regulatory roles.

Family: Yes, married with three grown children, all married. My wife and I met in college in 1973, and this year celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? My wife is a member of the Ridgefield Zoning Board of Appeals

Previous public office, appointive or elective: I have served on the Board of Finance since December 2019. Currently hold the position of Board chair

Ridgefield Assistant Town Treasurer, 4 years
Member Ridgefield Pension Commission, 3 years
Member Ridgefield 2023 Charter Revision Commission
Member Ridgefield Form of Government Committee, 2024-2025

My time on the BOF has been personally rewarding for me and I think of value to the residents of the town, and I would be pleased if the voters provide me the chance to continue to serve them in this manner for another term.

The single most pressing issue facing my constituents is ____, and this is what I intend to do about it: Finding the balance between maintaining high quality town services and schools, and constraining the growth in budgets and tax bills.

I feel this goal can be achieved through smart budgeting, establishing strong relationships and active on-going dialog with the Board of Selectpersons and the Board of Education, and actively monitoring town department performance to assure that favorable revenue outcomes and unused budget appropriations are returned to town coffers so they can be applied to reduce the next year’s tax rate calculation.

This process has resulted in recommended annual budgets that have maintained and in some areas expanded resident services while keeping the growth in the tax rate and tax levy below the rate of inflation. I feel that result has been recognized and validated by town voters, who have approved these proposed budgets by a 70% or more majority each of the past five years.

What are the major differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post? That is a question for the voters to decide. My goal here is to define myself, my skills, and what I have and can contribute by serving on the Board of Finance, so that voters have a good basis for making their judgements when going to the polls.

What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign? I plan to address things that I think the Board of Finance needs to work on over the next few years, beyond the annual budget, that will help our planning and decision-making.

We (the Board of Finance) need to work with the town and the school district to reduce off-cycle capital budget requests, which have become more numerous in recent years. While each request is well-justified in its own right, in aggregate these requests make it difficult to mange to overall picture of the town’s capital borrowing and to assess the impact of that borrowing on future tax rates.

I am also strongly committed to continuing to build upon work we’ve already started to develop a multi-year perspective in assessing both annual operating and annual capital budgets proposed by the town and the school district. This perspective takes work to accomplish but will result in better budget results for residents and taxpayers over the longer term.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? Throughout my career and in my various volunteer efforts, I believe I am recognized as a “go-to” person with a broad base of knowledge, as someone who always works across all levels of the organization for the good of the organization, and as someone who can be relied on to get things done, and done well. I believe that I have demonstrated those qualities to the benefit of the work of the Board of Finance since becoming a member in 2019.

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? Not so much advice as personal behavior that has served as a model –- My first manager and mentor taught me that while coming up with answers is an important part of any job, “thinking out over the horizon”-- that is, identifying the questions that haven’t yet been asked and will need answers in the future -- can be even more valuable in achieving progress and good outcomes in any endeavor. This mindset has been a guiding force for me in anything I do.

Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I am a 33-year resident of Ridgefield, along with my wife Terry. We raised our three children here, and have always been thankful for ourselves and for them that we chose Ridgefield for our family.