June Waters, 89, of Newtown died peacefully December 23. She was born in Newark, N.J., daughter of the late Julia and George Dorer.
Mrs Waters attended William Smith College, Newark State Teacher's Co...
Carol Ann Beers, 74, of St James, N.C., formerly of Newtown, died January 13 at Lower Cape Fear Hospice in Whiteville, N.C. She was born September 29, 1942, daughter of the late David and Adell Metres...
Norma H. Andrews, 94, of Nunnawauk Meadows in Newtown died on January 1 after a brief illness. She was born on February 14, 1922, on Main Street in Washingtonville, N.Y., to Clara (Felter) Hookey and ...
Evelyn C. Becker died on January 13, at Maefair Health Care Center in Trumbull. She was born in Bridgeport to Susan and Anthony Cuvitilo. She was the wife of the late W. Rex Becker, who predeceased he...
Jerome "Jerry" H. Shapiro, of Sandy Hook, died peacefully on January 11 while under hospice care at River Glen Health Care Center in Southbury. He was born in Port Chester, N.Y., on August 4, 1929, so...
George E. Mattegat, Sr, moved to Newtown from Monroe when he was 21 years old. He spent the next 66 years of his life here, before moving to The Villages in Florida in 2014. On January 6, at the age o...
Helen Vengren "Jackie" Reck, 80, of Easton died January 7 at St Vincent's Medical Center. She was the beloved wife of the late Walter M. Reck. Born in Dracut, Mass., on June 17, 1936, she was a daught...
Beverly M. Muehlenbein, 82, of New Milford died January 6, at Danbury Hospital after a brief illness. She was born April 27, 1934, in Neenah, Wis., a daughter of the late Ethel (Sutton) and Alvin Mant...
Nancy Butts Whittemore, 91, of Sandy Hook died January 6, following a brief illness. She was born on November 5, 1925, in Newton, Mass., to Louise (Mirick) and F. Marsena Butts. She was the beloved wi...
George Emil Mattegat, Sr, 87, died January 6 at Leesburgh Hospital in Florida, with his wife and friends at his bedside. He was born in Bridgeport, to Ada and Emil Mattegat, on July 19, 1929. He grew ...
To add a bit more context: the adopted Borough budget was for just under $300,000 [https://boroughofnewtownct.gov/borough-of-newtown-budget-approved/]. $58,000 in legal fees (to date) means a significant cost must be shouldered by Borough residents and businesses, increasing taxes noticeably. Many of those pushing the lawsuits were not subject to the added costs because they do not reside nor do business in the Borough.
Well said. Unfortunately, we are back to more of the same and we know how this will end. However, it gives us an opportunity to question many ways in which the DTC failed residents, voters, candidates, everyone. Brandon Moore was the first candidate to voice interest in running. A strong and well prepared candidate that the town republicans did not want to run against. They made it clear they wanted Ku to be the candidate. We all know you endorse the candidate you have no concerns about. Once Ku decided to try to unseat Bolinsky again, the DTC should have done what it can do and that was choose a candidate or put a good process in place to set up forums and get the caucus over and done smoothly, fairly, and ethically. It did neither. and this is what resulted: The Young Dem Debate became a Ku strategy to claim Ku being victimized, and it backfired; Ku's previous campaign committee went with Brandon Moore in hopes of finally flipping the seat; the DTC delay in organizing any candidate forums led to an inability to get the information out to all (as we see in complaints from new residents regarding lack of information); the DTC was severely split by the caucus chaos and some did not fully participate as a result; and we are back to square one with the candidate Alex Villamil preferred, and the same old guard and the same chance of flipping the seat.
Welcome and thank you for your insightfulness. I agree wholeheartedly, however, you will soon learn that the intention is to contain participation. I believe the new residents and the new families are invaluable and hope that you will attend a DTC meeting. You will learn a great deal. Second Thursday of the Month and tonight, June 11th, 7 pm, it is at the Edmond Town Hall. : )
Mr. Ackert’s letter leaves out an important point: many of the legal expenses he references exist because of the legal challenges and complaints he and his facebook group has chosen to pursue.
It is not fair to blame the Borough Zoning Commission Chair for costs that were driven, in large part, by Mr. Ackert’s own actions. Taxpayers should understand that litigation and FOIA complaints do not appear out of nowhere. They are initiated by individuals who decide to take those matters forward.
Public officials should absolutely be held accountable, and the Borough should follow proper procedures at all times. But accountability should run both ways. If someone repeatedly challenges the Borough through legal channels, then points to the resulting legal bills as proof of poor leadership, the public deserves that context.
Reasonable people can disagree about zoning decisions, development, and procedure. However, turning every disagreement into a legal fight has consequences, and those consequences are paid for by Borough taxpayers.
Before assigning blame for legal expenses, Mr. Ackert should acknowledge his own role in creating them.
