Election Results

In only our second election as a party we accomplished everything we set out to do.

• Alex Thomas won a seat on the Board of Education.
• Al Bayers won a seat on the Zoning Board of Appeals.
• Two candidates lost by less than 150 votes.
• Our endorsed candidates were the top vote getters for their offices.
• We improved our percentage vote from 20% to the 30's and low 40's.
• Our Mayoral candidate beat the major party Democratic candidate.

Many thanks to our supporters and those who volunteered time and effort on the campaign. We will continue to work to fullfill our vision of New Milford.

Very Expensive Republican Election

The Republicans have far out spent New Milford First and the Democrats in this election. And its all your money too.

I spoke to Brooks Temple last week about the Fort Hill afforable housing project. The money was all coming from the feds and he voiced no concerns. All of a sudden, $1.1 million Connecticut taxpayer dollars appear a few days before the election. The newspaper article quotes Mr. Temple - "it was a very unusual move."

Last week a Century Brass grant, a tree grant and a downtown signs grant. All necessary, but convientently coming right before the election.

In a Wednesday News-Times article about state borrowing one representative from Bridgeport gushed, "I couldn't be happier, and we kept the majority of our earmarks." Is this how you want your government to operate?

In addition, state highway workers seem to have plenty of time to drive around pulling up New Milford First signs. When we go to the state highway location to pick up our signs we never see any Muphy signs. I suppose that is one of the benefits of encumbancy. Drive around the rest of the state and you see political signs sprouting all along the state roads. I guess it is the third-party signs that are considered unsafe.

The positive spin on all of this is that the Republicans must be concerned about New Milford First or they would not be pulling out all the stops.

Ambulance Barn Vote

Republican muckrakers are trying to claim that I didn't vote on the ambulance barn. I simple look at the voter sheets shows that they crossed off my brother's name rather than mine. My brother hasn't lived here in years, is registered in PA and has no valid CT id. They know that.

In addition, Sue Kustosz was working the polls and will verify that I voted. There were only a couple of other people there at the time. We chatted for a while about various scenarios involving the new voting process.

Check your facts.

Bob K.

Library

In an article in the News-Times recently I was reported as saying the the Library needed a strategic plan for the 21st Century. I said nothing like that. The statement makes it sound like I think the folks running the library are not thinking about the future.

What I said was that the Library might consider changing its name. When any voter over 40 who hasn't been to a library in a while hears the word Library, they get a picture in their head of what a library was like when they were in school. That picture is not an accurate picture of what the Library is today.

I think that by changing the name to accurately reflect what the library does might help to erase any preconceived notions a voter might have about the value of having a library and where it might be located.

I also think that the library should remain on the green. It attracts many people to the green which helps to keep the green active.

Bob K.

Ambulance Barn

I have few comments on the Ambulance Barn. First, this never should have gone to referendum. This is a matter of public health and safety and it is more complex than appears. I think Town Council should have been more forceful in its support and should have kept it to a Town Meeting vote. I fear that a referendum will become too much of an emotional vote.

I think volunteers will provide a better service than a paid force at the levels of pay a paid force would likely receive. They clearly do this because they love it. We need to show them some respect if we expect to keep them. The current facility is an embarrassment.

To put the cost into perspective. We are proposing to borrow $3,000,0000. Assuming a 20 year payback at an interest rate of 6.5% that is about $270,000 per year. There are approximately 60 volunteers in the ambulance corps. Assuming that number stays constant over 20 years, that comes out to about $4,500 per volunteer per year.

Could we do it for less? Sure. We could put up a building of inferior construction and then pay more down the road when it has to be replaced or constantly fixed. Why not do it right the first time?

As for that rumor of there being 14 bathrooms in the place, not true. There is a men's room, a lady's room and a toilet by the laundry room.

Campaign Headquarters

I keep getting asked about where our campaign headquarters is going to be. I've decided that it will be in between the buggy whip store and the phonograph store.

I don't see the point of a campaign headquarters for a local election. If someone has the time to hang out waiting for people to come in, I'd rather have them out knocking on doors. All of the information you need is on the Internet. The notion of someone dropping by for literature is as quaint as posting meeting notices on the bulletin board at Town Hall. "Meetings" are done via email or at someone's house if necessary. With automated mailing there is no envelope stuffing or addressing of postcards.

A campaign headquarters just seems like a very large and expensive lawn sign. Perhaps that alone is worth the time and expense but I'm not buying it. I suppose the election will provide some indication.

Any thoughts?

Bob K.

9/11

It is very easy in today's hyper-media world to become very cynical about the United States. Then something like the 9/11 memorial ceremony this morning washes it all away.

I'm sure that every citizen of New Milford would have liked to have been there today if they were able. We would like to thank the 9/11 Committee, the various service organizations, elected officials and others who either sang or spoke for representing the people of the town this morning.

Bob Kostes

Mayor's Comments on Pension

The Mayor's comments on the pension are a vain attempt to justify her lack of foresight and planning.

"We do not gamble with our employees' pensions. Do I have to point to Enron or any of those other things where people invest in riskier forms of pensions funds."

To equate a global large-cap index created by Standard and Poors with gambling or Enron is a ridiculous statement. It shows that the Mayor has absolutely no respect for the intelligence of the voters. Unfortunately, the Mayor's glib remark has painted the Pension Committee into a corner. Now, anything they do, no matter how prudent, can be construed as risky.

Even more embarrassing for the Mayor is that New Milford probably owned Enron stock. Enron was in the S&P 500 index until it went bankrupt. Perhaps diversifying over a global index is not such a bad idea.

"We're more than fully funded."

Yes, because we put taxpayer dollars into the fund each year to make up for our inadequate investment returns.

"We have conservative investments that have paid a very good return."

So if Kimberly-Clark says they want to expand the plant, is the Mayor going to say no? Is she going to say that we have enough tax dollars from KC and really don't want any more?

Robert Kostes - NMF

Third Party Enters Race

Danbury News-Times article:

Click here to view article
http://www.newstimeslive.com/news/story.php?id=1060696&source=tabbox

Comments of Mayoral Candidate, Robert Kostes, at the caucus

Why am I running for Mayor?

Democracy. Democracy demands a clash of ideas. It is what makes this country great. For a clash of ideas does not mean one wins and one loses. Clashing ideas produce a new idea, better than either of the originals.

There is no clash of ideas in New Milford. A monopoly of political power and thought stifles vision in this town. The monopoly does not discuss the big picture because it does not need to. If you are guaranteed reelection, why bother?

A Murphy/Stillman contest will not elicit the big picture discussion this town needs to have.

I have spoken with many people in front of the post office. Average citizens. Their overwhelming concerns are our unmanaged growth, lack of meaningful economic development and quality of life. These are all related.

When Route 7 is completed we will have a massive pipeline of people and development coming our way. Are we going to be prepared for it and handle it on our terms or are we going to have chaos?

Are we going to have a game plan that attracts quality businesses or will we become an endless stretch of strip malls.

Urban renewal is happening along the Hudson River. People want to live near work with services within walking distance. Are we prepared for that?

We have built numerous expensive homes in the past few years. Are we prepared to provide the quality education and infrastructure that those people expect? Or did we sell them a bill of goods?

The Plan of Conservation and Development is supposed to be our game plan. It is 10 years old. The current Planning Commission has shown no appetite for tackling the enormous task of updating it.

Globalization has opened up the job market. Business is free to locate wherever they want. For this reason, corporate tax rates around the world have been trending towards 0. We need to decide what is more important to this town: jobs or tax revenue. If jobs are more important, then we need to find money somewhere else.

Our Town Council would rather spend 45 minutes debating how to dispose of the excess dirt from the soccer field construction than discuss why our unmanaged pension fund is squandering millions of dollars in potential investment returns.

Even our political boundaries need to be questioned. New Milford, on its own, may not be capable of competing in a global business environment. Are we making the best use of the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials. Rather than fighting each other for the crumbs that fall from the global table should we have joint marketing and revenue sharing agreements so we can compete together for business?

New Milford needs vision.

New Milford needs innovative and inclusive leadership.

Our slate of candidates from all three parties will provide these but only if we ALL put New Milford First.

Great Fair Days

New Milford First had a very successful Fair Days. Many thanks to the hundreds of people who stopped and spent a minute speaking to us. We gave out 1,000 "Wipe Away The Monopoly" handi-wipes which were a big hit.

Our caucus is Sunday, August 5th at the Railroad Station at 7:30. This is when we will announce our slate of candidates. Remember that New Milford First will run its own candidates as well as nominating candidates from the existing Democratic and Republican slates. We endevor to pick candidates who put New Milford First.

Monopoloy of Power

This was also printed in the Spectrum on 6/15
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Why did we all grow up hating the cable company? Because it was a monopoly sanctioned by the government. The cable company had no competition. Prices continually rose, customer service was always lacking and they certainly did not care what the customer thought.

The same situation exists in New Milford government today. Rather than being a competitive democracy where issues and viewpoints are debated, we have a monopoly of power where there is no debate, the opinions of the people are irrelevant and anyone who does not subscribe to the narrow developer mentality is purged from government and sometimes from the community.

"In every free and deliberating society, there must, from the nature of man, be opposite parties, and violent dissensions and discords;…” Thomas Jefferson

Examples abound of this government monopoly acting with impunity. The Republican controlled Planning Commission has not bothered to update the town’s Plan of Conservation and Development because they don’t care to plan nor follow one. There has not been a word of protest from the Democrats on the Commission. Apolitical commissions such as the Commission on the Arts, the Library Board and the Candlewood Lake Authority have had long-serving members purged and have been stacked with developer cronies whose views, in some cases, are in direct conflict with the purpose of the commission. The monopoly is running out of family members and so has resorted to having the same person serve on two or three boards and commissions.

The most important point, however, is that this monopoly could not exist without the sanction of a government body. What government body sanctions this monopoly? Well, the Democratic Party of course and its leader John Lillis. Mr. Lillis is the enabler of this developer monopoly.

George Washington did not like political parties:
"However combinations or associations of the above description [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion."

But political parties is what we have and they have an implicit responsibility as Jefferson says.

Don’t listen to what Mr. Lillis, the Town Council member, says or how he votes. He knows full well that his words and votes on the Republican controlled Town Council are meaningless. Watch what Mr. Lillis, the head of the Democratic Town Committee, does or doesn’t do.

What serious issues have the Democrats championed lately? What debates have they engaged? Why is there no discussion about the POCD? Governments around the world are rethinking their models in order to attract business and jobs. Why is there no discussion about the competitiveness of New Milford’s taxation and regulatory system? Why is there no discussion about priorities in town?

The Democrats ran a Mayoral candidate last election who was not serious about running. He garnered fewer votes than some New Milford First candidates. Clearly the voters saw through this charade. What will Mr. Lillis do this time? Will he simply not bother to run anyone? Will he run another “filler” candidate? Or will he run a developer crony in Democratic clothing? My bet is that we will see no serious competition from the Democrats.

Perhaps Mr. Lillis behaves as he does out of a sense of loyalty to friends and business partners in the Republican Party. A laudable quality in a personal relationship but not so laudable in a competitive democracy. Mr. Lillis is an attorney. He knows that an attorney must argue his client’s viewpoint regardless of his own beliefs. As head of a political party, Mr. Lillis’ client is democracy itself. I call on Mr. Lillis to reflect on his own personal conflicts and step aside as head of the Democratic Party if he feels that he cannot fulfill the responsibilities that our Founding Fathers envisioned. If he feels he is up to the task, then I look forward to a competitive election.

New Milford First is attempting to fill the vacuum created by the inaction of the Democratic Party and the inbreeding of the Republican Party. We are small and uncompetitive at this point. We have taken some baby steps. We are working to create an alternative voice in New Milford. We are working to foster some competition and discussion. We are working to break the monopoly. The results of the 2007 election will tell us if we are making progress.

2007 Budget

Soon you will be asked to vote on the budget for New Milford. Below are some charts to help you quickly see where your taxes are being spent.

63% of your taxes are going to education . If you include the portion of the Debt that is paying for education-related items such as the high school, then two thirds, or 66%, of your taxes are going to education.

Not all of the $89 million budget is coming from property taxes. About 29%, or $25 million, is coming from other sources such as fees and the state government. Over half of the $25 million comes from the state government which, as you know, gets its money ultimately from one place: your wallet.

So $63 million of the town budget must be raised via local property taxes.

The vast majority of the budget is related to people. Teachers or town employees who provide the services of the town. So short of cutting back on people there is little opportunity to significantly cut the budget.

What never seems to be talked about is how to increase revenue other than property taxes. Our town pension fund, which is close to $25 million, has investment returns which are well below its peers. Each percentage point of increased investment returns means $250,000. Other towns in our same economic situation get much more money from the state. Why?

Every year we hear the argument, "I don't have any kids so why should I pay for education." I think that is the wrong way of looking at it. I was the youngest of six kids. There is no way the taxes my mother and father paid made up for the cost of six educations. I think if you look at your yearly taxes as payment for the education you received as a child, education taxes might seem more palatable. You might not agree with the dollar amount spent on education but at least you can agree that you should pay some amount towards education.

Robert Kostes

Chairman - New Milford First

Republican Monopoly
Robert Kostes - Chairman

The Republican monopoly pushed through more cuts before approving the budget. They marched in to the Town Council meeting with a list of cuts and didn't even bother to have copies for their Democratic colleagues.

The Republicans made heartfelt pleas for the working families who have to work two jobs to pay their mortgage. It is hard for me to disagree with the desire to cut costs but not at the expense of quality of life. However, it was the way in which these cuts were done which was disturbing.

Councilman Szendy refused to give a reason for the cuts. Perhaps he didn't want to divulge the real reason. Herein lies the dilemma for the monopoly.

The monopoly answers to the developers in town and no one else. Some level of development is necessary in a healthy community, but when it is the sole focus, problems arise. Lower taxes make homes more competitive versus other towns further south.

Building a house has a certain amount of economic benefit; however, there are also costs which include an increased demand on town services (roads, schools, police, etc.). A child in the school system costs about $9,000. A typical home pays $6-8,000 in taxes. Every new home puts an upward pressure on the cost of town services. A small group reaps the economic benefit but the additional costs are borne by all homeowners.

The monopoly is the very cause of the higher budgets they are cutting. I expect that the plan is to keep taxes artificially low until there are no more homes to build. Then taxes will jump dramatically to reflect the true needs of the town. At that point, they won't care if you can afford to live here or not. Voters must decide if this is the path they desire.

Welcome

Welcome to the New Milford First blog. New Milford First is a local political party in New Milford, Connecticut. Visit our web site at www.newmilfordfirst.org.

Here you will find letters and articles that have appeared in the local papers as well as discussions on topics suggested by NMF members and members of the New Milford community.

Any comments to this blog will be moderated by NMF.