Milford Polling Locations and Instructions

First and foremost find your voting center by going to the bottom of this page or click THIS LINK. Know where to go.

Next bring your ID. Acceptable forms of ID are valid non expired drivers licences, military, or passport id's, or certified state ID's. If you have none of these go to the Parson's complex voter registrar and obtain a voter ID card.

Once this is sorted out, on Tuesday November 2Nd. go to your designated voting location between the hours of 6:00am till 7:30pm . If you are unfamiliar with the Diabold system watch the video above explaining its use.

As a final note, and to make sure your vote counted look at the numerical counter on the Diebold machine. (The counter will be located on the front panel and look like the odometer on your car.) Notice the number before you put your card in, then look again to be certain the number counted up.

Any problems please report them to the poll watchers and contact me on my cell. (203) 247-4357. or call the Voter Regisrar Office by clicking HERE.

This Blog Courtesy of Rocco Frank (Independent Candidate For The 118th State Rep. Race)
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POLL FINDER
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Why The Milford Public Schools Are Giving Your Children Such a Poor Education

By: Richard Sieron – Milford Independent Party Candidate for School Board for the 5th District

A recent Connecticut Post article headline asked: “Who’s to blame for Milford’s low test scores?” That article quoted former Alderman Jack Fowler: “The poor results on the CAP tests are truly shocking. After 11 years in our system, our students are dead last in math and writing and next to last in science and reading among comparable school systems.” The Milford PTA Council passed out brochures at its recent Board of Education Candidates Forum. In those brochures was found a statement by each of the 10 Republican and 10 Democrat candidates, answering the question: “Why do you want to be on the Board of Education?” Not ONE of them had ONE word to say about the dumbing down of our students, never mind offering a solution to that very serious problem. 

Typical bland answers to the question included sentences like: “To contribute toward continued improvement of Milford’s school system.” At that Forum, the procedure for picking which candidate to answer each question was to provide equal time between the Republicans and Democrats, ( I did get a fair shake there) but the petty politics is outrageous. George Washington, in his farewell speech, warned us to beware of political parties. You can see how it is destroying our public school systems and can also see how it has (past tense) destroyed our federal government.

The tenth amendment to the Constitution specifically reserves powers to the states that are not delegated to the federal government. The Constitution does not delegate any powers whatsoever to the federal government relating to education; therefore the federal government must keep its sticky fingers out of education in Connecticut. We have people right here in Milford that are just as smart as any Washington bureaucrat, if not smarter. Alabama may need “No Child Left Behind, “ but we do not.

While campaigning for election to the school board, I happened to knock on the door of two homes where teachers reside. In both cases they eagerly invited me into their living room and each of them informed me of the same two things. First, they said they spent a huge amount of time teaching to the federally mandated tests, taking much valuable time away from traditional academic subjects. Second, they told me they are not allowed to formally teach the students how to think.

In talking to some school board members, I accidently made an astonishing discovery. There are two layers of administration between the teachers and the school board, namely the school Principals and the Superintendent. As a result, the school board has no way of knowing what problems the teachers have identified in terms of curriculum and teaching methods unless, of course, the Superintendent somehow obtains that information and passes it on, but that does not appear to be happening. However, it is the Board of Education’s responsibility and not the Superintendent’s to be concerned with those issues. See my proposed solution for this problem at the end.

Another matter of importance concerns the use of computers in our Milford schools. The New York Times recently reported that employees of Silicon Valley giants like Apple, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo and Google send their students to schools where no computers are provided for the students. They believe that computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans and I strongly subscribe to that premise and I am an IT professional. I also believe that students should not be allowed to use calculators in the

classroom. They must be taught how to make simple calculations using pen and pencil. It’s rather strange that the bright students who opt for advanced math classes have never been taught how to make simple calculations without using a calculator.

U.S. public education was far better a hundred years ago. One major contributing factor to the decline is the ever growing intrusion of non-academic courses and programs. Educators have pressed for more and more non-academic curriculum materials while laymen have pressed for more “back to basics.” The 3 R's have almost disappeared from the curriculum. A large percentage of our Milford High School seniors do not know that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation;. do not know who Josef Stalin was and cannot locate Great Britain on a world map. I recently gave a cashier at the mall theater a $20 bill and a $1 bill to pay for two $8 tickets. Without any prompting on my part, he informed me that he had never found any student who could make that simple change calculation. I am ashamed when people like that tell me they don’t understand why our students are so ignorant.

Today, there is virtually no chance that any bright student might ask why our Constitution is being violated daily and why so many citizens believe the Congress is so corrupt. Notice the issue is not politics – Republicans vs Democrats, the right vs the left or liberal vs conservative. Our students should be encouraged to ask questions about what has happened to our government, such as: “Why have we heard it said that we have the most corrupt government the world has ever seen?” Do you believe that and similar questions are proper topics for 17 year old high school seniors? Many responsible citizens have told me “Yes, “ The Founding Fathers, headed by Thomas Jefferson, would emphatically have said “Yes.”

Today, there is virtually no chance that any bright student might ask why our Constitution is being violated daily and why so many citizens believe the Congress is so corrupt. Notice the issue is not politics – Republicans vs Democrats, the right vs the left or liberal vs conservative. Our students should be encouraged to ask questions about what has happened to our government, such as: “Why have we heard it said that we have the most corrupt government the world has ever seen?” Do you believe that and similar questions are proper topics for 17 year old high school seniors? Many responsible citizens have told me “Yes, “ The Founding Fathers, headed by Thomas Jefferson, would emphatically have said “Yes.”

It has been proven that the correlation between financial inputs and education outputs is very weak and shaky Milford is one of the more affluent Connecticut cities and yet, as the Connecticut Post pointed out, the quality of education in our schools is at the bottom of the heap.

If elected, here are some specific goals I would urge upon the board of education:

(1) Totally eliminate Federal mandated exams. Obama has promised not to withhold federal funds to those so doing and we could accept those funds on an interim basis

(2) Make major revisions to the curriculum. Purchase text books from vendors that do not craft them based on the specs of the biggest buyers, which practice results in the same text books supplied to `most every public school in the country. I highly recommend a web site named: “What do textbooks teach?” - Velocity Press (enter those exact words into Google, including the quotation marks)

(3) Completely remove computers from student access. Do not allow them to bring calculators to class.

(4) Introduce course material that teaches the students how to think and how to ask probing questions. Challenge the teachers to challenge the students .

(5) Appoint an ombudsman to interface directly between the teachers and the school board, providing safeguards to protect the teachers from recrimination.


Cast your vote on Tuesday, November 8 at Harborside Middle School.


Unaffiliated voters are strongly encouraged to get out and vote. Don’t leave the administration of our city government and particularly our schools strictly to party loyals.


Vote for the Milford Independent Party

Our candidates, include myself, John Grant (Planning and Zoning) and Rocco Frank, running for Mayor.


Sincerely,

Richard Sieron

Tel 203-878-2396

Rocco Frank Election Notes

Last year both Democrats and Republicans took credit for the citywide tax decrease; however both sides neglected to mention they borrowed the money to do it. This borrowing increased our debt to 240M in 2010, not including interest.



The "Entrenched Two Party Leadership" also fattened their pension fund to an astounding $320M. In turn, the People of Milford were left with a current estimated 300M in 2011 debt... and the “mad rush” to now deplete the pension fund is making it look like a developing Ponzi scheme.

Since 2008! The CAFR's (Comprehensive Audited Financial Results) indicate our city liabilities are growing at an alarming 17.7% per year, while our city assets are growing at 6.6% per year.


Neither democrats nor, Republicans want to admit that their collective leadership and “voodoo economics” is the root cause of Milford "Heading of a Cliff!!"


While I have no intention of arguing with the selective accounting at City Hall, I do take issue with the practice of borrowing new money at lower interest rates, to pay off higher interest rates. This is not a serious plan and it’s done nothing to stem the tide of our growing liabilities, we need something more professional than just “juggling the interest on our credit cards.”

In order to seriously deal with this grave financial issue, big Developers, Law Firms and special interests have to understand that they are second to getting our finances in order. This, however, is a difficult task when both my opponents each owe favors to the corporate donors who “buttered their bread.” It’s my job to present the facts, hopefully the non-voters will be motivated to come out and vote en-masse, to put an end to the "High jacking" of our city!


Milford’s “high jackers” have their eyes set on 200 Million dollars. You can be assured that there are many special interests who want more of that money for themselves, and sadly they are stealing it. They cheat us taxpayers by way of crony job appointments, no bid contracts, double dipping, nepotism, favoritism, undeserved bonuses and bigger government. My silent opponent’s, and their political parties, rely on you being uniformed; it’s what keeps them in power and loving Milford!

Thus far this year, I have shredded thousands of dollars in checks and refused all special interest money. We are not for sale and will not endorse any future candidate unless they guarantee us oversight! Personally, I choose to run my campaign with little to no money because most every sizable donation offered me came with a set of terms. The best type of victory is one where past non voters enthusiastically vote against corruption, and ordinary citizens organize on their own without expectations. Hopefully I have earned your trust and support.


Rocco J. Frank Jr.

Milford's Fort Trumbull Devastated By Irene

Fort Trumbull this morning was guarded by the Milford Police Department. They were asking drivers not to park in areas that could hinder the ongoing cleanup work.

The streets were covered in Sand as far as the eye could see. Beyond this point is the Silver Sands State Park, of which was also guarded by the state DEP, and was closed to the public.

The devastation included flooding of all low lying structures on both sides of the street and as far as the marsh. The local homes and businesses had water lines as far up as two feet and damaged items were being dragged to the curb. residents were out in force working together to restore their neighborhoods.

The city of Milford was still experiencing wide spread power outages that are going into the second day. Many wires and trees are still down and the Utility companies are feverishly working to correct those outages.

The City of Milford has the Public Works out working long hours, cleaning up city streets and public property. The cost of the cleanup is expected to be substantial. The numbers have not been estimated as of yet but budget strains are to be expected.

The new Boardwalk at Silver Sands State Park is reportedly damaged. Onlookers who explored the area said that the Boardwalk has either been destroyed or buried under the sand making it hard to assess there is even a boardwalk there.

Further to the North Gulf Beach was covered in water, and low lying areas of Woodmont were also submerged in several feet of water. Photo (Left) depicts storm surge on Broadway, an area ordered evacuated by the city of Milford.

Fortunately many inland homes did not suffer substantial wind damage. Some residents boarded up their windows, while others taped asterisk style patterns on their plate glass. There are many reports of downed trees but very few reports of serious wind damage to those homes.

It is estimated that power will be restored in the next few days for all homes across Milford, and the cleanup efforts will be ongoing for several months.

Recap of Events, Oyster Festival And More

This week the Independent Party enjoyed its Third year in the Milford Oyster Festival. Morale was high and the Independent Party had a great deal of fun walking around drinking beer, eating oysters and greeting the public.

Joe Prisco (Featured Left) was in especially good spirits and as always carried his energy and enthusiasm in a message on his shirt "Let's Talk I'm Joe Prisco."  This year Joe has become an Icon with the Independent Party, at 86 Years old and a 54 year resident of Milford Joe has earned the respect of every one of our members. Even the local Party members "tip their hat" to Joe as he continues to be a fixture and a public advocate at City Hall.

Joe is best known as that person who has no shortage of words and is not afraid to speak his mind. Anyone who knows Joe will tell you that he fights for fairness and honesty in the city of Milford. What we all like best about Joe is that he takes on issues with  a great smile and an incredible and affable attitude.

While the Milford Independent Party is an organization aimed at getting common people elected, we found that most people this year are very supportive, while others were just out enjoying a fun family day. This year we quickly learned that most people do not go to the Oyster Festival to discuss Politics, and for that reason we kept ourselves available and chose not to be demonstrably pushy like our opponents.

In past years, both Democrats and Republicans forced stickers on the public garb, waved annoying campaign  signs and often engaged in loud disruptive flash mobs to get attention. This year things were equally amped up and the Democrats took the prize by positioning two booths on each side of the street. The Law Offices of Bercham Moses and Devlin hosted the Deep Fried Dough booth on their property and across the street positioned a second booth (near Party Member Mike Brown's office.) The Republicans were in the Middle and actively sticking campaign stickers on anyone they could get to wear one. Independents were in a small Ten by Ten spot with a very unhelpful and annoying tree right in front of us.

Some of our members speculated that the terrible spot was most likely the work of the Republicans. This they theorized was due to their disapproval of our Cross endorsement of the city Clerk to Suzanne Manning. Mannings Republican opponent Linda Stock and her sister Paula Smith is also a controversial coordinator of the Oyster Festival.

Without complaining about our spot, I will mention that the Smith/Stock Controversy started over the Festival Committee hijacking the Beer Sales for themselves. Some festival patrons dropped out because they argue that the loss of revenue from those sales was unjust and against the original mission of the festival to aid non-profits. However, the festival committee argued that last year the festival was in a crisis over funding and those revenues had to be made up in light of the fact that the Police and security services were no longer being provided free of charge by the city.

This year we are assuming that the proceeds from the beer sales were used to pay the Police and traffic control bills but as of yet there is no word on who paid those costs.

All in all, even with those difficulties aside all our members had an especially good time and thank the hard working people who made this successful day possible. The Independent Party would also like to thank all its members for their work and time in keeping our cause and mission alive and well in Milford.

Ben Blake, Bob Joy Dismiss Milford Independents

After the conclusion of the Independent Party Caucus last month the Milford Independent party agreed to reach out to the major parties with offers in compromise. We spoke with municipal leaders from both sides of the aisle including, party chairmen and and both candidates for Mayor.

The idea was simple "lets appeal to each other's rational interests and govern together." Our goal was to cross endorse the top spot for Mayor in exchange for equal (D) or (R) party consideration on paid jobs and commission appointments. In 2009 Spalthoff and Chaucer received nearly 18% of the vote collectively, this year, even if that number is reduced by 50% that could have meant the difference of 20% in favor of one candidate or another.

However, their decisions were stunning!  Both Ben and Bob rejected the wishes of 1,000 to 2,000 voters.  This outlandish rejection is based on an enigmatic "quid pro quo" and in Bob's case a direct "NO!" Neither side has any intentions of making any promises or guarantees.  The inclusion of the Milford Independent Party to participate in city government appears to exist mostly in political theory only. However irrational, we find it difficult to accept that they truly believe their decisions are based on honorable and reasonable logic.

This year we will again have a Three way race for Mayor because the irrational thinking of our top contenders want it that way. The Milford Independent Party can no longer change what Ben and Bob decided for the Milford Independent voters. However, YOU CAN, by sharing this article with your friends and neighbors. Convince them to vote for The Independent line as a show of solidarity against those irrational and partisan individuals who continuously dominate and hijack our city with their loyal people and Political Party ideology. 

This year Independents have offered up John Grant to the Republicans and Cross Endorsed Suzanne Manning for City Clerk. In return Both Parties offered Independents NOTHING. We are doing our part, now it is up to you to do yours! Vote Independent... by doing so you will break this cycle of ignorance and help us make a difference in the fiscal future and security of our city.

My Thoughts on Milford's Economic Situation.

Why I Decided to Run For Mayor

To give you an overview on why I am running for Mayor is to present a simple message to the people of Milford. "The Two Party System Is Disingenuous and Cannot be Trusted."

Last year both Democrats and Republicans took credit for the citywide tax decrease, however both sides neglected to mention they borrowed the money to do it. This borrowing increased our debt to 240M in 2010, not including interest.

The "Entrenched Two Party Leadership" also fattened their pension fund to an astounding $380M a 100% over funding according to the Mcready article in the MOB!! In turn, the People of Milford were left with a current estimated 300M in 2011 debt... debt voted on and spent by both parties.

Since 2008! the CAFR's (Comprehensive Audited Financial Results) indicate our city liabilities are growing at an alarming 17.7% per year, while our city assets are growing at 6.6% per year.

Neither Democrats nor, Republicans want to acknowledge that their collective leadership is the cause of Milford "Heading of a Cliff!!" We will soon have "More Liabilities than Assets" by 2014-2015 if nothing changes.

For the last year I viewed and studied the books of Milford, I read the auditors reports and am keenly aware of the many reactions of our city leaders who are stuck on a 10% fantasy debt ratio figure. This is a method that I disagree with. If elected I would adjust the pension model to pay down city debt, something I believe both my opponents would refuse to do.

While I have no intention of arguing with the overly optimistic accounting logic at City Hall, I do take issue with the selective appropriations that secure the futures of those individuals who redirected these excessive sums of public tax money to their private pensions.

On a final note, there are many other issues that have me frustrated with the conspiratorial silence of the self serving money dolers that are our disingenuous two party buddy system. I expect that this year will be no different than any other, the Big Developers, Law Firms etc... their personal rational interests and their money will corrupt the voters in favor of owed jobs, contracts and work for a select politically connected few. We must not allow these people to get away with the "Highjacking" of our city!

When people vote for Me or any independent, they are voting for a "Level Playing Field." We are a party that does NO FAVORS FOR ANYONE! Not land clearer's, Not Cadley House wrecking developers, Not Law firms, Not Big Banks, and Certainly Not other Politicians. Our Goal is to make winning deals that are to the advantage of the taxpayers... not the other way around.

This is perhaps the single greatest reason why getting elected as an Independent is so difficult. While the Democrats and Republicans have accepted what amounts to "bribes" from a great many destructive forces in Milford, the Independent Party has refused all special interest money and rejected all donors with implied conditions. We are not open for business, nor are we for sale! We would rather run a campaign with little to no money than to sell out for a big Billboard on the Post Road.

In order to run a truly honest City we cannot accept "Money for Influence." We can only accept "donations from the Heart."

Rocco J. Frank Jr.
ICO ComputerFox Inc.
374 New Haven Ave.
Milford, CT 06460

Milford's Obsession With Trash

Milford is fighting to get our trash out of town and into a Museum. The epic battle continues in trying to rid our city of Recycling Inc. but we love trash so much our leaders were happy to fund Stratford's Trash museum. But what about the trash in city hall how do we get rid of them? Well they got us Single stream Recycling and cut back our bulk trash pickups twice in the last few years. Today the Milford Democrats also criticized a donation to Stratford's trash museum and I must agree this was a pretty "shaky" thing to do or even have on our local agenda.

Without commenting on the merits of this trash obsession in town, I would like to focus on at least one important point, that Recycling Inc. is our trash problem, and the other one an "out of town garbage museum" well that has nothing to do with Milford. Perhaps we can ask Stratford to put up a vote to keep our library open... "lets not hold our breath"; Considering they will not even fund their own museum I suppose we can see how irresponsible the "Drunken Sailors" at city hall have become.

Our city is expected to lay off two Jonathan law Security guards, 25 city employees, and the board of education claims they need to lay off an undisclosed amount of people. But what about the "Executives" and top echelon in Milford's leadership team? They get raises and waste even more money! Jim Richetelli gets a $138,000.00 a year job, Phil Russel gets to stay on and get paid on the side because Richetelli has no idea what he is doing and needs his help. Russel also may end up like our $180,000 a year police chief and get his pension in addition to his consulting contract.

When I get letters from citizens who are concerned about "Double dipping and Triple dipping" I have to ask where the heck are the police, the FBI and those enacted to defend and enforce the corruption that landed our city with an estimated $275M in debt. Milford is slowly looking more and more like Bell California.  I would really like to know how can we get attention to the issue of public theft.

While everyone is out and about from the political parties claiming they got you a nice "Tax Decrease" tell them "Bull S$#T" you "charged our tax decrease to the "Credit card" at "Interest." That amounts to "kicking the can down the road" for a bigger deferred tax increase. Throw the bums off your porch, do not vote for them and do not read their warped "spin, twists and lies." That is what attorneys do best "Bull S%$t" to their advantage not yours.  You want trash? Go ahead and re-elect a D or an R this year because "we need another Real-estate killing, tax & spend, stinky Oscar the grouch in city hall."

Read this to see how badly Milford taxpayers have been defrauded in the last four years.

http://www.ci.milford.ct.us/Public_Documents/MilfordCT_Finance/statement/

INDEPENDENT PARTY MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear Independents, as we speak an auditing firm is completeing the 2011 CAFR's for our city. We have heard the Republicans and Democrats take credit for the tax decrease last year and want us to re-elect them, but both sides failed to disclose exactly how they got us our tax decrease.

As always, the Independent Party was there to research and expose the troubling Truth while our fast talking leaders were silent. While they have not yet commented or even indicated they are aware of the problems they created, I believe it is more likely they are evading public "blow back."

In either case the CAFR's tell the truth and speak volumes to the quality of their work. A quote from the 2010 CAFR (Comprehensive, Financial, Audited, Report) for Milford:

As of  "June 30, 2010 the City had $150 million in bonds and notes outstanding versus $102.7 million last year - an increase of 46.1%"

This ratio is marching to unsustainable levels, and although we are not as in bad a shape as Stratford or West Haven, we can look to the hardships of those cities as an example of where we are headed without meaningful spending reforms.

At this meeting We will be discussing how best to get people involved and care about our city. Just keep in mind that while taxes were being slashed, the city Credit Card was being bilked.

This year the public perception of tax cuts is very positive while the alarming details of how they got it was being concealed. This election we need to focus on a strategy that will change this paradigm. 

Awareness of the problem is the first step in stemming the growth of our cities 260+ Million of crushing debt. Please spread the word.

Read the CAFR's at the below link, and invite your friends and relatives to join us for discussion at our upcoming meeting.  Also feel free to forward them these links.

http://www.ci.milford.ct.us/Public_Documents/MilfordCT_Finance/statement/

http://ronpaultv.blogspot.com/2011/06/milfords-comprehensive-audits-indicate.html

The next meeting is Thursday June 30th at 7:00P.M. at the Beach House in the Woodmont section of Milford.  Their address is:

141 Merwin Avenue
Milford, CT 06460
(203) 951-3594

We will do the same format as the Great River Golf Course, (order appetizers courtesy the Independent Party) and collect a donation during the meeting. Donations are entirely based on what you can afford to give and there is no committment required on your part to give. However, we do count on your support and always appreciate and thank everyone who has donated so generously in the past. There is also a cash bar available for anyone who wishes to have a drink. Newly registered Independent party members get their first Free drink on us.

For questions or comments please call me at (203) 247-4357.

Rocco Frank

Chairman Milford Independent Town Committee

Supporters, Friends and Members can also send checks made payable to MITC at the following address. 

Milford Independent Town Committee  44 Lexington Way N. Milford, CT 06461 Att: Rocco Frank Chaitrman.

Milford Independent Party Extends Parade Invite

The Milford Independent Party will be marching in this years Memorial Day Parade. Rocco Frank Chairman of the MIP Town Committee said: "The invitation to join was in fact an Honor and in remembrance and in respect to our Veterans we plan to let them know that while they were fighting abroad we were fighting locally. This, our first year, we invite everyone to join us in our march as a show of solidarity against those local elected leaders who have grown too powerful and too comfortable in their decades of Controversial leadership. This years Memorial Day is not only about fighting Tyranny abroad but fighting it right here domestically in our own back yard."

Please join the Independent Party by meeting us at 1:30P.M at Wasson Field. Look for our banner depicted in the photo on this blog and spread the word. We invite you, your family, your friends, and your co-workers. Even though we may have never met and you have yet to obtain the courage to believe in the words of great leaders who said "an injustice anywhere is an injustice everywhere" we hope this one time you will set your apathy aside for this one special day.

UPCOMING INDEPENDENT PARTY MEETING

Dear Independents, So many interesting, and exciting things happening around Milford these days. The most impressive being that all our local representitives in Milford are acting Independently. All Four of them voted against their respective party and heard our message. A message that was crystal clear that “the people of Milford and our state can't afford to reach deeper in their pockets to fund pet political projects.”

We are certainly part of that value system that has been instrumental in waking up our local legislators. However, despite their courage, and brazen defiance of their respective parties, the 4.1 Billion dollar measure passed anyway and now these costs will be "coming home to roost" right here in our own community.

Our town schools have been denied money from the Federal Government, and next year the state will cut us back again. This means that pressure will be placed on property owners everywhere in our state. MBA Chair Greg Smith confronted school administrators in a heated debate last week when he said “Milford closed a school and student enrollment keeps declining” challinging their numbers he asked “why are costs still rising?”

These budget challenges have now made it imperative that we "pick up the torch" this campaign season and once again let our voices be heard loud and clear. We must speak the “truth” to our towns leaders every opportunity we have. George Orwell once said "that in a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

This next meeting we will be planning to march in the upcoming Memorial Day Parade, Renew our usual slot in the Oyster Festival, and enroll candidates for office in the 2011 municipal election cycle.

Our mission in this coming election will be the continued communication of the importance of traditional American values rooted in a constitutional form of government. Our foundation in the independent party is simple “we do not tolerate those elected officials who lie cheat or steal.” This latest massive tax increase being the greatest act of defiance, one that ingnored the consent of the governed.

The next meeting is Thursday May 19th at 7:00P.M. at the Great River Golf Course in Milford. Their address is: 130 Coram Lane Milford, CT 06461-1605 (203) 878-9623

We will do the same format as the Costa Azurra meeting, (order appetizers courtesy the Independent Party) and collect a donation during the meeting. Donations are entirely based on what you can afford to give and there is no committment required on your part to give. However, we do count on your support and always appreciate and thank everyone who has donated so generously in the past. There is also a cash bar available for any one who wishes to have a drink. Newly registered Independent party members get their first Free drink on us.

For questions or comments please call me at (203) 247-4357.

Rocco Frank Chairman Milford Independent Town Committee

School Closings And Student Declines May Fail To Abate Tax Increases

Last night I attended the the Board of Alderman Meeting to hear the prevailing arguments over the school budget. In attendance were all the top leaders of education including our new Superintendent Ms. Feser.

The topic was what to do about the 2010-11 education increases. The main concerns for the school board was the erosion of funding due to factors beyond their control. These included the rising cost of health care, the normal course of inflation, increases required to educate children with multiple disabilities, and spending cuts in education at the state and federal level.

Each year, when all the costs are added up Milford spends about $86M on education. This figure does not include grants, gate receipts, sports related fund raising, federal funds, and other money issued outside of Milford. When this is added into the equation the figure marches to over a 100M.

Greg Smith the Alderman Chair asked some very pointed questions, he demanded accountability and sound accounting practices. Smith referenced a declining student population, the closing of Simon lake, last years layoff of several school employees and the granting of year over year multimillion dollar increases to the BOE. Smith expressed concern over the BOE proposed budged arguing in defence of seniors and veterans who have not had any benefit increases in two years. Smith also alluded to the fact that there are about 120 foreclosures in Milford and a projected layoff of 25 city employees.

BOE Chair Mark Stapleton called Milford's educational increases sub-par when compared to Fairfield. Stapleton said Fairfield spends 75% of the city budget on education vs. 60% in Milford. Smith rebutted Stapleton by saying "Milford's Taxpayers do a good job of funding education."

The Milford Independent Party on a fact-check of this issue verified per-pupil spending in these two towns via the CERC data sheet. Fairfield spent a total of $151,011,000 vs. $106,963,000. Milford had 7,304 students enrolled and Fairfield had 9,957 students enrolled. The per capita student expenditure is $15,166.31 Per Fairfield pupil vs. $14,644.44 in Milford. Milford spends about $521.88 less per pupil than Fairfield.

Despite these expenditures, concern was then directed at the results of the taxpayers investment in education. Michael Cummings, last years acting Superintendent stated that Milford is part of a school block constructed by the CT Department of Education. That block comprised of scores of schools that rated each town in thirds. Cummings said that Milford's elementary students ranked in the bottom 1/3 when it came to performance and the Middle schools ranked in the Second third.

When the meeting concluded, it ended at "Recess." Smith said that this is because the process of debating the school budget is ongoing and will continue at the next meeting. There was no public comment allowed last night but at least one member of the public brought a sign perched on a chair expressing concern for the integrity of education in Milford. Overall public turnout was about 30 people.

After a careful review of the powers vested in the Board of Alderman, it became clear to me that their ability to affect or alter the school budget is limited. The budget will be either approved or denied depending on the actions of the Board of Education, the continued concessions of the teachers union and possibly the binding arbitration process in Hartford. Until there is a firm decision, the final numbers on the budget will remain uncertain.

Milford's new Superintendent Ms. Feser was quoted this morning by the New Haven Register as stating she is concerned that additional cuts to the BOE budget will compromise the "integrity of the classroom." Some members of the Board of Alderman, after the meeting, corrected their constituents views on similar remarks by reminding them that these "cuts" are not actually "cuts" but rather reductions in the "increase" over last years budget.

An Open Letter To Our State Legislators

Dear State Reps.,

The state as you know is in dire straits due to the economic downturn. Currently, and with the rise of ill constructed discord, I see you in a “No Win” situation. If you vote to raise taxes you are going to upset those who have to pay them, If you do not vote to raise taxes you will let down your political party, maybe even be labeled as an anti-union worker rights representative or a poor “team player.” In my conversations one person mentioned something that was “very honest” they said “the state budget deficit is so large that we could lay off all 48K state employees and still be in debt.” George Orwell once said “that in a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act” perhaps you should give this some thought.

There are many passionate and concerned people in our state and district who are really worried that higher taxes will cut into their already difficult lives. There is uncertainty over whether or not they will get pay raises or find the additional money to pay new taxes. This is at a time when health insurance costs among other things have increased dramatically. Milford , like our state, is also not exempt and is expected to have a colorful budget debate this evening over the same types of money problems.

The nature of recessionary politics does not demand a good or a bad vote (there is no such thing on this one vote,) what it does do is define leaders. It separates those who triumph as advocates who stand up to the wishes and consent of the governed while exposing those who usurp the process to cater to their personal careers and future ambitions. This is an issue that I personally believe you are all equipped to handle, because in the end I hope and pray that you will all be kind enough to tune in to the many concerns of your constituents who have also been praying for economic relief wherever they can find it.

Austerity measures are coming, this is inevitable and it’s not anyone in Hartford’s fault. This is a sad fact and consequence of the immutable nature of our nation and this states federally induced decline. This decline is a bipartisan result of costly wars, the Federal reserve and its Quantitative easing, the bailouts of the “too big to fails,” the loss of jobs to China and a stellar rise of gas prices accompanied by inflation.

Recognize and consider that your vote will be of little meaningful consequence either way the fate of our state has already been pre-determined for us by the Federal Government through its actions. The forces at work have clearly put Entropy in charge of Connecticut’s future. The process is known as the Hegelian Dialectic. We both know that the solutions proposed here in our state have already been tried in other states we need to look no further than California, Ohio or some other states who have tried the exact same approaches as our Governor is proposing. We both know that taxpayers are not governed by tables and laws but rather their own personal free will, willingness to comply and most importantly ability to comply. No one is going to go hungry or homeless because of taxes, people will survive and live in defiance.

While I cannot tell you for certain if more laws and higher levy’s on peoples income and property will work, I will tell you that you should listen to the polls and stand on the side of the people on this very delicate issue of higher taxes. Your integrity, your conscience, your heart, your understanding and your love of humanity is what is on the line. The people of our state and Milford need to see all of you as informed leaders who have identified and is courageously standing up to our oppressors.

This time around you all have a very important vote to make and I hope you stand with the people who love and count on you. I would encourage you to work harder than ever in standing up for the rights of this state and all who live here. Hopefully by now you have figured out who to hold accountable for our states financial problems. May God have mercy on us all!

Sincerely,


Rocco J. Frank Jr.
Chair MIP

Milford Independent Party Meets

An open Meeting of the Milford Independent Party will be held this month. Come one come all, and all are welcome as are all Independents and Independent Minded people who desire a better community. We will be meeting Wednesday the 23rd of Feb. at Cabo in Milford at 7:15P.M.

On the agenda is your questions, your ideas, and the re-election of officers. As it stands we have no official candidate for Mayor yet, nor any other local municipal races. Those of you interested in running for office will recieve the full support of the Milford Independent Party.

Hope to see you all at the meeting on Wednesday.





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Recap In Politics Around Milford

The Snow still persists, having broken all records and for the first time in recent memory bull dozers are out doing snow removal. This year the kids missed Eight Days of School and as a result their April vacation is expected to be very short. This is provided that no more cancellations occur between now and then.

The snow also took its toll on Milford's crumbling schools, the Board of Education has been addressing these 100M repair costs on and off for years but last week the debate abruptly shifted when the East Shore Middle School Roof was is in danger of collapsing due to the weight of the heavy snow. The kids were all relocated to Foran H.S. where they are expected to remain until the safety of East Shore is guaranteed.

The Mayor, as usual, is proposing his Eighth Consecutive Tax Increase and using his traditional argument that it only amounts to a few hundred dollars more per home owner in Milford. Since the Mayor began using this argument eight years ago homeowners have seen their taxes incrementally rise to several thousands of dollars per year and over 2,500 homes have been foreclosed on or sold as a direct result of taxation and the cost associated with living in CT.

According to Trulia.com The housing situation in Milford continues to remain shaky as several new Foreclosures have entered the market this week further challenging the "Grand List" and driving up the towns Mill Rate. This rate is expected to change dramatically when the Assessor completes their re-evaluations (not done since the top of the market) and the new figures are entered next year.

The biggest property devaluators  continue to be the Middletown Power line project. There are apx. 1,000 homes impacted by those lines. The new towers replaced the shorter wooden towers that looked very similar to the telephone poles on the street. The new towers are a residential hardship,  they are solid steel towers barreling over 135 Feet in the Air. Those homes that once blended with nature and low lying utilities are now permanently marred with industrial high voltage lines and equipment. Many of these homeowners are already engaged in a class action lawsuit against those who built them.

In other news this week, The Town Planning and Zoning Department has erupted in controversy over a leadership crisis involving the selection of a chairman. This disruption inconvenienced and costs local businesses money in lost time over several days. The P&Z was abrubtly suspended when 5 members of the board walked out of the meeting while the public was waiting for permit approvals. However it did not stop them from issuing citations against every small business up and down the Post RD and New Haven Ave.

Complaints from businesses were mostly related to signage and the desire of those business owners to maintain marketing freedom to obtain customers in a challenged economy. The City of Milford insists that all funds and moneys due the city must be paid, proper permit paperwork must be filled out, and inspectors must be satisfied. This applies to all signs even if its a "weekly special," "flag" or "Temporary Promotion."

The City of Milford aggressively enforces its regulations against local small businesses and through its enforcement actions expresses its acrimony toward them.  Last year was a typical reminder,  that was the year a private collection agency was hired and deputized with authoritative power to collect business taxes the city tax collector and Mayor claimed were "under reported."

The national economy, inflation and the continuing growth of social programs has been especially beneficial to Milford as the Federal aid has increased in the last Three years to our city residents who are increasing becoming dependent on public aid or just leaving the city.

On a final word thus far there are no official announcements for any candidates running for Mayor in 2011.

Discussions Get Ugly On Milford's 2011 Budget

Budget season has to be the most challenging and stressful time of year for everyone in Milford. Some in town just do not understand why the budget cannot be the same every year. One would think that the cost of goods and services in a depressed economy would not fluctuate much. Unfortunately that is not the case.

The onset of budget season has begun with our Mayor Jim Richetelli being concerned that the year is "starting off with many unanswered questions." Former RTC Member, and insurance Guru, Tom Byrne has been in contact with Aldematic Chairman Greg Smith. The nature of their discussion is marked by disagreement from the onset regarding the creation of an efficiency committee as suggested by Hartford.

Every year the austerity measures aimed at city services and municipal employees are of serious concern, especially to those individuals whose jobs are on the cutting block. None have decried the protection of city jobs more than James Whittaker who is frequently seen at City Hall protesting cuts that affect his staff.

The balance of services, and responsible government rests in the hands of our leaders and Tom Byrne feels our leaders have fell short of their responsibility. He points out in several local newspapers that city spending has increased in tandem with the Bond Debt. Such a combination without a meaningful or serious approach in the coming budget year is a recipe for disaster.

The increase in our public debt raises our debt service payments, these are also going up with health insurance costs, building and maintenance costs, and  routine contractual raises that virtually every local labor union expects to get. Last budget season many concessions were made by some labor unions including reductions in COLA's and reductions in infrastructure.

This year is marked by a 1.5 Million reduction in Federal education funding. This reduction was one Rep. Rosa Delauro failed to fight for. The propensity for balancing our budget is further complicated by the fact that nearly 20% of all homes listed for sale in Milford are in foreclosure. Driving up taxes to pay our bills will be an exercise in futility and will not work. This hard lesson was demonstrated in Hartford, Bridgeport, and many other cities who, in my opinion mismanaged their budgets in favor of tax exempt 501C3's and inefficient government jobs.

It's my opinion that Milford cannot tax its way out of this problem come 2011. Attempting to tax our way out of this problem will not work, especially if inflation is low, local unemployment is high, COLA's are suspended by pension recipients and Local Real Estate continues to stagnate.

The showdown is going to be between the Paid elected city leaders and City Union employees who have been funding and supporting local elections with entitlement motives. Crossing the city unions, who have doled out Tens of Thousands of dollars to local municipal races could mean significant losses of votes come the 2012 election.

Placating the Labor Unions in Milford will be a very delicate issue that has to be gingerly handled by the Mayor himself during the upcoming contract negotiations. Bad contracts will reflect poorly on the value of every one's real estate and create further pressure to force those individuals living "paycheck to paycheck" to seek out government assistance and sustenance to avoid going into default on their homes and their new taxes.

Every person out there this budget season, especially those who cannot afford to pay an additional $500.00 to $1,500.00 every year should speak out at city hall when the time comes. Without your voice being heard this year, the Mayor and his staff may end up going along with the proposed demands of the towns labor unions instead of looking out for you. Greg Smith and the board of Alderman also needs to hear your thoughts, because they finalize and approve the budget in conjunction with the Board of Finance.

The year 2011 may seem a long way off, but assure you the time goes fast. Start thinking about you and your families financial needs now before your new tax bill arrives and you are in a bind you cannot get out of. Best of luck this Holiday season and wishing all my friends, readers and supporters a very happy holiday.

Mlford's 9Th Annual Lamp Light Stroll Set For Dec. 3Rd

Each year the Downtown Milford Business Associations organizes community events. One of the most fun is the annual Lamp Light Stroll. During this popular event, people come over from many local town and enjoy a fun and well organized event in the heart of Milford. The invitation below is from the DMBA website and a link below it will navigate you to a full list and schedule of activities. 

"Please join us on Friday, December 3rd 5pm - 9pm and Saturday, December 4th, 10am - 5pm for the Eighth Annual Downtown Milford Lamplight Stroll!Visit 30 of downtown’s finest shops! Collect your passport for the stroll at any participating shop, beginning Thanksgiving weekend. During the two-day event, stroll from shop to shop and have your passport stamped. Once the passport is complete, fill out the back of the passport and leave it at any of the participating shops to be eligible to win a gift basket filled with downtown Milford surprises, treats, treasures and gift cards!"

FOR MORE INFO AND A DETAILED LIST OF EVENTS CLICK HERE

Milford Gets Updated Alert System

The City of Milford has implemented a state-of-the-art citywide notification system to alert citizens about emergencies and other community news. The Milford Alerts notification system, operated in partnership with Everbridge, enables the City to provide essential information quickly and for a variety of situations, such as severe weather, fires, floods, unexpected road closures, or evacuation of buildings or neighborhoods.

These notifications can be sent to a variety of devices such as home phone, work phone, cell phone, text messaging devices, e-mail and more. You choose what devices you are contacted on and in what order you would like to be contacted.

In addition to traditional emergency alerts, the system also allows you to sign up to receive a variety of other important community alerts and informational bulletins that interest you. For more information about the new Milford Alerts system, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions Page.

CONTINUE READING BY CLICKING HERE

A Outlook of The Weekly News And Milford's Road Ahead

Over the last few days I have been mourning the loss of my family dog. Our beloved Bella passed away last Saturday when she was struck by a hit and run driver. To all my loyal fans and avid readers out there just know I am still with you and my thoughts will continue as they always do moving forward.

Thus far I am back at my desk this morning and have been looking at and analyzing the latest local and state news and the biggest challenges on the table are those that have become emblematic of all communities in Connecticut. Education, education spending, property taxes, and the fragility of survival of our towns citizens who live pay check to pay check.

An eerie reminder of this fragility happened to me just over the weekend. While I was out with my wife and step daughter Lea. We were mourning the loss of our dog together when Terri looked out the window of our booth at the Kimberly Diner and and cried out "Oh my God a woman just fell and is lying motionless on the ground! Somebody call 911!"

Soon several people rushed to her aid, fortunately the woman was alright, but we were told by our waitress who had gone outside to assist that this woman was likely to need several stitches on her forehead. She argued with those aiding her that she had "no health insurance and did not want to go to the hospital" fearing that her inability to pay would result in some punitive financial measure against the little she had left.

The woman did go to the hospital, and thankfully the Kimberly Diner was well equipped with all the necessary first aid equipment to respond to such emergencies. However, there was some frustration expressed when the 911 operator needed the address to the Diner just across the street from the Milford P.D. who immediately responded when they were called directly.

While this is just a random experience of the many tribulations we are now coming to endure, civility in the coming years is going to be more important than ever. As the Federal Government continues to deny our city, and state federal student money and grants as part of these newly emerging global austerity measures the people of Milford will be struggling to find a life balance.

This balance, however is going to be threatened once again by the very pillars that carry the entire town budget. Our mill rate is expected to change dramatically after the new 2011 assessments are complete. Record spikes in foreclosures in Milford and New Haven County have driven down the cost of real estate and stagnated home sales and the entire housing market.

While city officials have all but thrown up their hands and said "regardless of what the Grand List out come is, the budget is the budget!" This is a truly disparaging approach to our looming financial problems. In the past years, Milford has been undergoing a mini-austerity style debacle of its own. The city has made deep cuts in education, closing a school, cuts to the bulk pick ups, and several consolidations and cost cutting restructuring schemes of the police and Fire Departments. Milford may one day be faced with selling off its real estate and assets just to keep up.

Moving forward those schemes may be insufficient and not able to satisfy the current problems of the broader state and Federal economy still stuck at over 9.6% unemployment. While the worst unemployment picture we have since today's numbers date back to 1983 (when we had 13.5% unemployment,) those numbers were figured with a different formula. If we use the same formula from 1983 the true unemployment picture could be estimated at 18.9% making this recession the worst since 1929.

What remains as a state of severe uncertainty is the nature of the "Double dip." Experts tend to agree that our jobs and debt are unlikely to be abated soon making the "Double Dip" more likely rather than less likely. The nature of this "Double Dip" is an enigmatic one, but none-the-less of serious concern for a small city like ours. Should this dip become "Deflationary" like some fear than that would present a very different set of challenges than if the "Double Dip" goes "Inflationary" as several critics of the Fed's money printing program have been upset by.

There is going to be a strong need for some "math-magicians" at city hall to make it all work in 2011 and if we escape through the next budget without any dramatic tax increases or significant losses in services we should be proud of those who were able to negotiate and usher in those achievements. It is times like this that challenge, and threaten the very survival of our communities and only with lots of concessions, co-operation and civility can  Milford succeed in the road ahead. Our leaders must look to the future in a way way that prepares us for anything, because at this point anything is possible.