Old Saybrook Wins First Place in Magazine

OLD SAYBROOK – Connecticut Magazine recently recognized Old Saybrook as the best town in the state with a population between 10,000 and 15,000. 

Old Saybrook, with a population of 10,367, specifically received its honors for leisure, economy, crime, and education. 

These categories were measured on a scale between 1 and 23 with 1 being the best. 

Old Saybrook received a 1 for leisure and First Selectman Michael Pace said at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting that this is a direct result of the number of programs sponsored by both the town’s Parks and Recreation Department and the Board of Education. 

These programs reach “different segments from youngest to oldest, the family as a unit and individuals,” Pace said. 

The magazine measured leisure by looking at “local library expenditures per capita, the number of theaters, museums, festivals, concert venues, historic sites, colleges and universities, golf courses, local newspapers, radio stations, state parks and forests, voter turnout in the 2004 election and good local restaurants.” 

Old Saybrook received a 2 for economy with a better score than all other towns in that population group except for Weston in southwest Connecticut. 

Economy was measured by studying the 2004 Public Investment Community score, which is complied by the Office of Policy and Management. 

The score is determined by a formula taking into account population, per capita income, adjusted equalized grand list per capita, the unemployment rate, the equalized mill rate, and per capita aid to children. 

Old Saybrook received a 4.5 for crime, which the article stated was a “real improvement in crime numbers” over last year. 

Old Saybrook Police Department Public Relations Officer Lieutenant Michael Spera said the improvement of crime was the result of several different factors. 

A new leadership team under the direction of Chief Mosca organized by the town’s Police Commission, Spera said, helped increase the effectiveness of the department.