Recently, former Vernon Mayor Ellen L. Marmer launched a number of allegations against me and my administration in a piece published in the newspaper. Some of her charges are uninformed, some are misunderstood, and the majority are just plain untrue.

As former Mayor Marmer knows, I am not permitted to speak about any government employees due to the Town Ethical Rules and Personnel Rules. Claims of patronage and cronyism are claims of illegal actions. I am a person whose family lives in town with a history in town. I run a business in town and I also go before judges and juries as an attorney in town. That being said, a statement of cronyism and patronage are claims of unlawful conduct that are incorrect, untrue, and false. Those ridiculous slanderous claims are a direct attack on my character and my family’s reputation. A claim of patronage and cronyism is also an attack on our personnel system and its requirements, moreover, it is a direct attack on more than a dozen people that I have hired, promoted and appointed (after ratification by the Town Council both Democrat and Republican members), all of which were selected only after they went through several levels of vetting, background checks, reference checks and interviews. After all of that was done, the top three candidates were finally presented to me as Mayor to make a decision to hire, appoint or promote. Shame on you Ellen Marmer, your attack is beyond all acceptable bounds of debate regarding policy and management . It is personal attack with false statements claiming unlawful conduct.

As Mayor of Vernon, I have taken my duties seriously. I am required to hire and dismiss employees. I am required to balance the budget and deliver services that folks in Vernon need, and if possible, services that they want. I am required to make sure that all Vernon residents and property owners are responded to, assisted, and helped. I do not spend as little time as possible managing the town, like the former Mayor Marmer who spent only Thursdays working for the town. I spend the time needed to manage the town. I expect all town employees at every level to do the same, because that is the job I was elected to do and they were hired for.

A look at several so called allegations :

Patronage and favoritism lead her list, particularly the appointment of the town attorney. In actuality, my legal team consists of the same attorneys that served during the past Marmer administration . Attorney Cummings has become the Town Attorney and Attorneys Boyan and Burke continue, serving as Assistant Town Attorneys. During her first term, Mayor Marmer appointed our current sitting Democrat Congressman as her Town Attorney.

She accuses the Council of allocating $30,000 to hire one of the mayor’s “lawyer friends” to lobby our interests in the Legislature. They are not my friends. She questions the need for such services. The two organizations that currently represent us also represent all the other member towns in Connecticut , and I feel that more individual emphasis on Vernon is needed to further our interests.

Marmer takes aim at the Republican initiative to discontinue charging condominiums for fire hydrants. When our Planning and Zoning Commission requires street lights and fire hydrants in a development, the cost becomes part of general taxation. Not only do condo dwellers pay for these services through their taxes, but they are also charged individually. It is a double tax, and it is not fair. The utility companies also pay taxes on the hydrants and lights. True, there are areas of Vernon that do not have fire hydrant but for the protection of these areas, the town has purchased and maintains fire apparatus to carry and pump water to the site. The cost of this equipment is, of course, part of general taxation.

The assertion that we are not paying principal on “outstanding” bounding debt is incorrect. The town is paying both principal and interest on bonding debt of outstanding bonds. The Town had outstanding bonds before I was Mayor, and the budget indicates that both principal and interest is being paid this year and every year until those old bonds are retired. As to the new debt that was incurred as a result of the 2004 and 2005 bonding projects, I did structure those debts or notes in February into bonds that require the town to pay interest only for this year and next year because the rates were low, but there are nearly no additional costs for the life of the 2004 and 2005 bond projects. Without that management decision, the budget would have been $1.1 million higher, or we would have had to cut $1.1 million in services. The bonding structure reduced the impact on the taxpayer . We will pay interest only on these bonds until the year 2010 when 20-year old bonds are retired.

I have not “manipulated and revised any Town Council minutes prior to an agenda for council approval.” This is blatantly and totally false, shame on you, and you should check your facts.

I have appointed out-of-town residents to boards and commissions where it is allowed by the Town Charter, particularly the Economic Development Commission. The group was inactive during the Marmer administration because there were not enough members to field a meeting, in violation of state law and the town charter. I have appointed people representing, banking, retail business, manufacturing, real estate and property development to this commission, which is required to produce a report to inform the Mayor and Council of economic trends, employment trends, and ways of attracting business to increase commercial tax revenue and job opportunities for people in this town. Some live in Vernon, some do not. All run business in Vernon and have strong ties to the community .

We have not “given away” a $6.3 million federal “earmark” grant. I am actively trying to get the Connecticut Transit Authority to submit to the federal authorities our proposal to use these monies for renovations of the Citizen’s Block as a transportation center for Dial A Ride and senior transit, which would in the process rehabilitate this eye sore in the center of town, and make it more feasible to attract the Music Hall of Fame and locate the Pitney Museum. By using part of this space for transportation related purpose, we can, under the law, use the grant for a purpose that is more in line with the needs of Rockville . The Town Council members and most of the people in Vernon and Rockville have indicated that a seedy large bus station was not a pressing need in town.

The Town website developer redesigned our Web site. The staff developed the content. The site is now interactive and provides such services as online tax payment and online registration for recreational and educational programs. You can check your tax bills, find all departments, all employees, all elected officials, signup for news updates , and a number of other items. I believe that these changes have provided a huge convenience to our citizens and give us the capability of adding even more features as needed. I did not check the political affiliation of the contractor at the time, but now find that he is “unaffiliated,” not a Republican as Marmer charges.

I would agree with one thing that Marmer suggests. Please take some time to educate yourselves on the accomplishment of this administration, it is fully transparent. They are numerous and positive. They include changing to a two-year budget, reduced the 2008-2009 tax rate by 8 percent; public safety improvements such as the reconstruction of bridges that were fully funded but the prior manager Mayor Marmer did not even start; successfully finished several long term projects; realized major cost savings in employee benefit packages; audited the Board of Education budget, contracts and invoices and reduced $700,000 in spending; adopted a policy on fuel usage, electricity and oil that equates to a 5-10 percent decrease in usage; as well purchasing of hybrid vehicles to further save energy.

We have also implemented systems of digital governance to deal with the 21st century challenges the government faces that a 20th century bureaucracy cannot handle. Now, no matter who the mayor is, the management systems will be non-political .

I am happy to speak with you and clarify any rumors you may hear. Please feel free to call me.