Middletown Common Council Recognizes Accomplishments/Service

Photo by Bill Boylan

At last Monday's meeting of the Middletown Common Council, former councilmen David Bauer and Hope Kasper were recognized for their past commitment to public service.  Also recognized, was Middletown Tigers Youth Football League team.

David Bauer, Candidate Photo

Former councilman David Bauer, one of the most active and dedicated persons to ever serve on the Common Council, failed to win reelection.  During his four terms in office, Bower served on the Finance and Government Operations Commission, the Public Works Commission (which conducted the first study in years of city parks, trails and open spaces), Water Polliution Control Authority (where he and councilman Hope Kasper worked to promote water and sewer options for the Middle Street area), the Mattabassett District Board and several other committees.

Outside of his council duties, David hosts a radio show Mondays on WESU featuring matters of public interest that affect greater Middletown.  He also hosts a show on Comcast Cable Television Channel 15.  He is an amateur photographer and has shown his photographs at the Buttonwood Tree.

On behalf of the Mayor and the Council, Councilmen Thomas J. Serra and Sebastian

Giuliano presented Bauer with the following resolution:

A message from Council Candidate: Jon Pulino

Jon Pulino (R) for Common Council

(R) Jon Pulino Candidate for Common Council

I currently serve as Chairman of the Northern Comcast Cable Advisory Board, The Zoning Board of Appeals and the Board of Assessment of Appeals in my hometown of Middletown. As an elected and appointed official, I take my jobs extremely seriously and diligently in order to get the work done for the people-as it they who I am working for. This local pride and work ethic began many years ago when my grandparents came from Rosalini, Sicily in 1951, it was this local responsibility that stuck with me and has carried over to my career as a public school teacher and as an elected official.  As the chairman of the Northern Comcast Cable Advisory Board, I worked with the board’s members to create a scholarship for high school kids in memory Justin Hinds, a local student that died of cancer.  As a member of The Board of Assessment Appeals, I attended over 300-tax appeal hearings in two years, while voting in favor of taxpayers whom I felt were being overtaxed by the government.  The point is that when I am asked to take a role in local government, I do it with pride and integrity as I realize that I am here for the people and nothing else.

Visit my facebook page: JonPulino4Council

For more information on Middletown Republican candidates visit www.middletownctgop.com

Candidate Bio: Linda Salafia (R) for Common Council & Board of Education

Linda Salafia (R) Common Council & Board of Edication

Candidate Bio: Linda Salafia (R) for Common Council & Board of Education

I am running for election to the Common Council and to the Board of Education.  I previously sat on the Common Council where I worked tirelessly to bring financial stability to our City.  I come from a public school background; both of my parents at one time or other taught school in Portland.  I attended public school in Portland and graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.S. in Elementary Education plus I have a certificate from Morse School of Business in accounting. I have spent most of my working career in downtown Middletown and have lived here for the last 35 plus years.  I started working in the Tax Collector’s Office in 1987 and retired as the Payroll Supervisor in 2012 after 25 years of service.

 During my employment with the City, I worked in various positions in the Finance office and took several courses relevant to those positions.  I was active in the employees’ union, AFSCME Local 466, and participating in several contract negotiations.  At my retirement, I was Vice President of the Local.  I am married to Tom and our daughter, Molly, who attended Middletown Public Schools, is running for re-election the Planning and Zoning Commission.

I look forward to serving the citizens of Middletown again.  I deeply care about the safety, wellbeing, education, economic vitality, and financial stability of the residents of our city.

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I was born in Biddeford, Maine, but grew up in Portland, CT in where my dad taught in the Portland Public School.

I am a graduate of Portland High School and of the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont where I earned a B.S. in education, elementary with a concentration in math.  I’ve also earned a Certificate in Accounting from the Morse School of Business

I’ve worked at local businesses since high school, including Wannerstrom’s in Portland, Mallove’s Jewelers in Middletown, the Institute of Living in Hartford as a Psychiatric Aide, as Bookkeeper for Insurance and Real Estate Center, Inc in Middletown.  I’ve worked for the City of Middletown in the Tax Collector’s and Purchasing Offices.  I’m retired from the City of Middletown, where I was the Payroll/Pension Supervisor in the Finance Office. In my retirement, I have become a small business owner; I started Traditions + Treasures Gift Shop a unique craft and gift line currently located at the Ivoryton Inn's Gift Shop in Essex.

Memberships:

AFSCME Local 466 member for over 25 years, 10 years as an officer, including Vice President

FCRV (Family Campers & RVer’s), since 1993 and past Secretary

Polish Falcons

Middletown Kiwanis current member
Learn more on facebook page: Vote Salafia Women

More info on Middletown Republican candidates can be found at www.middletownctgop.com 

(Accepting ALL Candidate Bios! See format info here!) 

Middletown GOP Chair to Mayor Drew: Obey the Law Fill Committee Seats

It isn't for lack of willing citizens that's behind unfilled city committees.  Local Middletown Republican Town Committee Chairman Ken McClellan recently sent a letter to Mayor Dan Drew and copied to media outlining the mayor's lack of attention to state statute in filling empty committee seats in a timely manner and with legally required balances of majority and minority political party representation. McClellan states he tried to work with the Mayor's aide Joe Samolis and City Treasurer Quentin Phipps to get the matter resolved on several occasions. to with no results. McClellan also describes instances where individuals were encouraged to change political parties to fill seats. These instances, McClellan points out, Mayor Drew acted immediately to put that individual on a committee.  (That's some dirty sh*t.) As McClellan points out, this puts any decisions by committees in violation in jeopardy of not being legal; and lawsuits for the city costs us the taxpayers money! Didn't Drew campaign on ending lawsuits?

 McClellan does the job that the Council Clerk ought to be doing outlining which committees are in violation.  Marie Norwood, Council Clerk, a position that was upgraded to over $90K a year in salary, is on the Technology Committee and in charge of keeping council meeting minutes & therefore up to date records of committee appointments as made by the Mayor and approved by the Common Council. These should be made available on the city's website. The City website operates on circular logic with no conclusions. The city site has links to committee lists under the "Community Involvement", however; no lists are attached, only outdated meeting minutes for some of the committees.

What's with all the sloppy practices?  As mayor, Drew also set forth an official rule that all committees were to meet after 7 pm so that members of the working public could better attend. Many committees, such as Design Review & Historic Preservation (DRHP) meet much earlier in the day violating the decree. Harbor Review hasn't met in months, despite recent attention to riverfront redevelopment. Redevelopment Agency & the Riverfront Redevelopment Committee have taken several months of hiatus for unknown reasons, much to the disadvantage of the public. Here is a link to the yearly meeting schedule of the Riverfront Comm. which basically says it will meet when "needed" which from the looks of it means never. DRHP and others are permitted to operate outside of Robert's rules, issue rulings without legal quorums, and don't keep accurate meeting minutes. Speaking of representation, Mayor Drew often names committees "task forces" to attempt to thwart the state statutes of minority representation- 'ala the Task Force on Government Efficiency. Try getting meeting minutes, schedules or agenda's from the City's website and one will find many committee's minutes are several YEARS out of date.  Despite the progress to decommission the City sewage plant and allow new development of the riverfront, the Riverfront Comm., according to the city website last met in May 2014- almost a year ago. As McClellan points out, the last minutes for Redevelopment Agency are from 2011! Who knows what meets when or what goes on! 

Unfortunately this thwarting of the law is nothing new.  McClellan has been attempting since 2013 to get accurate committee lists directly from city hall and he hasn't been the only one . Also, in a 2013 via an official FOI request filed with the Town Clerk MRTC Vice Chair William Wilson tried to obtain list of vacant committee seats & active members from Norwood whom indicated to Wilson the lists of committee members could not be provided because they "did not exist." Wilson's FOI letter can be read here.

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Middletown Republican Town Committee

PO Box 1121

Middletown, CT 06457

March 30, 2015

Mayor Daniel Drew

City of Middletown

245 DeKoven Drive

Middletown, CT 06457

Subject:  Board and Commission Appointments

Many appointed commissions are out of date or out of balance without the representation required by the state statute.

This non-compliance means that some commissions are not properly constituted, and opens any decisions rendered by those commission to challenges.  In the case of Inland Wetland Commission, whose decisions have a financial impact on home owners, businesses and developers, it opens the possibility of lawsuits challenging decisions.

Since February of 2013, I have tried repeatedly to get a current list of appointments, and to work with Mayor Drew to ensure that all boards and commissions are properly and fully staffed.  Mayor Drew, on various occasions you asked me to work with Joe Samolis and the City Treasurer, Quentin Phipps, to bring the list up to date, and to receive recommendations on minority party appointments.  Neither has responded to my requests for information, and the mayor has acted extremely slowly on the recommendations that I have made.  You did, however, act quickly when an individual, after a lifetime as a registered Democrat, changed party affiliation to Independent, and was appointed to a minority seat on a commission within 2 weeks.  While possibly legal to appoint someone that quickly after a change in party affiliation, it definitely violates the spirit of minority party representation required by the state statute.

The ‘current’ appointment list published by the city does not match the member lists published for various commissions or the city website.  Neither list matches the members listed in Meeting Minutes published by the various committees.  So it is not possible to know who the members are, what political party they represent, or what actual vacancies exist, in order to make nominations to fill those vacancies.  It makes it difficult to determine if the individuals attending meetings and voting on issues were properly appointed.

The Inland Wetland is an example.  The current composition of the commission, according to the city website, is:

Joe Carta  (Dem)

Robert E. Whitney Jr.  (Dem)

Hector Bartoli (Dem)

Fred J. Terrasi (Rep)

Trevor H. Davis Jr. (Dem)

David Pritchard (Dem)  (Listed as Republican on official appointment list.)

Daniel Paul Pelletier (Rep)

Paul Henry Turenne (Dem)

Member – Vacant

Member – Vacant

Alternate – Jack Pieper (Dem)

Alternate – Gabriel Russo (Dem)

Alternate – Vacant

Alternate – Vacant

Alternate – Vacant

David Pritchard is listed as a Republican on the list of members, however, the David Pritchard on the committee is a registered Democrat.  His son, of the same name and address is registered as a Republican.  If this is a mistake on the part of the Mayor, it is certainly a careless error.  The result of this error is that, with two vacant seats, and both Alternates being Democrats, the commission has a de facto 8 to 2 membership, even though the state statute requires 1/3 membership be non-majority party, which would be 4 members.  As such, this commission is currently not legally constituted under the state statute, and any decisions rendered are subject to challenge.  

Redevelopment Agency:   Joseph Tine is currently listed as a member, on the city web-site, although he passed away last year.  The most recent published minutes available on the website for the Redevelopment Agency are from May 2011.

Conservation Commission

The member list in the meeting minutes do not match the members listed on the city website, and does not match the report I received from the council clerk.

Website Members	March 15 Meeting Minute Members
Kate Miller(Chair) (D) Sheila Stoane(Vice-Chair) (U, Former D) Liv Baker Jane Brawerman (D) Ellen Lukens (I) Steven Ladd (D) Lee Sawyer Jonathan Morris Joan Liska (I) Diane McGrath Vacancy David O'Brien (alternate) (D) Vacancy(alternate) Vacancy (alternate)	Chairperson Kate Miller (19) Vice-Chair  Jonathan Morris (17) Shelia Stoane (16) Diane McGrath (17) Steven Ladd (16) Jane Brawerman (19) Joan Liska (20) Lee Sawyer(17) Liv Baker (16) Eric Mosher (15) Ellen Lukens (17) Alternate: Michael Singer (16) Alternate: David O’Brien (19) Alternate: Vacancy (16)

Eric Mosher is listed as a member whose term expires this year, but he’s not listed on the website member list.  Michael Singer is listed in the minutes as attending meetings, but is not listed in the City website as an appointed member.  Are these two legally  members or not?

In addition, Shelia Stoane was registered as a Democrat until shortly before she was appointed to a ‘minority’ seat on the Conservation Commission.  She changed her party affiliation to Independent and was quickly appointed to the Conservation Commission by Mayor Drew.  I also understand that she spoke to Mayor Drew about an appointment before changing her party affiliation.   Her appointment violates the spirit of the minority representation provision in the state statute.  Several Republicans have requested and have been recommended for appointments to the Conservation Commission, all of which have been ignored.   The current composition of the commission may be technically legal, but  could be open to challenge in court.

Citizen’s Advisory Committee

Website Members

March 15 Meeting Minute Members

Deborah Kleckowski (Common Council Seat) Grady Faulkner (Common Council Seat) John Rumberger (Middletown Housing Authority Seat) Vincent Szynkowicz (Planning and Zoning Commission Seat) Robert Blanchard (At-Large Seat) Linda Szynkowicz (At-Large Seat) Ronnie Bantum (Low/Moderate Income Seat) Harvey Cushing (Elderly Seat) Richard Pelletier (Disabled Seat) Sean King (Westfield Seat- Census Tract 5412, 5413, 5414) Jessica Broderick (Westfield Seat- Census Tract 5412, 5413, 5414) Pat Murray (Downtown Seat- Census Tract 5411, 5415, 5416, 5417) Karlene Duplessis (Downtown Seat- Census Tract 5411, 5415, 5416, 5417) Howard Reid (South Farms Seat -Census Tracts 5418, 5419, 5420, 5421, 5422) Susan Owens (South Farms Seat- Census Tract 5418, 5419, 5420, 5421, 5422)

D Kleckowski G Faulkner R Rumberger V Szynkowicz R Blanchard L Szynkowicz R Bantum H Cushing R. Pelletier S King J Broderick K Duplesis H Reid S Owens

Pat Murray is listed as a member on the city website, but are not listed in the meeting minutes, either as present or absent.  Is this a valid vacancy or an oversight?  Party affiliation is also not available, making it impossible to determine if the commission is properly constituted.

The examples above are not the full scope of the issues with appointments to boards and commissions.  There are other problems, both with vacancies and non-compliance with party affiliation requirements.  As I said earlier, I, as Chairman of the Republican Town Committee have tried to work with Mayor Drew, and at his request, with his designated representatives, with no positive results, which has prompted me to write this letter.  

But the real danger of not filling the commission seats properly, in accordance with state statute, and by not complying with minority representation, as required by the state statute, is the liability to which the city is exposed.  If the commission is out of compliance, that brings all of its actions into question, and an aggrieved party could cite this as a basis for appeal and potentially, a lawsuit.  And lawsuits, as the Mayor has told us, are not good for the City of Middletown

I would like to continue to work with you and your staff to correct these discrepancies, and would appreciate your response.

  

Kenneth A. McClellan

Chairman

Middletown Republican Town Committee

More Rumblings about Middletown! Read Carefully Insider Lovers!

1. The Middletown Press, umm, The Middletown Mess ran a story today reminding us Rep. Joe Serra is still alive after getting a call it had been a full 72 hours since a “S “family member was mentioned in the paper. Serra is still "working" to "help" seniors.  In fact, he has gone on record to promise that he will introduce a bill in the next Connecticut House Legislation that will promise to reduce aging for anyone over 62.  It’s sort of like a reverse Logan’s Run thing.  (Google it)

2. How's that Rt. 9 on ramp fix going the DOT proposed in November Rep. Serra? Oh wait that was just a campaign ploy.  How long have you been a State Rep who sits on the transportation committee? Long live CASHO!

3. Mayor Dan Drew has been tweeting all day how he has been out in the snow with emergency crews. Reportedly, an ambulance was stuck on Farm Hill Rd and Drew, with his mighty Asgardian Hammer, helped push it clear, delivered a baby in a snow bank, swaddled the newborn & & breast fed the infant himself while the mother recovered from shock.  He then made damn sure Joe Somalis called Victoria Sunderkistqust at The Mess to put it in the Press, why not? It's an election year suckers.  Taxes still keep going up! Vote Dem! (They have controlled the town's budget since 1991)

4. The roads are 75% clear; the roads are 50% clear. Too soon? Next year, I the mayor will meet with Zeus and the other Olympian Gods to stop the storm. I will take the mystical horse Pegasus up to the heavens to stop the storms.  I fight for YOU, the citizens.  Oh yeah, Obamacare it is the way to go!! Opps, right, the prices continue to go up for that too.

5.  Rep. Matt Lesser (D) Middletown proposes a bill for "legal equality" of snapping turtles, or as Latino Caucus member calls them Tortugas. Christie Carpino (R) Cromwell proposes a bill to allow break-ins to prevent hot-car deaths. What the hell about turtles trapped in hot cars? Unbelievably insensitive. Come on guys and gals, let’s be political correct about everything.  Why not, it’s the 21^st Century!  (Trivia: Matt is a member of the Hispanic/Spanish caucus up in Hartford? Jesus, he is whiter than Wonder Bread and he is now hanging out in that Caucus)

6.  The Connecticut Freedom of Information (FOI), Commission has scheduled a March 2015 to hearing for FOI requests for reports and more importantly budget information with regard to the Middletown Board of Education budget.  More importantly, a member of the Middletown Board, Linda Szynkowicz who cannot get an itemized copy of the budget, filed the FOI request.  Don’t believe it? Try to get a copy for yourself or better yet visit a BOE meeting? The budget presented utilized broad numbers and takes the public in circles whenever a logical question was presented by member Szynkowicz to the board.  What happened to transparency Ed4ED?    In unrelated news, there seems to be a matter of a large shredder missing from the BOE basement on Hunting Hill Avenue.  I guess you could check Brochette’s basement on Coleman Road, but don’t hold your breathe!    Where the missing 1.2 million?

7. Did anyone send a letter to Mayor Drew recently seeking an appointment to a vacant City Commission & not receive a answer? Please review the following new instructions in order be appointed by King Drew: Democrats: send your letter of intent to City Hall, 245 deKoven Drive.         

 Republicans: Tie a rock to your letter & toss from Arrigoni Bridge. Aide Joe Samolis will retrieve. Shit that is funny!  Perhaps, anybody living on Wilcox Island will hoard the GOP requests and make a giant paper teepee out of them or it may be revealed that the real BOE budget is hiding on Wilcox Island next to Stephen Devoto's ego.

8. Deer head reportedly found on Wesleyan campus. Where is Stephen Devoto when you need him?  Heck, the Yeti thing was funnier.

9.Connecticut State Sen. Dante “I only won by 213 votes” Bartolomeo is upset that new CT Transit facilities won't have restrooms. DOT states there are no funds to maintain such facilities & that if towns want potties then they should foot the bill. Bartolomeo: "Isn't that what illegal aliens are for?" Yep, she did indeed!

10. Wife killer defender & City Hall leech John Hall of the Jonah Center says it will supply bio-degradable poo poo bags to rail commuters. "If you have to go & are waiting for the train, you have to go somewhere. This way, you can save it, take it home and compost it in your garden, or just toss it from the platform." Bags will feature pictures of  snapping Tortugas & be handed out by volunteer unicyclists lead by Dic Wheeler at stations between Meriden and West Haven. BTW if the City hired a real environmental planner, can't we dump the biology reverend hippy? Hall has asked Mayor Daniel T. Drew to ignore David Messenger’s negative side and let him work with Treasurer Quentin Phipps in the future due to all the checks balances the treasurer has to do with regard to checks and balances and organizing folks to protect that position’s stipend. (Seen rant below)

Translation: The Dems and the GOP wanted to defund the Phipps’ position because it costs the city nearly $5,100 a year and the elected official does NADA!  The job has been phased out years ago 

folks, ask member  Dr. David Larsen, he’s a Democrat so he must be right.  Phipps, after already being muscled out of the city job by Drew and the downtown district, freaked out and made this a an issue that rhymes with lace. Yep, the elected Dems got nervous and stuck the treasurer job back in, even though their own findings said the treasurer position in Middletown should be moot. What happened next?  Phipps claimed on his Facebook page that he was working at a school in the Bronx, a few days later he was called on this and it turned out the school was in Stamford.  Must be nice to say what you want!

11. Despite being hired for an unfunded Environmental Planner position, and despite that 466 does not have a no lay-off clause making it perfectly legal to drop this person, Council majority and hanger-on council members (you know who you are) rumored to keep Michele Ford in her recently acquired position & find the funds. NOTE: they won't be found in any culpable party's pocket. Is employing someone for possibly next 25+ years with full benefits & pension cheaper than a lawsuit or dropping the ax on those who made the boo boo? Who is the mysterious Michelle Ford?  Who does she know? What is her connection with Drew or with Malloy?

12. Senior Center Library named the Phil "ITS FOR THE CHILDREN" Pessina Library. Find the irony in that one.

13. Park & Rec study shows need for new fields and sports facilities in Middletown. Ironically the fields supposed to be built across from a certain Serra's house no longer proposed as needed. NIMBY. 

Rumblings: Nice guys finish last... or not at all.

1. ABANDONED: Mayor Dan Drew stated on the council floor he was going to have a report done to see how the 2013 blizzard that crippled the city could have been handled better. Rumors were that Danapolean gave the word to turn away help from the National Guard & there was a chest puffing match behind closed doors resulting in Middletown roads still being uncleared days later. No report.

2. ABANDONED: Mayor Drew & Gov. Malloy went to China in 2012 to "find jobs" and promised Councilman Pessina that a report would follow. And all that trade Drew said he opened up? How is China helping Middletown?? No report.

3. ABANDONED: Under Mayor Drew the Youth Services department launched a new website with reports with updates about activites. The website was last updated in Nov 6, 2013.  Cuz he's "young guy mayor" Danny did start the Yoot Youth Cabinet (not to be confused with the already in existence Youth in Government Program cauz if you rename somethin you can take credit for it duh)

4. ABANDONED: Mayor Drew's twitter boasts a computer rendering of LED lights on the Arrigoni Bridge. Critics & the town of Portland felt the idea to "bring tourist" excessive. Why such a "great tourism destination" quietly abandoned by the Mayor if it was so awesome?

5. FINISHED: Both budget's under Mayor Drew's regime resulted in milrate increases for taxpayers. The democrats on council voted against all proposals for senior tax relief under the previous republican mayor, yet endorsed a watered down proposal from Mayor Drew while simultaneously raising taxes for everyone else two fiscal years in a row! 3X a charm?

6. STARTED: Mayor Drew advocated for the merging of Park & Recreation and Public works as well as the City Attorney's office and Personnel Depts. to "save money" No cost savings have ever been proven upon inquiry. In fact, outside Counsel is stilled used by the Office of General Counsel at tune of $60K for the investigation into the allegeded drug abuse allegations against the police chief. In 2013 he told the Courant he expected to save more than $150K a year; in other sources Drew is quoted saying the savings is in the MILLIONS. It has been a year & no cost savings have been proven.

7. ABANDONED: Several commitee vacancies have remained unfilled by Drewilishious. Example: Design Review & Inlands & Watercourses, Citizens' Advisory have  had  vacancies for the entire 3 years Drew has been in office. Drew has had time to redecorate the Mayor's office to the tune of $6K.

8.ABANDONED: 20 monthes later...all those grants Danious Maxious got. The bike path, the parking lot redo's,the parking garage... so how yall citizen's enjoying those? Give them bread and circuses...

9. ABANDONED: City Hall news letter. When Drewocles took office he initiated the practice of wishing workers happy birthday via special email, a practice most hadn't had the priveledge of experiencing since elementary school. He also initiated a city hall newsletter. The last publication of which was July 2012. 

10. ABANDONED: Mayor Drew put out a mandate that all committee meetings take place after 7 pm so that members of the public could attend. Clean Energy Task Force still meets at noon 3 years later. And the Harbor Improvement Committee NEVER has met despite the focus on the spanking new riverfront.

11. FINISHED (NOT REALLY): Mayor Drew ran on the campaign to end all lawsuits and grievances between the city, union members and the Board of Education. He even held a press conference declaring that the smoke was clear. However, lawsuits still exist 3 years later....

12. ALMOST NOT FINISHED: Just in time for Veterans' Day: Trees of Honor, the memorial dedicated to fallen Connecticut Soldiers of the Irag and Afganistan Wars is underway at  Veteran's Park in Middletown. After the photo ops with the Big Dannel were over, Mayor Drew went a little MIA on the details of the two+ year project. The ribbon cutting of the memorial was scheduled. What did Drew forget? The planting of the actual trees!! President of the City (D's prefferred moniker) forgot to secure resources - ie heavy equipment and man hours to get this done... so at the last minute project volunteers scrambled to get help to get 65 large trees in the ground before the dedication. Not even Joe Samolis, Mayor's Aide, could get this accomplished & the man has had to shovel some hefy mayoral do-do. Organizers contacted local papers  to put the call out for help; the papers convenietly leaving out the fact that the holes had yet to be excavated literally days before the opening...several TOH organizers posted requests via personal social media pages &amp sent emails in an effort  to dig the project out of the perdicament Drew left them with... Luckily, volunteers hauled a**  & finished the job beautifully. Gee.. thanks Mayor D...

Unlucky 13: ABANDONED: 

ANYONE kept tally of how much money has been 

appropriated every month by the Council?!?!

Just about every meeting the Common Council approves requests for additional funds to departments above and beyond what was allocated in the fiscal budget proposed by Mayor Drew and approved by the council. No news source has reported how much has been spent and when asked certain council persons have stated the budget is "fluid"... the bleeding of taxpayers has been STARTED.....

Middletown Charter Revision Ballot Questions: Why you should vote NO! NO! & NO!

A letter to the editor from resident Ken McClellan:

Election Day - Tuesday, November 4, 2014

In addition to state officers, there will be a referendum on Middletown ballots for a Charter Revision.

The questions on the ballot will be:

1. Shall the Charter be amended to provide for a term of four years for the following elected officials of the City of Middletown: the Mayor, Common Council, Treasurer, Board of Assessment Appeals and Registrars of Voters?

2. Shall the Charter be amended to raise the bond limit for which the Common Council can approve spending without going to referendum to $1,000,000?

3.  Shall all other amendments to the Charter as approved by the Common Council from the Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission at its September 2, 2014 meeting be approved?

The majority caucus on the council is pushing for these changes.  My opinion is that all of these revisions should be rejected.  

Question 1:  4 year terms.  This sounds like it might save the city money, by eliminating one election cycle. However, we can't eliminate that election.  The Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission are elected for 4 years on a 2-year alternating cycle.  1/2 the members up for election every two years.  If the Council were to do the same, I might support this proposal.  One statement made to justify 4-year terms is that it will allow the Council to concentrate on governing, rather than campaigning.  In the time I've lived in Middletown, I haven't seen campaigning take away anything from the amount of governing done.  I have seen the Democratic majority on our Common Council spend time debating topics over which they have no authority or control at the same when a city budget is due.  Unfortunately the budget did not get a lot of discussion.   Please vote NO on this question.

Question 2:  Bonding Limit.  The current bonding limit, the amount of money the Common Council can borrow without a referendum is $750,000.  The Democrats on the Council have found ways to fund multi-million dollar projects without letting the citizens know, by borrowing money in $750,000 increments.  This is not what I call open, transparent and honest government.  I'm sure that their justification is that they want to make sure projects get started, and can't wait for that tedious approval process.  Vote NO on this question.

Question 3:  Everything Else.  I just received a copy of the commission report and council changes today.  This report is not available on the city web-site.  It is not included in the minutes of the Charter Revision Commission or in the minutes of the Common Council meeting where the report was accepted.  I will make the Report and Amendments available on the MRTC website (www.middletownctgop.com).  Unless you read and understand all the changes:  Vote NO on this question.

We need your vote and the votes of all your friends and neighbors on November 4. Mark your calendar and get out and VOTE!

Thank you,
Ken McClellan
Chairman,
Middletown Republican Town Committee