ANSONIA — I am incredibly disappointed with the Cassetti administration’s judgement to allow a private company to use our city to solicit sales to our residents.
About two weeks ago, Ansonia residents received a letter with the city’s seal and a large letterhead that read “The City of Ansonia.” To many residents, this seemed like a letter from City Hall, but it is actually a marketing letter from Service Line Warranties of America (SLWA) in an attempt to make this seem like a city service.
After this letter went out, the City of Ansonia posted on Facebook and immediately attempted to remedy the situation, explaining exactly what the letter was and explaining that they have nothing to do with the offer. We can only assume that this response was invoked by City Hall getting inundated with calls from concerned residents.
I immediately filed a freedom of information act (FOIA) request with the city to get all of the information I could on this deal, including the terms, financial negotiations, and marketing contract. After several emails back and forth, the city finally provided me with all of the information I requested. In the materials I received, it is made clear that Greg Martin, Director of Constituent Services, reached out to the National League of Cities (NLC) to make this deal happen. The city is who initiated the deal, they were not approached by SLWA.
Although Mr. Martin specifically says he was conducting a “background check” on this company, it is clear from the materials I received that the Cassetti administration was more interested in the financial returns they would receive as commissions rather than if this was a reputable company and a good value for our residents.
In the contract that Mayor Cassetti signed on behalf of our city, SLWA will be partnered with Ansonia for the next three years, with up to six marketing letters sent out to residents per year. This means that residents can potentially receive half a dozen letters that look like they’re from City Hall, but are actually soliciting sales. This kind of vulture-style marketing has no place in Ansonia, especially considering that we are the number one distressed municipality in Connecticut.
The emails I also received as part of my FOIA request have suggestions from the sales team at SLWA, including “training calls” for Ansonia staff on how to sell the service, and to tell residents that it is “a legitimate program and one vetted by the Mayor,” so there are “no surprises when the letter goes out.”
As I said before, this kind of deceitful marketing should not bear the name “City of Ansonia,” and thanks to the contract signed by Mayor Cassetti, this private company has the ability to use our city name and seal for years to come, confusing our residents while the city collects sales commissions. Much like companies try and sell us car warranties by pretending to look like our car manufacturers, this kind of deceptive marketing should’ve never been approved by the city.
We unfortunately can’t change the past, but we can at least make up for it in the future, and I sincerely hope that the funds generated by this shortsighted attempt to increase revenues goes towards programs to benefit our community here in Ansonia.
The writer is from Ansonia.
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