In Ansonia Republican Party chair Tony Mammone’s response to my letter questioning a city project that is millions over budget, there’s a valiant attempt at spin by accusing me of *checks notes* being against police, seniors (of which I am myself!) and progress. It’s a distraction, and a silly one.
As a resident of this community for nearly my entire life, who raised my children here and am now retired here, I write to share with the public my very real concerns about the management, or rather mismanagement, of important projects that could hinder our progress as a city in the long term. We all know that running projects millions over budget and racking up debt is bad for a community, and could result in tax increases, bond downgrades, and a scaling back of services — something certainly not good for progress.
I suppose it isn’t a surprise that the GOP party chair chose to spin and distract while skirting the issue of a project millions over budget, years past completion, still without structural safety approval, and seemingly without proper engineer analysis before seizing the building and plunging us into this money pit. I guess if I controlled every board and decision in the city and didn’t want folks to look too closely at the problem at hand and who is responsible for it, I could attack others instead of addressing the real concerns of residents. But that isn’t leadership.
Mr. Mammone, you can try to bamboozle, distract, and attack but you have not given an answer: how many millions over budget is that building? Where is the engineer’s report before seizing the building? Is the building’s garage still structurally unsound? How much has the city borrowed to cover up this mistake? And how much was spent from ARPA funds, our rainy day fund, and operating budget to handle it?
The city has now put itself in a position of weakness by borrowing tens of millions of dollars while also depleting our reserve (“rainy-day”) fund. With property revaluation already underway, the result could be increased property tax bills for all of our residents — whether now or later — based on the millions the taxpayers will have to pay for this poor planning.
This Thanksgiving I’m grateful the residents of Ansonia are paying closer attention and asking questions, even if you don’t want to answer them. Someone has to have the fiscal interests of residents in mind, rather than ribbon cuttings and election year gimmicks, nicely timed, so we don’t notice the looming debt behind the curtain.
I’ve lived here longer than you, Mr. Mammone, and I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m not a politician, I’m a finance guy. And it’s important my neighbors are aware of the whole picture, not just the staged photos, spin, and attacks on anyone who questions the fiscal mismanagement of you and your city hall insiders. It is getting old and tiresome.
Happy Holidays,
Richard Tylinski
ANSONIA