Monteleone: Southbury Residents Hurt by Tax Hikes Looking for Change

SOUTHBURY –After several months of campaigning door-to-door, attending town meetings and events, and talking to Southbury voters in person, John Monteleone, Republican candidate for First Selectman, says one thing is clear; Southbury residents want change at Town Hall.

“As I have made my way around this town full of great people, all the reasons why I decided to run for First Selectman have been reinforced by the things people have told me as I have met them at their doors, at local shops, or just running errands,” said Monteleone.  “It is clear that people in this town are tired of high taxes, shrinking property values and they want a change.”

Monteleone said that after only two years of First Selectman Ed Edelson in office, Southbury’s taxes have gone up a whopping 25%, a striking departure from past administrations, while the value of property has gone down. 

“The real story here is that everyone received a tremendous tax increase of 5 mills – a giant leap in the tax rate when people can afford it least,” said Monteleone.  “But that isn’t the worst part.  Many Southbury residents didn’t see the tax hike in their tax bills because simultaneously the value of their property declined.  First Selectman Edelson glibly remarked after our town’s revaluation that there were ‘winners and losers’ but that isn’t the case.  Under this administration everyone has lost something, and when you couple that with the giant state tax increases that have come from Hartford, it’s a one-two punch that really hurts families and seniors on fixed incomes.”

Monteleone pledged that if elected on November 5th, his first priority is to bring relief to those families who have been hurt by Edelson’s tax increases, and to bring fiscal stability and strong economic planning to Southbury. 

“Town government is meant to serve you, not be your adversary,” said Monteleone.  “When we change that we will bring Southbury together again.”

For more information on John Monteleone's Plan for Southbury visit Southburyfirst.org.