We wanted to begin with a sincere THANK YOU to the 3 Democrats on our Town Council. Vinnie Testa, Samuel Carmody, and Jesse Reynolds are fighting to ensure the citizens of Wallingford do not lose access to vital town services. They were at Town Hall until well after midnight last Tuesday, doing everything in their power to prevent their Republican colleagues from fully enacting “DOGE WALLINGFORD”.

Expenses have risen dramatically across the board in virtually every sector - that’s a fact. However, increased operating expenses should not equal CUTS in the form of essential town functions, or most importantly, town employees. What would you rather have- a 12% tax increase with drastic cuts to every department, or a 20% tax increase with no tangible change at all? To paraphrase Councilor Vinnie Testa: fund PEOPLE, not “stuff”. A $2,000,000 reduction from the Board of Education budget, like Councilors Tatta and Laffin suggested, would be crippling for our students and teachers. The current proposal, a $467,000 cut, doesn’t do us many favors, either. This passed along party lines, with Autumn Allison joining the Democrats on our Town Council in voting “NO”. The TC will vote on final amendments to the Mayor’s Budget- including the aforementioned BOE cut- on Tuesday night, 5/13 at 6:30 PM. You can watch this meeting (and all TC meetings) on Wallingford Government TV.

Did you know that Wallingford public schools are ranked #67 out of 135 districts in CT according to recent data? That list is not an aberration, either. As Councilor Samuel Carmody wisely pointed out, education funding is a critical investment for Wallingford.

This is also a friendly warning to anyone on the Town Council who does NOT believe in funding people or essential services during these times of austerity. We are paying very close attention, and we will have receipts in November when the chickens come home to roost. We all know DOGE does not work, and you can’t hide behind conspiracy theories in a town of 45,000 (unless your name rhymes with Bishfein).

Choate Property Tax Debate Heats Up

As many of you are aware, Choate currently owns dozens of single-family housing units around the North Main St area. Currently, our data indicates that 77 of those dwellings are used for staff and faculty. Choate does not pay any property taxes on these properties, and it’s estimated that at least 30 children living at those addresses currently attend Wallingford public schools (for free). We are proud to call Choate our neighbors, and they do a lot for the community, but this is about equity and fairness.

At a time where expenses have risen significantly across every sector of local government, our councilors are rightfully taking a fine-tooth-comb to the most recent budgets proposals. However, as Chairman Marrone made perfectly clear at the budget meeting this week; Republicans on our Town Council might be open to any and all CUTS to public services, but sitting down with Choate to negotiate a PILOT program continues to be a non-starter. Pssst… stay tuned to our Facebook for a video of Mayor Cervoni saying more of the same at a court deposition Senior Center Q&A recently.

Mary Mushinsky’s HB 6804 would generate an estimated $800,000 annually for the town… so far, only Councilor Tatta has expressed support on the Republican side. This Choate Bill, while facing an uphill battle in Hartford, continues to garner a lot of public support around town & in internet message boards. Our DTC’s Facebook views go through the roof when it comes to Choate, and people are clearly passionate about it. This could be a great issue to mention in conversations with your friends and neighbors! Below, you will find a snapshot of the 77 houses that Choate owns near North Main St, along with recent notable campus expansions and other data. A big thank you to Jen Coyne and Phil Youker for doing all of this research for us!