Remembering The Broken Promises of 2009

After watching this video and carefully examining the state of the city it should be clear that we have been lied to time again. Hopefully the voters this year will not get fooled again!

Milford's Grand List Plummeting Fast

Reading the local paper I am always astounded to hear the upbeat projections and the very positive rhetoric coming out of City Hall. Seems that our leaders are more concerned with their public "image" and their public "perception" rather than what is good for the public. This may be our fault, because the truth can be very unpleasant and it’s better to pretend that our town is that amazing place where miracles happen.

Perhaps this is most true when we continue to just want to believe that we can thrive and adapt in the wake of our adversaries. So many fail to believe that our perceptibly honest leaders would ever treat the public "trust" like the public "trough" that aside I am going to share with you some enlightening research for you to think about.

This blog today is going to address the issue of our "Grand List" and the value of all our homes and real estate. I have compiled two reliable sources from data I obtained through the Connecticut Economic Resource Center and Trulia. The chart below represent the 2006 CERC and 2011 CERC for Milford Ct. The line item I wish for you to focus on is highlighted in yellow. Remarkably, you should notice it shows a 2006 decline in the Net Grand list of 2.79 Billion dollars. This number is very important because it contradicts everything you were told over those years by our elected city officials. (Double click photo to enlarge)

This means that the value of all properties in Milford declined apx. 25% in one year. But in all fairness and to those "nay sayers" who could potentially argue this information is old, let’s take a look at how things are faring today or most notably the 2011 YOY. Since CERC has not published any data (I know of) for 2010 I collected data from TRULIA a trusted Real Estate website used by licensed Realtors to track market trends.



The above TRULIA graph paints a chilling picture of our Community. Someone once told me "follow the money, follow the people and then you will get the truth." What do you see?

What I see is that the graph does not lie; it shows that Milford is entering the second leg of the Great Recession. Larger Three and Four Bedroom homes are being "fire sold" for smaller more affordable One Bed Room homes. The demand for these small homes will continue to place strong upward pressure on the local Mill Rate, of which determines how much property tax a homeowner must pay the city in exchange for our individual property rights.

Moving forward, the city of Milford is going to be faced with stiff challenges. This is because we are a very old city, and for a great many years large portions of our infrastructure has been aging. Future large capital projects will require ever increasing Mill-Rates on homes that continue to lose value as a result of external and internal economic forces.

While our new leaders for Mayor are emerging and we are already hearing Wal-Mart style catch phrases like "More for Less" the stark reality is that the public is being duped yet again. This is because our city leaders are in no position to make such irresponsible promises. (Especially a promise that mathematically cannot be kept.) The city is in such disarray that future trends will require higher taxes just to keep up with public pension obligations, rising health care costs, and legal compliance. Unlike a large discount department store Milford cannot file for Bankruptcy and restructure all its collective bargaining contracts. This makes a "More for Less" promise little more than a typical catch phrase like "No New Taxes" or "Hope and Change."

What we need is the truth and the clarification and acknowledgment that essential issues are going to be dealt with as a condition to ones electability. The founders were concerned that "Catch Phrases" would catch and trap people who will later feel a deep sense of betrayal. This, along with the consent of the governed, is the greatest danger any elected official has to face.

There are currently Three big "Issues" on our books that our announced candidates for Mayor either have "No idea about" or do know about and just would rather "ignore." Whatever the reason, it is our responsibility as the electorate to "blow the whistle" on corruption and stand in solidarity in order to support any individuals who are fearful of telling the "Truth." It is therefore our responsibility as voters and citizens of Milford to demand answers to the following dismissals of the following concerns as arbitrary or unimportant.

The three big "Issues" are as follows.

A: The grand List is not healthy and is actually eroding at an Alarming Rate.

B: The City Bond Debt is grossly misrepresented and future borrowing is severely compromised.

C: Negative income properties (I.E. 501C3'S & Non taxpaying municipal properties) are seeing a revival in Milford.

To elaborate on this last point it is important to mention that the Shriner's lodge on Wheelers Farms Rd. was recently sold to a Church. This translates to a revenue loss to the city due to the fact that Churches pay ZERO property taxes. As poverty spreads, and the commercial Real Estate market begins to crash as we are now seeing in Milford, churches find it affordable to expand their ministries into distressed properties. Milford might want to consider something other than ZERO.

The largest Negative income property we have in Milford is Kingdom Life Church, and if I may give the Richetelli administration credit for one monumental achievement it was the land deal at the old Jai- Alai property. Kingdom Life sought the purchase of that property for a Mega Church and had they achieved their goal Milford would have lost substantial tax revenue with an increased demand for city services. 

However, the threat from negative income properties does not end with just churches and municipal buildings it is a complex, yet simple, two tiered attack on our community. The first being the deployment of new Municipal and Parochial zero tax entities, the other over development of cheap child friendly dwellings both consume more city dollars than they produce. The responsibility of a well governed city is to maintain a sustainable community with a resonant harmony of taxable properties.

The stellar decline of three and Four Bedroom homes is terrible news for Milford. These homes will now be on the "radar screens" of families shopping for a better place to educate their kids. When a choice has to be made on where to relocate, cheap family housing in conjunction with quality education is a recipe for disaster. If a moratorium on and Three and Four Bedroom houses is not implemented soon Milford's educational system will have years of unmanageable financial problems combined with debt service to our maxed out credit card. The final missing ingredient of cheap family friendly housing is a "Red Alert" issue that must be addressed now if we are to preserve the financial integrity of our community.

The next few years will undoubtedly be marked by the usual rhetoric of political posturing, and pacifying. As times change it is no longer enough to say you "love your community" you were "Born and raised in Milford" or "I was involved in the city," what is required is the "Truth" marked with a clear "Purpose" built on a foundation of solid social engineering to re-balance all those essential ratio's that position our community against our true enemy the Federal Government/Federal Reserve and its tandem community destroying policies of Inflation unfunded mandates and oppressive taxes.

To ignore the "telltale" warning signs of a possible Federal disaster is irresponsible for any incoming Mayor. I would beg, on behalf of and for the sake of every person in our community that we make the tough choices now. Milford needs not another Mayoral pageant but rather a brilliant leader who is not afraid to socially engineer our city through clear and concise leadership. We need a dynamic individual who will master Game Theory by virtue of the truth. If we do not win over the "hearts and minds" of the people who live here in our beloved town than I fear that our continued position of weakness will be prevail. As we move forward, only the strong will survive, the weak will perish and be absorbed into other towns as was the tragedy of Maywood California. Let us learn from that lesson and let us build unity by electing honest leaders.

Environmental Concerns Coalition Hosts Mayoral Debate

Milford's local recycling group, The Environmental Concerns Coalition, will be hosting a Mayoral debate this evening at 6:00 P.M. The meeting will be held at the Milford Library located at 57 New Haven Ave. For anyone who wishes to call for directions their telephone number is (203) 783-3304.

The debate will arrive on the news that Milford's statewide recycling record is purported to be the worst in the state of Connecticut. The ECC set out some years ago to try and bring reform to our city and introduce innovative programs like single stream recycling to our community.

Currently Milford recycles about 6% of its renewable waste as compared to other towns that recycle as much as 35%. Milford is also met with environmental challenges from our current contractors such as RESCO, and Recycling Inc.

Recycling Inc. currently had Zoning and Planning deny their application to expand their recycling facility on Oronoque Road. Their permit became the subject of controversy when Recycling Inc. intended to import renewable waste by barge, train, truck along the Housatonic River.

Local residents in the area especially those living at Caswell Cove objected to the hardship the added commercial traffic would bring through their neighborhood. Caswell Cove residents also saw their taxes double in recent years and are already having difficulty maintaining their property values.

Residents in the area said "We have a power plant to our right, a sewage treatment center to our left, high voltage power lines over our heads and freight trains that produce seismic tremors in our homes behind us. But the tax assessor says we are Direct waterfront and that is true we have a beautiful view on one side, however expansion of a recycling facility may be the ad-infinitum to this development it would just firm up the belief that there is no place for homes in the middle of heavy industry. I am looking forward to this debate this evening to see where we end up on renewable waste management."

The ECC also runs an environmental Blog, with public events and activities, it can be accessed by clicking HERE. The main ECC website can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Take Our Mayoral Election Poll

In the box located on the top right corner of this page you will find a poll bearing the names of all four candidates for Mayor in Milford CT. Take the time to place your vote in the box. The more people who vote the more likely we will get an accurate feeling of who is going to win this November 3rd.

The poll will be active right up until election day. If you do not live in Milford but know someone who does, ask them who they think the best candidate is and vote on their behalf. You can only place one vote per IP address, so please vote honestly and encourage your family and friends to do the same.

The purpose of this poll is to come up with an accurate way of predicting election outcomes, and coming up with margin of errors. If we can make it work it will be used again in the state election for our local Milford representatives. Thanks for voting in advance.

To find your polling location in Milford, CT refer to the bottom of this page for the new innovative gadget that tells you where to go and vote. Or you may just click HERE.

Ken De Ruoy Shares His Comments Post Mayoral Debate

Last night I attended the Milford Mayoral Debate just like many residents.

I went in with no predetermination since ultimately I am a Milfordite first and foremost, above any political affiliation.

I believe Chaucer is a decent man, but his 1 or 2 issue platform and obvious lack of knowledge about important issues had me embarrassed for him. By now, he must’ve realized that his candidacy was not a good idea.

Sorry to say it, but Salvatore lost me when she criticized EVERY city employee for doing lousy job. That was arrogant and callous. She also sounded contrived and rehearsed, and lacked feeling for what she was saying.

Even more sad was “my boy” Richetelli. His time has come and gone. Rehearsed and obviously scared of attacks, he opened by subliminally explaining (i.e. apologizing for) his addiction-caused hiatus, and ended explaining (i.e. apologizing for) his ignorance concerning the historic Cadley House destruction. In between, he blamed red-tape for failing the city when it needed a leader (i.e. Building Department reform), and failing to affirmatively lead on practically everything else.

Lastly, I saw a man with a vision and passion. Peter Spalthoff spoke on the issues with knowledge and common-sense. He was unrehearsed, upstanding and his love for Milford shone through. I admire what this man represents and what he will do for Milford . May God grant us the common-sense to vote him in as mayor, so that we have the right person in charge of our city and our future.

Kenneth De Ruoy
Milford

***************************************

Letters to the editor can be submitted by anyone and will be published subject to some simple rules: Letters must be 500 words or less, well written, and not contain expletives or advertisements, your name, address, and phone number must be included. Letters may be edited that are too long, and published at the discretion of the editor and relevance to our community issues.