The Milford-Orange Times is continuing its election-year tradition of asking the candidates to respond to questions about what they would do for the residents of Milford and Orange if voters elect them. This special section features the responses from the candidates. An asterisk next to a candidate’s name indicates that they are the incumbent. Early voting is underway now. Election Day is Nov. 4.
Question: What do you think are the greatest challenges Milford will face over the next two years, and what specific steps will you take to address them?
Rich Smith (D)
Milford will face a number of challenges over the next two years, and I think Milford deserves to hear from both candidates about their plans to tackle these issues.
It all comes down to cost of living, and specifically – as it pertains to the mayor’s office – that means taxes. Milford thrived for more than a decade of responsible budgeting under Mayor Ben Blake and my administration. We kept the mill rate steady, and many years went even further and delivered tax cuts. That matters to families trying to make ends meet, to seniors living on fixed incomes and really anyone who needs to keep an eye on their finances. And, excitingly, it helped put Milford on the map. National media wrote us up as a great community to live in – that helped bring new families and businesses to town.
Unfortunately, under this administration, we’ve seen an abandonment of those principles of fiscal responsibility. Mayor Tony Giannattasio has raised local taxes by 9 percent, even while requesting a raise for himself. To me, that’s just wrong.
To make matters worse, we’re in the midst of a revaluation of residential and commercial property values that Mayor Giannattasio doesn’t want to talk about. Commercial property values are flat, but home values are skyrocketing. That’s good if you want to sell your house, but for those of us who love Milford and want to stay here, it means that our property taxes are about to explode. Milford deserves to hear how each candidate would handle this looming issue.
I offered to debate Mayor Giannattasio so we could compare our plans, but he has refused. I don’t understand that. Don’t voters deserve to hear from their officials?
Here’s my plan. First of all, I would be transparent with Milford and release the new assessments as soon as possible, not hide them until after the election.
Second, there are tools in the mayor’s toolbox to lessen the pain of these revaluations. We can, for instance, phase the revaluation in gradually, over a period of up to five years. This requires preparation on the part of the mayor, and the ability to get a vote through the Board of Aldermen. We successfully phased in the last reval under Mayor Blake, and I intend to do so again to lessen the burden on taxpayers.
Third, we need to bring some fiscal responsibility back to the mayor’s office. I know how to do that. We need to modernize our systems and improve our processes. The city still runs on 1970s technology – think dot-matrix printers! There are real savings we can find by updating these systems. I know this sounds extremely dull to many people, but it’s work that I am passionate about. I actually have a patent in systems reengineering for just this kind of thing. When we go back to responsible budgeting, that lessens the amount of revenue that needs to be raised and, again, lowers the tax burden.
Finally, we need to build up our commercial tax base so that homeowners aren’t footing the bill on their own. When I was mayor, we worked on plans to dramatically reimagine the Post Mall. We were going to bring new housing and revitalized retail and event spaces to contribute to the Milford economy. Sadly, that work has all stalled since I left office. I would immediately pick that back up.
So there are solutions that a mayor can embrace. We just need the right mayor – and the right team on the Boards of Aldermen and Education – to get the job done.
From my time as mayor, that sense of opportunity is what has stayed with me the most. Every day, you get to go to work and find new ways to help people. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, and I would be honored to get back to work for Milford.
So, I’ll speak now directly to Milford residents and ask – respectfully – for your vote and your support.