Some advice for first-year First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough: find the money for the bridge.

The bridge is a small one that crosses a stream on North Stonington Road in Old Mystic. It connects Groton and Stonington. It was severely damaged by flooding in 2010 and, amazingly, remains unusable.

Plans call for the two towns to split half the cost — $318,000 each — and for the state to cover the other half, $636,000.

Stonington has been including its funding in the budget for years, but it went unspent because Groton did not. Now Groton has finally included the money in its budget proposal, but Stonington did not.

Seriously.

And, Chesebrough told Day Staff Writer Joe Wojtas, the plan is not to provide the funding — ever. Instead, the budget proposal contains $15,000 to permanently close the span. Stonington got tired of waiting for Groton to pony up, so it’s done.

That’s a bad idea.

Working with her two fellow selectwomen and the Board of Finance, Chesebrough should get that $318,000 back in the budget. Yes, there are other competing projects and needs. Such is always the case. But the bridge expense represents 0.43% of the town’s $73.6 million budget. Find the money.

Then Chesebrough should get on the phone and call Town of Groton Mayor Patrice Granatosky and stress how important it is that Groton does not renege.

This is the right thing to do. Taxpayers inconvenienced by not having the bridge have waited long enough. Old Mystic Fire Chief Ken Richards says it is a safety matter. It delays the department’s response time. It makes it far more difficult to access a fire hydrant and attack a fire. Without a bridge, fire trucks must take a tight turn onto Route 27 near the Old Mystic General Store. It’s hazardous, said the chief.

If there is a serious house fire, if someone is injured — or worse — poor response time will almost certainly be cited as a factor. Or if there is an accident involving a rescue vehicle taking that more hazardous alternative route, Stonington will be in a world of legal liability hurt for not having addressed a documented hazard. Groton, too, for its years of delay.

It is the kind of thing that could get you widespread attention — “local officials had been warned that their failure to repair the bridge endangered public safety” — for all the wrong reasons.

Fix the bridge.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.