Truth Is ... Gambardella is Uniformed

Truth Is … Gambardella is Uninformed

Last week former Councilman Ron Gambardella wrote a letter regarding various subjects mainly focused on the budget and taxes. I wasn’t surprised by the swipes he took at me and some of my fellow Democrats on the Council - this is common in his rants. What did surprise me was the level of misleading information and uninformed opinions he chose to use and attempt to pass onto Hamden residents as fact.

Differences of opinion are good for politics and they are good for government - misleading taxpayers without plan or informed position is not helpful to anyone.
The truth is that Mr. Gambardella didn’t attend ONE budget session out of the 9 nights that the Legislative Council met to work on the budget, nor did he speak at ONE of the 4 different opportunities the public had to speak to the Council regarding the budget. If you don’t show up, then you probably don’t know the facts.

I think it’s incredibly important for Hamden ’s residents to get real facts regarding next year’s budget that we just passed. The following are some highlights of the 2008-2009 budget.

1) The Council was able to produce a very responsible budget, one that keeps us on sound financial footing, with the LOWEST tax increase in 6 years;

2) We lowered the mill rate over a 1/2 mill lower than what was recommended in the Mayor's budget in March;

3) The actual dollar tax increase on the median single family household next year will be $56 for the entire year;

4) We kept our commitment to the Town's Pension Plan, by increasing the contribution to $12.5 million, despite attempts to lower it to $11 million by the Republicans, which would have been less than last year and a reversal of our promise to the public and our financial managers;

5) We made sure to keep Public Safety a priority by funding our Police and Fire Department budgets to allow for proper equipment and personnel;

6) In the budget, we’ve listened to our Town Auditors and other financial experts and responsibly funded our medical self insurance and worker’s compensation - both of which were in poor financial shape just a few short years ago. When these accounts are in peril, it risks the Town bond rating, which has the potential for incredibly negative effect on the interest rate we receive when bonding projects like the new Middle School or the coming Police Headquarters;

As for his personal attacks on me, if Mr. Gambardella had attended even one of the budget sessions, he would know that this year - like most - I was consistently trying to reduce account after account, line by line, in department after department. It is well known for those involved that I rarely see a budget cut that I don’t like.

I try very hard to bring in the tightest budget possible – to spare taxpayers every penny possible. To call me the “ultimate tax and spender” is absurd and would actually be comical if it weren’t for the fact that it is an out and out lie that Mr. Gambardella is trying to fool our residents with. Save the campaigning for campaign season, Ron, I’ll welcome the debate when it’s time.


Curt Balzano Leng, D-6, a four-term Councilman and is Chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee. He can be reached at councilmancurleng@yahoo.com.

Budget Approved - Lowest Tax Increase in Years !

Last night the Legislative Council, in a 12-3 vote, approved the new annual budget for Fiscal 08-09. I was very pleased to support the budget this year, as were all 12 of my fellow Democrats on the Council.

The highlights:

1) We were able to produce a very responsible budget, that keeps us on sound financial footing, while still holding the taxes to the lowest increase in years;

2) We lowered the mill rate over a 1/2 mill lower than what was recommended in the Mayor's budget in March;

3) We kept our commitment to the Town's Pension Plan, by increasing the contribution to $12.5 million, despite attempts to lower it to $11 million, which would have been less than last year;

4) We made sure to keep Public Safety a priority by funding our Police and Fire Department budgets to allow for proper equipment and personnel;

I will be writing a column for the news with more detail, but wanted to post some highlights today. As always, please e-mail with comments and questions to councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

Sincerely -

CURT

Veteran Tax Relief Enhancement and Budget Update

Hello friends,

The Veteran Tax Relief Local Program enhancement passed the finance committee unanimously last Monday and is expected to pass through full Council tomorrow night! Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have on the program.

On another topic, we will be doing our last "budget session" tomorrow night after the full Council meeting, in anticipation of the final budget vote the following night. I think this year's Council budget is being crafted well and I expect it to be a lower tax rate than the one proposed by the Mayor. More info this week.

Curt