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.

Dr. Mertens, Vows To Fight Media Bias Toward Independents

I wanted to share a story about this: the two media outlets that deliberately and premeditatedly excluded any mention of Tom Marsh’s participation in the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities debate on October 6 in their coverage were the Hartford Courant and Channel 8, the ABC affiliate.

Here’s the print story that ran in the Courant on Oct 7:

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-ccm-gov-candidates-1007-20101006,0,195356.story

Channel 8 set up cameras at the debate so that they could carefully shoot it without ever having Tom in any shot, and during their TV coverage, they never mentioned that Tom participated (despite the fact that I’ve heard from attendees that Tom won the debate).

These facts have made me more angry at the media than any of the rest of their actions this year. So, here’s my story: I was at an event on Saturday that included a presentation by the news director of Channel 8. It was a one hour interactive presentation and discussion of news and media coverage. Half way through he started talking about the importance of trust in media. I interrupted, and told the story of what Channel 8 did. This resulted in a passionate discussion for the remaining 30 minutes about ethics in journalism. The news director defended Channel 8 strongly at first, but the crowd beat him down. At the end of the session, the news director told me that he would investigate, and “if we blew it, I’ll be as upset as you are.” We’ll see about that.

I’ve been talking about this at every campaign event since: the fact that Tom Marsh has essentially been invited to every debate EXCEPT the televised debates, and that many of the major media outlets have made a point of not mentioning his participation in those he’s been invited to, has caused audible gasps in the audiences. We need to hammer this beyond the election. I’m planning op-ed pieces to all CT newspapers (they won’t print op-eds from candidates, so I have to wait until after Nov. 2), detailing what has happened, and I encourage others to do the same. Mike Telesca and I have discussed the possibility of a lawsuit as well, to raise awareness. This is our biggest problem; the media is complicit in the degradation of our democracy, and we need to fight to repair it, beyond November!

Best,

Dr. John Mertens
Professor of Engineering, Trinity College

League of Women Voters Cancels Debates Chester Marsh Miffed

League of Women Voters Cancels Debates The League of Women Voters notified the Marsh campaign on Wednesday that they have canceled their 3 planned gubernatorial debates. When at least one of the major candidates declined to participate The League canceled.”This is an unfortunate development for Connecticut’s electorate” says Marsh. Marsh has been invited to participate in 11 debates and forums (now 8) around the state though he is excluded from two of the major televised debates.”My exclusion was prompted by the major party candidates’ refusal to share the televised stage, and the media sponsors caved to their demand. If I am off base, then I encourage both Mr. Malloy and Mr. Foley to publically request my inclusion. If that happens I will apologize for my assertions.

Tom believes that the focus on money, over message, has resulted in several of the major party candidates being weak debaters. Marsh contends “if you have the cash it is easier to lob 30 second grenades at your opponent on radio and TV than debate the issues.” The knock against me is that I don’t have the funding. “A Lack of money is different than a lack of message, and that makes me problematic in a debate”.

Marsh does understand the reality of politics and minor party exclusion is nothing new. Campaign strategy focuses on winning and if it is not in a candidate’s best interest to debate then other tools are used. “We saw however, what happened to Ned Lamont when he refused to debate” Marsh notes.

Finally, to Malloy’s credit, Marsh points out “Dan seems to be willing to participate in the non-televised debates and forums that I am included in. “For example we are both scheduled to participate in the ConnCAN forum on education this coming Monday in Middletown. As far as I know Foley has not responded”. Perhaps the Republicans let the wrong Tom get away.

Tom Marsh Vies For Inclusion In Gubernatorial Debates

He won a spot on the ballot by gathering 11,000 signatures, but should Independent gubernatorial candidate, Tom Marsh be included in the debates?

Marsh, the first selectman of Chester who initially entered the race as a Republican and later changed his affiliation, said he’s currently speaking to debate organizers to make sure he’s included.

“I’ve been vetted. I’ve been through the process. I should be there,” Marsh said Thursday.

To continue reading Christine Stuart Story
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Milford's Grand List Grows By One Percent

The grand list, or the value of everything taxable in Milford has grown by One Percent. I suppose Mayor Richetelli is correct that this is great news, but I also suppose the impact of it is for you to decide.

To put this into perspective Milford will get an additional 1.5 Million in revenue to offset your tax bill this year. Most of this increase is from the Devon Power station, and improvements not to the city's belabored real estate values, but rather accredited to heavy industry moving into our city.

The funds collected for our towns budget, is usually in excess of 150 Million. However, just in education alone we spend over 100 Million of that money. To make matters more challenging our schools need an additional 100 million in improvements.

Add inflation, unemployment, increased taxation, and a wasteful government and the picture becomes clearer as to why 1.5 Million is the equivalent of a cup of coffee in the schema of of Republican spend thrift politics.

This issue was best described by Thomas Beirne, a former Republican now shunned for daring to challenge the liberalism in the Republican Party. Byrne a former RTC member, wrote the following letter to the Ct Post challenging his party to be more conservative.

Beirne States:

The chairman of the Milford Republican town committee was quoted as saying I had “betrayed” the MRTC when in fact it is the MRTC that has betrayed the basic principle of the Republican Party, fiscal responsibility. In the past 10 years during which the mayor’s office was held by a Republican, the taxes we all pay went from $94.7 million in 1999 to $142.9 million in 2009. Our tax burden increased by $48 million, a 51 percent increase. This increase was needed to pay for the spending increase which went from $114.1 million in 1999 to $172.8 million in 2009. Spending increased by $59 million, a 51 percent increase.

What does the future hold for us? Check out the June 30, 2009, financials (www. ci.milford.ct.us).

Net assets for governmental activities decreased by 4.9 percent ($141.3 million to $148.6 million). Governmental funds had a combined deficit fund balance of $19.8 million, which is larger than last year’s deficit of $12.9 million.

What do all these numbers mean? Answer: Milford is spending our money faster than they can take it from us.

Some thoughts, to consider this budget season when addressing the city's needs vs. wants and why you are struggling to pay the tax on your home. We get the government you vote for and sadly the mayor wants to raise your taxes again.

Debates And Forums Coming To Milford

If you are UNDECIDED, then please consider attending one of our upcoming Public Forums.

With the changing economy, and new and challenging issues continuing to impact the lives and futures of so many individuals from all walks of life, the future leaders of Connecticut will soon be empowered to fulfill their public obligations to us all.

The General public is cordially invited to attend the following pre-election community forums. Small Businesses, Seniors, Veterans, City officials, and all persons with a vested interest in the good governance of our great city are encouraged to attend.

Citizens of Milford, and the general public, will be afforded a unique opportunity to ask each of the three party candidates to address current events as well as share public or personal concerns.

Bring your friends, your relatives, and anyone who has a vested interest in the future of Milford. Rocco Frank believes that an informed public is our best defense against the injustices that people may feel.

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10.24.08 Smart Growth Candidate Forum at St. Gabriel's Come see and hear the candidates discuss Smart Growth. This event will be an open forum with a moderator/volunteer to be announced. Expected in attendance will be all candidates from the, the 118Th House Districts. The event will kick off at 7:00 P.M. in the school gym.:

10.22.08 Candidate Forum at St. Mary School Come see and hear the candidates discuss the issues in town. This event will be an open forum with a moderator/volunteer from the church. Expected in attendance will be candidates from the 12th Senatorial District, the 117Th 118Th and 119Th House Districts. This event will commence at 7:30 P.M.:

10.21.08 Candidate Forum at Plymouth Men's Club This Event is at 34 West Main Street Milford, CT 06460. They can be reached at 877-4277. The event will be a question and answer forum with dinner served. Cost of dinner tickets is $10.00 Per Person. Event kick off is on a Tuesday. Dinner served at 7:00P.M. Forum begins at 8:00P.M.

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