Connecticut's Problems May Hit Home

When Dan Malloy won the job of our state Governor I was delighted, but not for the reasons that most of his fans and supporters were. While my friends were rather perplexed, and really did not understand my affinity for Mr. Malloy I had to clarify my support of him.

This support was mostly based on my disdain for partisan bickering in Hartford. I personally believe, and have seen, that whenever, a single branch of the state Capitol is controlled by another party the blame is quickly shifted on that branch of government as if they are the cancerous evil that is the demise of society. With the Democrats in firm control over all three branches of government we have addressed the issue of the "Blame Game" and since we are in a Great Recession who is better suited to fire state employees than the people and parties who they lobbied for and spent millions to put in office.

Dan Malloy is making Wisconsin's Walker look like a Liberal, not because Malloy is or is not a Liberal but because he inherited a state that is much like the HMS Titanic after it hit an Iceberg. While everyone on board in the State of Connecticut is going on as if all is well, and some feel that their years of service entitle them to job security, our Governor is swimming in an unbalanced pool of debt that some call an illegal budget. One person in particular challenging this "illegal budget" in court is Republican Tom Scott. The unions are currently panicked, their austerity vote was rejected, and last minute midnight deals and special sessions are in the works to make the impossible possible.

Unions are now blaming their own voting rules for requiring more than 51% to pass a wage measure. The state of Connecticut employs some 48,000 people and the numbers of layoffs have been estimated from as few as 5,000 to as many as 10,000. However in the words of our Independent Democratic senator Gayle Slossberg, she voted against the Malloy budget because it did not seriously address the issue of "New spending" in a serious financial situation.  Slossberg said that the "budget shortfall is so severe that the Governor could lay off all 48,000" employees and still not fill the budget gap. That aside she found it upsetting that the Malloy budget included funds for "the restoration of an Opera house" in the wake of layoffs.

As of yet no state employees have been let go, but the longer the structural deficit issue looms on, the more severe the budget constraints on the state labor unions become. These unions have many reasons to be concerned, not just over their loss of a job, but also over their pension obligations that are also  underfunded and set to fail sometime in the year 2019-2020. Ct not only cnnot afford its employees but it cannot afford their pensions either. The notion that layoffs will fix the problem is also a paradox because unemployment of that many people will hurt the state economy, especially if it accompanies a tax increase during a bad economic period. The state of Connecticut will also need to set aside 100's of millions of dollars to pay all of the expected unemployment claims that could linger on for up to 99 weeks.

Moving forward Milford's city leaders should start taking our wasteful spending issues seriously. There is a very likely event on the horizon that will require us to prepare for the inevitable and eventual cuts to our town. The cuts could entail and include our road improvement subsidies, our manufacturing credits, our grants, our education dollars or anything else they decide to eliminate. The final word of this post today should be to mention that Governor Chris Christie of N.J. is laughing at Connecticut's Solitaire playing legislators and Malloy's reticence to make effective management decisions.

The Looting of Milford Taxpayers Alive And Well

One thing that has been ongoing in our community in the last several years is hypocrisy. The town leaders, as we have just seen at the state level, preach an agenda that condemns wasteful spending and record tax increases. But when those tax increases just happen to benefit their friends in the local controlling political party then the taxpayers of Milford are told to relax, that these increases are "minor."

The Democratic Governor and his liberal cabal are using the same argument, telling the taxpayers of the state of Connecticut to "relax" that the state increases are "minor." While I already spent considerable time discussing the exploitation of the states taxpayers in this blog I plan to shift focus to the exploitation of Milford's taxpayers.

Lets begin with a reminder that our taxes have doubled in just a short 12 years. This doubling was accompanied by city services being cut to the lowest level Milford has ever had. This doubling and cutting has arrived during the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Lets look at today's news and work in reverse. Astonishingly our Mayor Jim Richetelli is not running for re-election, he instead found a way to escape the wrath of his terrible decade of "tax and spend" leadership in favor of a job that appears to be completely invented out of "politics." Lucky for the mayor this new job "deputy operations chief of schools" pays him 20% more money than he was earning as the Mayor. Wow! We can only assume that this post is being created with the approval of the Republican dominated board of Education.

Greg Smith the Republican Chair of the Board of Alderman has been at odds with the school district because they claim they are "Broke." They have closed schools, fired administrators, and threatened non-tenured teachers that they need to find new jobs. While this was going on the Mayor was scheming to deplete their budget another $120,000.00 plus his benefits and carrying costs.You would think that some respect would be allowed for the parents of our kids who have amassed in record protests. They have filled school auditoriums more than once in the last several years and as a result this Mayor has aggravated and opposed our schools and their improvements time and again.

Back in 2009 when Jonathan Law wanted an addition it was the lone dissenting vote of one brave Republican Alderman that improved our kids school conditions. Teachers, and parents pointed out that teaching was going on in the hallway on carts, and student restrooms were so dingy that the girls at the time were using the men's room.

Then came the wasteful Czars, the land use Czar, the Blight Czar, The Mgat Czar, and now our Mayor appears to have appointed himself as the Education Czar tapping into a budget that is in terrible terrible trouble. Our schools have been impacted by the loss of millions from the Federal Government, have been victimized by  "No Child Left Behind" disparaged by a monumentally unfair ECS formula at the state level and taxed Milford's home owners into the ditch to pay for failure. Failure that rendered our students with terrible CAPT test scores at the state level. Our Schools according to Ms. Feser rank in the Bottom 1/3 for elementary schools, and the bottom 2/3 for middle schools.

Our last two Supers were a joke, one being fired for writing letters of recommendation to a teacher who was later arrested for having an affair with his student, and another arrested for lewd and perverted conduct toward his staff. Now we are going to add our former Mayor to a high level position in education. This position is one where he will keep company with individuals who are intellectually superior to him. Individuals who had to do the hard work of graduating with advanced degrees from universities that actually taught their students the complex mechanics of running a school.

The Mayor now seems to pompously and arrogantly trivialize this right of passage, he is attempting to use politics to create a job that he never had, to do a job that he never did, and is adding to an education problem that is never ending.

My step daughter and her husband had to get advanced degrees just to be considered to teach in a classroom. She has had to pay hefty college loans back and prove to countless professors and higher education administrators that she was even competent and capable enough to hold a state teaching licence. She then was offered a job that barely paid the minimum payment on her student loans.

The news today makes a mockery of the entire education system, proving that a person like our former Mayor can just sidestep into one of these positions politically. Despite the added financial hardship to the school budget, and the fact that his new post may require Three or Four bonafied teachers to be laid off, where does the school system and its administrators get off "signing off" on this incredibly political appointment.

Thus far it appears there was a rush to hire him. No serious ads posted for the job, no meaningful interviews of who the best candidate is for the post, and most troubling no public debate over the need for this post. Since when, for the sake of welfare, do we invade random jobs for politically connected people? The idea that the city of Milford should be creating jobs to help individuals who are too lazy or too unwilling to go out and find one (they way the rest of do) is really the epitome of corruption.

When Jim Amann stepped down and tried to create a crony job under Speaker Donavan, the people of our state complained loudly. The pay was substantially cut to match his credentials, he then refused the job. Why are we going to repeat this dangerous precedent at the local level? The worst form of corruption in government is nepotism, and favoritism if we allow this appointment to occur without a fight the parents and teachers of Milford deserve everything they have coming to them.

The final straw will be if the Board of Alderman pass the bloated school budget as yet another amazing surprise. Suppose we should all be so naive to think that the Mayors new post and the Superintendents demand for new money is somehow not a conflict of interests. This appointment has now marred any sincerity in purpose the Board of Alderman or the Board of Finance has. They are both Republican Controlled and their actions will be viewed as highly suspect. Could it be that the Mayor was offered a $120,000.00 a year job in exchange for passing the bloated school budget? Someone should find out.

TO READ THE OFFICIAL AOL HUFFINGTON POST PATCH PROPAGANDA CLICK HERE

Milfords Budget Showdown Looms

Greg Smith the current Republican board of Alderman Chair has placed the below quote on his Facebook page this week and anyone in Milford who is concerned about taxes going up and up along with everything else is encouraged to attend. Smith said:

"The Board of Aldermen will hold a Public Hearing regarding the 2011-2010 Budget on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7pm in the City Hall Auditorium. This is your chance to be heard and hear what others have to say. I hope to see you there."

The Milford Democrats have posted the following graph (below) on their Democrat Blog. The graph clearly states that the only tax decrease ever realized in Milford was under the leadership of past BOA Chairman Ben Blake. The chart, according to its author states "The Mayor's speechifying aside; the numbers are speaking for themselves. Mayor Richetelli has proposed an average 4.6% annual increase in spending during his tenure."

This years budget, like last years budget marks additional increases that the mayor indicates are required to maintain educational and essential services. The Board of Education last year, closed Simon Lake school and this year taxes are expected to go up again another few hundred dollars per home owner. The bigger problem is the loss of education funds, an estimated 1.5 Million or $7.00 in additional taxes per taxable property.

The Showdown now is on between taxpayers, teachers, and parents. Taxpayers are upset with high tax increases every year, the teachers and city unions are upset with constant requests for concessions and layoff threats, and parents are upset their kids education, along with city services, are in constant decline.

There is not much clarity on where all the money is going and why taxpayers have to pay more every year just so every area of government can be scaled back. This in my opinion is distressing, especially after you look at the above chart and realize that its true we are paying more for less.

Some feel that these problems are symptomatic of a leadership crisis in Milford, that there are abuses of the fiduciary responsibility between taxpayers and their elected leaders. Others blame the unions for being excessive in their demands and off paycheck benefits such as excessive pension contributions, first class health care benefits and office perks negotiated through collective bargaining. 

Some city leaders are squarely placing blame on our elected leaders at the state and federal level. Its their opinion, that they are to blame for not restoring funds to local cities and municipalities. Last month our Mayor Jim Richetelly was up in Hartford protesting the proposed changes to the (MME's) The Chair of Commerce Rep. Jeff Berger spoke about these proposed changes to the Manufacturing Machinery & Equipment reimbursement to municipalities (MME's) in the governor's budget and the potential to affect his and other cities whose budgets rely on these state funds. Rep. Berger has been meeting with colleagues to find alternatives to reduce the impact on local budgets if the proposed cuts are approved.

Milford, like Waterbury, has a very heavy manufacturing base and will be impacted negatively if these funds are lost. Moving forward, if our Democratic Representatives and Senators fail to confront our new governor  the city may have to rely on creative accounting and new ways of procuring tax revenue. This task will be especially difficult in the current down economy where inflation is high, the dollar weak, and public sentiment toward government is at an all time low.

People are fed up with the enigmatic implementation of multiple layers of taxes. The frustration only worsens when people realize those taxes levied upon them are in tandem with a continuing loss of city services. Some have even decried that every year we move a little closer to a community based on "taxation without representation."

While no real significant protests have emerged as of yet in Milford, the Independent party does urge every able citizen to attend the upcoming budget meeting and let them know that this is your town. The budged is not "the budget" the budget is what it needs to be to preserve the integrity of our schools and keep our homes affordable during a period of contraction something the city of Milford continues to struggle with.

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.

Dumb Kids Wistleblower Unwinds The Enigma Of Education

The Below Radio Interview is with Charlotte Iserbyt who reveals how the Federal Government is using an Un-American Globalist Ideology to teach our kids in school. Charlotte, can be revered as the Julius Asange of Education during the Reagan Era. Her leaking of highly classified documents from the Federal Department of Education got her Fired.

Charlotte wrote a book exposing the creation of the elitist agenda to create the "Globalist Child of the Future" obedient to the leaders of the New World Order. Charlotte's website is located at http://deliberatedumbingdown.com/and list every government document she has supporting her positions. Every parent, teacher, and educator with or without a child should visit this website to learn the appalling truth about the unwelcome Federal Intrusion into our local schools and the induced hardships of The No Child Left Behind Act.

Enjoy the Radio Interview.

About Charlotte:

Charlotte Iserbyt is the consummate whistleblower! Iserbyt served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, during the first Reagan Administration, where she first blew the whistle on a major technology initiative which would control curriculum in America's classrooms. Iserbyt is a former school board director in Camden, Maine and was co-founder and research analyst of Guardians of Education for Maine (GEM) from 1978 to 2000. She has also served in the American Red Cross on Guam and Japan during the Korean War, and in the United States Foreign Service in Belgium and in the Republic of South Africa. Iserbyt is a speaker and writer, best known for her 1985 booklet Back to Basics Reform or OBE: Skinnerian International Curriculum and her 1989 pamphlet Soviets in the Classroom: America's Latest Education Fad which covered the details of the U.S.-Soviet and Carnegie-Soviet Education Agreements which remain in effect to this day. She is a freelance writer and has had articles published in Human Events, The Washington Times, The Bangor Daily News, and included in the record of Congressional hearings.


Part 1



Part 2



Part3

Budget Woes Give Many Educators Anxiety

In a scenario likely to be repeated across Connecticut, federal funds that cover the salaries of 30 city teachers will likely not be renewed for the 2011-12 school year, leaving educators scrambling to make up a looming deficit. Milford is only one of scores of school districts in the state that would struggle to make up for the loss of federal stimulus money, which could potentially result in massive teacher layoffs statewide for the 2011-12 school year.

Acting Superintendent R. Michael Cummings Jr. will prepare a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 with the assumption that little, if any, of the $1.5 million will be replaced. "I'm very pessimistic that we'll be getting any of that next year, and that means we'll have 2 percent less than we do now.''

READ FULL STORY AT CTPOST CLICK 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.

Jobless Teachers, Political Recalls, and Frustrated Students and Parents

The times are upon us again, only this year many assumed that the layoff threat would be as it was last year just a threat. Over the last few weeks that proved to be a dangerous assumption and an abject failure of a miscalculation on the part of Milford's teachers union.

This year one school Simon Lake is officially closed and 25 Milford teachers are looking for jobs while seeking unemployment compensation. The city did promise "recall" rights to these teachers, but only if a vacancy occurs whereby a tenured teacher retires. This was already seen when Ms. Elmo retired, because in her words "she wanted to save the job of a younger teacher who needed it more."

For several weeks and months following the educational debates that filled the Jonathan Law auditorium not once but twice supporters of the Simon Lake school pleaded to keep it open just one more year, and the Milford Board of Education was unable to convince the the Board of Finance and the Board of Alderman to restore the funding to the school.

The Libertarian leaning Chairman of the board of Alderman Greg Smith, supported the schools closing citing that the "city could no longer afford it." However some parents disagreed and started a recall process this week against Republican school board member Robert White R3, who said he was unconcerned and a "recall effort is their right" but few are convinced the recall will resolve anything since Milford has never had a successful recall of a board member.

Several parents are out collecting signatures from voters and people who agree with their view that Mr. White did not listen to his constituents and callously disregarded them when they asked for a remedy to the injury of closing a school in his district. The parents of those kids are now trying to collect 675 signatures that Republican Town Clerk Linda Stock will have to verify as legitimate. Once the signature threshold is reached a recall procedure can be initiated and early reports indicate the parents are 3/4 of the way there.

Acting Superintendent of schools, Cummings gave several elaborate presentations to the public defending his plan to reorganize Milford's schools. He promised all the affected parents of the closed school that despite a commuter inconvenience and having their kids go to multiple schools that "their kids education would not suffer."

Several Republican board members in town were satisfied that the closing of Simon Lake School is a "win win" situation whereby kids still get a "Good education" and taxpayers get a "minor" tax increase.

As a former candidate for the school board myself, it is my opinion that the very notion of change during hard economic times, is unpalatable to some parents who will be forced to redo and rethink how they get their kids off to school in the morning. Some are concerned about commuting, class sizes and of course are upset with their child's teacher being let go.

As the tumultuous nature of the Education Outrage Machine goes into full swing in the coming months and years none are less prepared for the nasty changes that will arrive in 2011 than the city government. In 2011 the Milford Board of Education is expected to lose 1.5 Million in Federal funding plus take on an additional routine increase of 3.5 Million in Cost of Living adjustments, health care costs, and contractual raises.

The 2011 Educational budget spells "DISASTER" in 2011 for all parties involved. The alternatives may require additional school closings or large increases in property taxes that may be as high as 5%. Some argued that the solution to this problem will be the construction of a new Green High School that merges Jonathan Law and Foran into a single "Green" energy efficient modern facility.

The construction of a new High School has not been pursued in many decades and most of this work will be funded by the state of Connecticut and the sale of Milford's most energy inefficient crumbling schools. As it stands Mark Stapleton the current Chairman of the Milford Board of Education said "Milford's Schools need $100,000,000.00 in repairs at the moment the current method of implementing this has been a triage system."

Budget Cuts In Education Fills House, Simon Lake On Cutting Block

Last night at 7:00P.M. Acting Superintendent of schools Cummings, put on a public presentation to an auditorium filled with with parents. Usually these events are at city hall, but this year there was so much anxiety over over kids being affected with moves, busing issues, mega schools and the like the event had to be put into the auditorium.

Sadly I arrived a little late, and for the first time in my memory I was told by the Fire Marshall "the auditorium is full you must go upstairs to the overflow area." The overflow area had about 20 people there, and after Mr. Cummings presentation I was able to gain access to the auditorium where Steve filmed some of the highlights of the meeting.

In attendance were all the major media networks, all the local papers and about 1,000 people from our community most of which were teachers, community leaders and parents. The tone of the audience was mostly directed to the Board of Education who was on-stage taking public questions.

The general public balked at the continuous problem of year after year cuts in the school system due to the education budget going up each year. Some parents just wanted stability for their kids and felt the school board was not doing enough to deliver on the promises they made during their campaigns.

Mark Stapleton said "that the Board of Education is at the Mercy of the Board of Alderman and can only work with the money they approve," he directed the audience to "take their concerns to the Board of Finance and the Board of Alderman to have the funds restored."

Under the present budget Mr. Cummings recommended his Fourth proposal that would result in closing Simon Lake School. This notion, or idea irked many kids and parents who said they "loved" their neighborhood school.

Acting Superintendent Cummings assured the audience that despite the closing he would ensure that "AP classes would not suffer.. and overall class sizes for all students would not be significantly affected" but warned that any "further cuts by the board of finance would negatively impact teacher jobs and the quality of education in Milford."

The video below is some of the highlights filmed by Steve Borer of the Milford Independent Party.



Some asked for my thoughts so here they are...

Milford's Budget Deliberations Draw Crowd

This years budget deliberations will begin in earnest and with the voice of the people of Milford who will own up to it and fund the city. City hall was attended by a great deal of city employees last Thursday night. Teachers who are in fear of losing their jobs were all dressed in pink as a show of solidarity and in unison voiced their plea to keep their jobs this year.

Some members of the community, myself included attended the gathering and voiced our opinions at the podium. There was much criticism of the wasteful spending by the Republican administration that has contributed to the job insecurity that our teachers are experiencing.

Aggregate to this years budget woes many people in government and education have automatic raises built in to their contracts. Each year they have the option to forgo those minimal raises to save the jobs of their newer co-workers who have not yet been afforded the protection that tenured teachers enjoy. In essence the raises of the senior teachers and city employees are what dictates the increase in the cost of education. Additionally Health insurance and benefits have also increased contributing to local economic instability.

During these "Great Recessionary times" most newer city employees are fearful of losing their jobs, and many in Milford living on the edge are afraid they will not be able to afford their property taxes in the years to come. The stage is being set for tax increases that will further strain the limited disposable income that is available to Milford's homeowners.

Senator Gayle Slossberg, in a telephone interview made it clear that the state of Connecticut is in "Dire Straits" and that "little to no help" can be expected from Hartford. She said "Milford will have to make do like the rest of the towns in CT who are in the same position... Hartford is looking to get its budget balanced to avoid its own consequences." Gayle did not know how long this recession was going to last, but was optimistic in Milford's ability in being able to solve its own interim problems until she is able to procure more funding from the state.

The event was well attended by the local press, the chairman of all three local political parties were represented and now the time begins to start the difficult process of saving jobs, and keeping property taxes from getting out of control.

The ultimate solution to this ongoing budget saga, according to acting School Superintendent Michael Cummings may be to "revive the idea originally initiated by former Superintendent Firn to merge the two high schools in Milford."

Currently the Milford School system needs $100,000,000.00 in repairs and upgrades, compared to the city abandoning its costliest middle schools in favor of the larger High Schools. Many feel that building a new unified "Green" High School is the answer. The cost of merging the two schools is apx. $60,000,000.00 to the city of Milford. This cost will also accompany an estimated $40,000,000.00 from the state of Connecticut when those funds become available.

The new High School is being looked at with the Burnt Plains lot in mind as the city recently purchased that land. The site is in the vicinity of the YMCA and Platt Tech in Milford.

While this years budget battle is void of any meaningful solutions or good outcomes, the loss of money due to the cruelty of inflation a bad economy and a stagnant grand list is taking its toll on the city.

The emerging consensus is that wisest move is to take a "Long Term" view and begin the difficult process of streamlining education costs on the infrastructure side. The savings potential from a well designed school system will eventually result in higher property values, hence faster growth in the "Grand List", reduced maintenance and energy costs, and a consolidation of redundant services and staff positions.

Mark Stapleton the Chairman of the Board of Education agrees that the idea of "merging the two High Schools is a wise one" and looks forward to beginning the difficult process of studying the reorganizational benefits of the Milford school system.

Video of myself speaking at the podium during the public budget hearing

The Day After The Storm

Fortunately the snow storm in Milford did not drop the expected mass that is mostly on Washington D.C. Milford received about Four Inches of mostly wet snow that is melting in the mid day afternoon weather.

News 12 was spotted last evening in front of Autozone filming traffic and the weather conditions. Kids got their day off from school, and again today a opening delay as the city buses were clearing their windows and preparing their buses for transportation.

The city will return to business as usual this week, and several debates are still ongoing over over the Kimball Report Implementation Team (KRIT), the lack of transparency in that department and the enormous double digit increase in their budget.

The newly created land use Czar has just received a raise to Apx $100,000.00 per year from the original %95,000.00 per year. The Czars are not sitting well with some city board members who are complaining that they are marginalizing, and ignoring the authority of the city boards.

Meanwhile, a $300,000.00 elevator at Pumpkin Delight school awaits approval and two fire departments in the Woodmont section of Milford appear to be paying the price for the city's management mistakes. These mistakes are forcing them to cut costs by consolidating the two departments into a single unit.

This is an ongoing and controversial debate this week, along with several other key issues effecting the Board of Education whose budget proposal has already been approved and is awaiting final approval from the Board of Finance.

The Mayors proposed budget has a 3.95% increase this year and will mark a decade where our city doubled its spending from Apx.95 Million in 1999 to 190 Million in 2009, making the present mayor the most fiscally irresponsible in the city's history if not the entire state. Tom Byrne, a former Republican Town Committee member has become the city's most outspoken critic of the Republican Party and the Mayor's administration.

Milfords Budget Process Begins

The budget for next year begins deliberations this week. Things like the cost of education, infrastructure improvement, employee bonuses and compensation, etc. etc.. all come to fruition in the near future.

Republicans, have indicated they would like to see another budget cut, conservative Democrats and former mayoral candidate Genevieve Salvatore have written to the local paper and asked that we stay vigilant, take part, and speak out during the process.

The Mayor indicated that the "Grand List" will determine whether or not taxes go up down or stay the same. Early indications, however, are not good, and city services were cut many times already.

Senator Gayle Slossberg put city council on notice last month and told Milford lawmakers not to expect money from Hartford. This combined with Employee health insurance, pension payouts, and contractual wage increases, are expected to be the largest obstacles to be overcome. These issues are of vital importance to the stressed out taxpayers of Milford.

The stress I speak of is not just sardonic rhetoric. It is very real and was evident in recent news of a longtime resident who committed suicide in her home. This was alleged to have happened as a result of prolonged difficulty in paying her bills. This was only last month and should be a sobering reminder of how tough things have gotten for some.

Other sad news was about six months earlier, in the NY Times citing our Mayor Richetelli buying cab fare for a Milford mother and her two children who were forcibly evicted from their home. Their only crime was a lack of money and suitable employment to save the life and home they built here.

These incidents do not erase the fact that in Milford Two to Three people a week lose their home to foreclosure. These are real people, our friends, neighbors those with a real connection to this community and in need of sincere help.

The city has resources and can help some of these people. This help can come to Milfords poorest by way of abatement of irresponsible government, predatory loans, and tax breaks. This city does not need $95,000.00 a year Czars, $700.00 desk chairs, $50,000.00 consultants, employee buyouts, etc. etc.

The immorality of ignoring those people with the "hug and cab fare" mentality, is not the humane thing to do. Perhaps we should put our self in their shoes and imagine what it is like to live in a shelter, be out of work and in need of food.

Those arguing this years budget should remember this and more. Remember that we are all members of the same community and it is our responsibility to lend our financial help to those who are of good moral character and sincerely need a hand up, not raise taxes to pay higher wages or waste money.

Time to set greed aside and bring about some new revolutionary ideas that will inspire revolutionary change.

Milford Republicans Sweep Landslide Victory

The Milford Republicans enjoyed a lopsided victory this election. Most onlookers at the Spalthoff Headquarters watched in awe as the numbers for Republicans across scores of towns showed the same ominous result.

This years election appears to be part "deux" of the nationally driven pendulum swing of the Republican and Democrat paradigm. For those who remember "Obamamania" last year it was a stellar victory for anyone with a "D" next to their name this year its an "R."

The election results are rather disconcerting, not because the people got what they voted for or because we rewarded "bad behavior" but because our municipalities appear to be paying a price for what happens on the national level. This years election Results were certainly great news for the Republicans, but I am certain that many of the people who voted, had no idea about how many good people in Milford city councils were lost.

This type of paradigm shift is what got us the Solitaire Playing state representative that the Republican's were so critical of, certainly we hope this is not again the type of leadership borne of this type of "propaganda" or "blind voting" we got this year. Certainly I am expecting enormous mistakes will be made by our new inexperienced leaders and certainly I am expecting conflict and controversy over the unchecked and aggressive policies of the new Richetelli gang.

There was a time I believed that all politics were local, but today I am not so sure the voters of Milford agree with me. This election once again made it clear that Fox News, Glenn Beck and MSNBC are calling the shots in our small city.

While I knew that the voters were upset over the broader national agenda, in no way did I ever believe that a third choice, the Independent Party, or the Democratic Party, (who had great candidates,) would be so unilaterally rejected as viable alternative choices.

Milford's future is certainly going to be challenged, the "faux pas/tromp do lei" economy will soon unravel and taxation/inflation/unemployment is going to climb. The city, state, and the Federal Government are expected to continue in its relentless and aggressive pursuit of funding from the dying middle class.

Many of you used the national agenda as the basis for your local vote, and did so with the hope of change. I am sorry to say that this only allowed your anger over Obama result in the loss of some real Democrat patriots who were great board members looking out for your interests.

Having been to almost every debate, and spent the last several months getting to know all the city candidates in the running, I learned that their is some real new inexperienced leadership who will be serving our mayor and not you. This is not to say that there are'nt any good people in the overall list of elected newcomers, but by no means did Milford elect the "best of the best" or the most competent and talented people. You will soon see this when the Mayor asks for something and his newly elected band of servants "jumps through hoops" for him while injuring you.

"The Richetelli team," as the mayor puts it will be implemented in full force and will have a majority on every city board. The city is now committed to $3,000,000.00 in pay, bonuses, perks, health care, and future benefits to our mayor. The only obsticle now is us the taxpayers and his skill in decieving his followers with the new Republican ideology.

Many people in town love Jim, and have touted his sincerity and charm as a feeling of safety. Now the good people of Milford are nesting in the "mouth of the alligator." Expect higher unemployment from city positions and a systemic attack on our teachers unions, schools and municipal jobs.

My focus over the next few years is going to be an important fight to save the Milford School system from the "Republican Cutting Block." More than ever all those involved in this years elections are going to have to stay active and voice their concerns to our local city councils and our zoning boards if we are to keep this approaching "train wreck" from becoming a local disaster. One thing that the Republican Party and Democratic Party has made clear, is that they stick together and relinquish their authority to their own. However, both sides, never miss an opportunity to increase their pensions, vote themselves raises and improve the quaility of their health care at your cost.

Next time you see someone on the road in need of emergency services and a ten year old ambulance arrives late, is in disrepair, and you later hear that that person died on the way to the hospital, do not forget "who packed their parachute" and pray its not you. Welcome to the new Milford!

No2Dems, Republicans Launch Attack Campaign

Anyone who has been driving around town lately could not help but notice the bright red signs with the words "The Dem's Copped Out" printed across them. The term "Copped out" is referring to police budget cuts alleged by the Republican's.

This is also followed up by a website www.no2dems.com with a detailed description of the the Republican grievance with the Democrats.

As a side note is important to mention that the site is registered to the Milford Republican Town Committee, and its Technical contact is party boss Tom Jagodinski. The Milford police, or its officers, are not responsible for the quality or creation of its content.

Sorting out fact from fiction during the political season can be a bit challenging, because misinformation, blame, stealing credit and bogus exaggerations are what the two party political system has become in town.

This week was no exception, especially when a Republican national icon and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed a third party conservative. Palin did so after she had an epiphany and finally realized that the National Republican and Democratic Parties are essentially the same.

To get to the root of this public safety issue, and to really determine what is real and what is not, lets rewind a bit. Thus far the FBI crime statistics that I printed on this blog show a real decrease in violent crime. However, that decrease is accompanied by an increase in petty crime. Some can allege that this petty crime is theft due to the economy, others could argue that because we fail to secure our belongings that these crimes are really carelessness on the part of the victims but in reality I tend to agree that it is really a bit of both.

Being a former law enforcement person myself, I can honestly say that a reduction of petty theft will not be resolved by more security cameras like the ones that were the topic of "Solitaire Night" at the Republican GOP HQ, or more police officers.

The solution is an educated public, signage, and a public awareness program to remind people to LOCK THEIR CARS if they contain valuables. Common sense should dictate not to leave cameras, cell phones, wallets or purses unattended at restaurants while you wander off. Every time something is lost or stolen, and the police are called, the crime is reported, and the FBI enters those statistics into a database. However, by their own admission this database does not "reflect the quality of life in our community."

So yes, its true petty crime is high, but what does this have to do with police cutbacks? and when did the police cutbacks begin?

To answer this question I can go back to my own recollection of the facts. This started with Peter Spalthoff's press release. It is also important to mention that Peter was a former Trumbull police officer as well as this years Independent candidate for Mayor.

Peter hosted a poll on his website that favored not having police officer positions eliminated, and he also put out a press release on 5/25/2009 warning Ben Blake the Democratic leader of the Board of alderman to respect the wishes of Chief Mello and not cut the police budget or eliminate police officers.

About two months later Brian McReady published this article clearly reiterating the Board of Alderman's involvement in the police cuts, as well as Jim Richetelli working with the Alderman to make cuts, and negotiate police contracts to save the city money. One of those positions cut by this process was the downtown bike patrol.

Richard Smith the Chairman of the Democratic party, recently said that "Three vacant positions are still on the books and unfilled." This was also verified by the McReady article and then again by Chief Mello who said "the money is there and it will take time to get properly trained officers who have cleared their background checks into those vacant positions."

What becomes clear here, is that one Officer was "temporarily eliminated" that officer was a "bike patrol officer" who certainly will not be riding his bike this winter in the snow. Also it is true that we have the same amount of police officers as we did a decade ago, but crime has also decreased and by admission of Chief Mello the response times to serious crimes have "not been jeopardized." He did admit that if you are a the victim of a "petty crime you may have to wait a little longer."

This entire debacle by the Republicans to instill "Fear" in our citizens appears to be a rude political ploy to win votes. As peter Spalthoff said "this is not meant to be a "the sky is falling" hysterical warning" but unfortunately and much to the discredit of the Republican Party they have turned it just into that a political ploy to paint a weak face on the Democrats.

The Milford Police are doing a fine job with the resources they have and certainly are not being made weak. From the above mentioned articles it should be clear that both parties, and the Mayor's contract negotiations are the only things currently impacting the police department.

The simple conclusion to this post is that the entire "The Dems Copped Out" campaign is a baseless scare tactic, hopefully Milford's citizens have more faith in our police officers abilities than the Republicans do.

Richetelli Budget Cuts Nix Milford Bike Patrol

There are three fewer police officers patroling the city since the fiscal year began July 1, and Police Chief Keith Mello says it’s beginning to have a tangible effect.

The Board of Aldermen voted to eliminate an officer position from the budget, saving $52,000, and the police union was the only municipal bargaining unit to not accept a wage freeze as part of a new contract, resulting in two positions not being filled this year.

“Being down three positions, there has to be a reduction in some areas,” Mello said.

One popular program being “temporarily discontinued” is the downtown bike patrol, he said.

On weekdays, an officer on a bicycle was downtown to help with pedestrian safety, traffic enforcement and to provide high visibility for businesses.

Mello said the officer also helped provide enhanced safety for the thousands of residents using the train station.

Mello stressed there is still coverage downtown being provided by regular police patrols.

The bike patrol was instituted several years ago at the request of downtown business leaders, who wanted more police presence.

This past year, the downtown officer has written 10,000 tickets, the chief said.

Mello also said this year there may be a marginal increase in the response time for “low-priority calls,” but “high-priority calls will still receive immediate and appropriate response.”

Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. said there are three vacancies in the Police Department, but two of those positions could be filled at any time if the police union agrees to a new two-year contract, which would include a no-wage increase this year, and a 2 percent increase in the second year.

Seven other municipal unions agreed to a similar deal, saving the city about $700,000.

Richetelli said talks between the police union and the city are in the “beginning stages.”

The mayor said he has been in talks with Mello to ensure the three vacant positions will not hurt on public safety.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Brian McCready

Peter Spalthoff Advocates "Fiscal Responsibility"

While I am not in favor of many of the cuts that the Aldermen have made on the recently passed “election year budget”, I am very much in agreement with, and applaud, Chairman Blake for his position on reconsidering the use of our favorable bond rating for the work required to be done at Jonathan Law High School. It is public knowledge that the work has to be done, and for Mayor to say that “it is not the right time” I believe he is doing a disservice to Milford. This is the perfect time to take advantage of the positive lending environment that presently exists for Milford and the work should not be put off until after the election.

As Chairman Blake noted, the City has one of the most favorable bond ratings in the State. If that is true, then why not take advantage of it? Why wait until after the elections are over when the costs WILL be greater and the rates WILL undoubtedly be higher than they are today? Using our good bond rating, lower interest rates, and a lower project cost than previously proposed, is a sensible and responsible thing to be doing at this time. This would represent good planning for the future and good management of the City’s resources.

Many are aware that Milford retired some very high interest rate bonds this past year and to replace them with the lower rates that are available now makes good financial sense and epitomizes sound fiscal management. The Mayor’s insistence that bonding would send the “wrong message” could not be any further from the reality of what is needed for our community.

What has sent the wrong message was Mayor Richetelli’s request for a raise in the later part of 2008 knowing all the while he was going to be asking the unions to freeze their pay. Fortunately, the Aldermen rejected his pay raise request.
What has sent the wrong message was Mayor Richetelli’s spending $48,000.00 for a review of the Building Department procedures and practices.
What has sent the wrong message was Mayor Richetelli’s handling of the Cadley property sale.

And certainly, what has sent the wrong message, was Mayor Richetelli’s 3 step “election year budget” proposal that is comprised of: (1) transferring over 2 1/2 million from rainy day and other accounts. What happens next year if the economy is still sluggish and we need to move money again from accounts to balance the budget? (2) Having the unions freeze their pay this year saving the City $850,000.00. What happens next year when we have already guaranteed the unions an increase that will cost us that same $850,000.00, plus a “no lay off guarantee”? And finally, (3) he proposes selling a piece of City property for $225,000.00. Why not hold on to it until the market recovers and the value increases?

These three items will have to be factored back into the budget for next year and will inevitably create a tax increase for everyone.

Although all of our neighbors would appreciate and could use the proposed $150.00 savings in their taxes next year, I think they would appreciate hearing an assurance from the Mayor that next years budget will not swallow this tax saving and much, much more due to his reactionary fiscal policies.

Unfortunately, this situation is a result of poor fiscal management, which Milfordites are subject to every time an election year comes our way. The City’s budget should not be a “play thing” to be used for votes; it should be the backbone of the City and provide for all of us every year. It should not be a test of who can cut more from the budget, the Democrats or the Republicans. We deserve better and should demand more from our elected officials.

Peter L. Spalthoff Independent Party candidate for Mayor