Michelson Criticizes Stamford Tax Raises

STAMFORD, CT — Candidate for mayor Barry Michelson said that current Mayor David Martin essentially congratulated himself for tax increases in the city.

Michelson said that Martin congratulated himself in a Stamford Advocate op-ed article for the reaffirmed triple-A bond rating. The city had the rating for years before Martin became mayor.

More from Michelson:

“The city has an independent legal ability to raise taxes without limit.” (Fitch report, June 22, 2017). Standard & Poor’s notes that “the city has an ability and willingness to raise taxes...which we view as a positive.” (June 20, 2017). In a twist of irony, Martin times his op-ed perfectly with our property tax payment deadline. Indeed, taxes have gone up...again. In fact, they’ve gone up over 12% under his watch while inflation has gone up 3.4% during this time.

Efficiency in government is vital. It is obvious, with our taxes going up more than 3 times inflation, that our City government is poorly managed. Standard & Poor’s found flaws. It noted that financial practices do not exist in all areas and “that governance officials might not formalize or monitor all of them on a regular basis.” In essence, the ratings agency observed that the Martin administration is slack in its financial practices. This means it is slack in how it deals with taxpayer money. According to the ratings agencies, that’s okay, because, again, Martin can just raise taxes without limit. The taxpayers feel the pain and Martin celebrates. Just raising taxes should not be a mayor’s celebration or mantra. Spending wisely should.

If I am elected Mayor of Stamford, rest assured, I will spend taxpayer money wisely and carefully.

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