In 1893 the General Assembly granted the Odd Fellows a tax exemption provided the organization’s value did not exceed $100,000. The exemption was increased in 2012 to $25 million by former Senator Andy Maynard after expansion plans had been announced. In 2013, Odd Fellows awarded Maynard a medal.

In 2017, while a Superior Court case was in progress to interpret the statute, Senator Heather Somers, who succeeded Maynard in office, introduced her bill to increase the exemption to $35 million.

Somers then gave inaccurate testimony incorrectly citing the 1893 exemption at $5 million, not the actual $100,000, extrapolating her bogus number to a grossly over-inflated present value. Why would she give such flawed testimony?

Groton’s state representatives, Town Council and town manager didn’t bother to attend the hearing to advocate on behalf of our town. At least the council sent a letter on April 24, 2017 opposing the bill. But suddenly, on May 12, 2017 a letter signed only by Mayor Flax recanted the town’s long-held opposition to Somers' bill! The end result was a bad deal: a settlement that cost the taxpayers of Groton about $250,000 per year for 10 years.

How does Odd Fellows seem to exert such a Rasputin-like influence over our elected officials? I thought they were supposed to represent us?

Carl Peruzzotti

Groton