A Promise To Keep Things Public

To the Editor:

What a great Labor Day Parade! Congratulations to all the organizers and volunteers who did another fantastic job. The candidates for the Independent Party of Newtown enjoyed marching in the parade and meeting those of you who stopped by to learn more about the Declaration of Independents, our party’s campaign platform. If you haven’t seen a copy, we encourage you to view it at independentpartyofnewtown.com.

The IPN’s “Declaration of Independents” outlines the three core principles of ACT — Accountability, Checks and Balances, and Transparency in Government — that will guide the efforts of its candidates in implementing a five-point platform:

*Create an Integrated Long-Range Plan by October 2009, incorporating the state-required Plan of Conservation and Development, which was last updated in 2004.

*Garner public consensus for a Fairfield Hills Master Plan with the goal of bringing a revised Master Plan for public review in spring 2008. In addition, IPN would replace the Fairfield Hills Authority with a group such as a Board of Managers that would have appropriate oversight from the Legislative Council.

*Make school repairs and recreational improvements a top priority by reallocating funds in the five-year Capital Improvement Plan with the goal of completing all school repairs and recreational improvements as soon as possible.

*Create a budget process that necessitates that a detailed justification of annual expenditures be provided for legislative and public review. Each of the town’s departments and the Board of Education will be required to submit an annual budget that does not simply renew or escalate the previous year’s expenditures; instead, each department budget will start at zero and each individual item to be included must be publicly justified each year.

*Run an open government by ensuring that all government agencies make their decisions in public forums in full compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

The current administration has no long-range planning process. The focus is not on fixing top priorities like our deteriorating school infrastructure or the need for playing fields, but on constructing a new town hall at Fairfield Hills, using a specialized government mechanism in the Fairfield Hills Authority to circumvent the will of the majority of the community.

Our town budget process, with its multiple referendums, provides another example of the current administration’s failure to engender the support of its citizens. By ignoring the need for long-range planning and for open, honest, and detailed communications, our government has lost the confidence of its constituency.

We need a robust debate on the critical issues facing our community in full view and with the full participation of the public.

This will change when IPN candidates take office next year, which will only happen with your support at the polls on November 6. We look forward to the opportunity to meet with you during the campaign season to earn your vote. 

On Behalf of IPN Candidates,

Gary Davis

Candidate, Legislative Council-District 2

Independent Party of Newtown

23 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook               September 4, 2007