Alderman Adamowski is extremely confused about his own party’s political positions.
The public shaming of taxpayers is a tactic first proposed by Mayor Della Volpe and his Ansonia Democrats and only put into practice by Mr. Adamowski himself.
I will clarify, for his benefit, as succinctly as possible:
- A serious tax scandal involving the Ansonia Tax Office was exposed during the summer of 2012. This scandal involved city employees avoiding payment on their motor vehicle taxes by obtaining invalid tax clearance forms. It resulted in the resignation of the Tax Assessor.
- In an attempt to divert attention from the scandal, Mayor Della Volpe proposed that a list of delinquent taxpayers be put on public display at the Tax Collector’s office and city website (see letter from Mayor Della Volpe, dated August 9, 2012). It should be noted that this taxpayer-shaming measure did nothing to address the real issue at hand: the mismanagement of the tax office.
- At the August 2012 Board of Aldermen meeting, Alderman Adamowski proposed that “any Board member of a City of Ansonia Board or Commission shall be removed by the Board of Aldermen if their taxes are owed for more than one year in arrears.” This is the first time such a policy had been proposed.
- Alderman Adamowski’s proposal was eventually passed onto the Charter Revision Commission as part of a broad package of recommended revisions regarding the tax office scandal.
- Alderman Adamowski’s proposal was discussed in-depth by the Charter Revision Commission but ultimately rejected as being unconstitutional and lacking in compassion. It was rejected by a unanimous vote.
Alderman Adamowski’s incredibly misleading article suggests that my recitation of the proposal at a Charter Revision meeting amounts to an endorsement of it. I served as Chairman of the Commission and was required to lead discussion on ALL proposals being considered. I voted with the rest of the Commission to remove it from consideration.
To date, only members of the Ansonia Democrat Party have actually attempted to humiliate taxpayers by publicly naming them to the press. More specifically, only Democrat Aldermen Adamowski actually sunk to that level by attempting to embarrass BIRM-I Construction in a politically motivated attack.
Ansonia does not need bullies in city hall. It needs men and women who can put childish attacks aside and work in the best interest of our city.
Hopefully the next public correspondence from Alderman Adamowski will address the real issues facing Ansonia taxpayers.
John Marini
Ansonia Alderman, 7th Ward
