The current administration's lack of enthusiasm to update the town Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) is putting state grant money at risk and causing quality businesses to look elsewhere which puts more of a tax burden on homeowners.

Without a valid plan, the administration continues to grasp at any straw that appears to offer quick financial payouts to the town — such as the Dunham Farms offer or the ethanol plant proposal for the Century Enterprise site.

This lack of a plan — coupled with political shenanigans and fiscal sleight of hand in a budget year — led to a threatened reduction last year in the town’s credit rating, which would have cost untold amounts in higher interest rates.

• Hire a professional town planner.
• Finish the hard work of updating the POCD.
• Place people on boards and commissions who will actually follow the plan.
• Make sure groups such as Planning, Zoning, Economic Development, Farmland Preservation and others work in concert with each other and not in a vacuum.
• Work in concert with the state and regional plans.

• Attract quality growth rather than an endless stretch of strip malls.
• Revitalize already developed areas of town rather than simply plowing up virgin farmland for more houses.
• Quality growth means quality schools.
• Quality growth means less of a tax burden on the homeowner.

• Work with the state to develop a state code of ethics with regional commissions, eliminating the problems of self-policing caused by the current weak local ethics code and local ethics commission.

• Define a hierarchy of town services and make sure that high priority services such as public health and safety are funded adequately. If cuts are necessary, make them from less critical areas.
• Spend more time evaluatng big picture items such as the town pension fund which can realize millions of dollars in tax savings and less time evaluating minor budget items.
• Be consistent with using the Waste Management Settlement funds. Obey the town ordinance regarding its use. Develop and adhere to a long-range plan for using the funds.
• Be transparent with the budget process. Eliminating funding to get a low tax increase in an election year, and then replacing the money from the surplus is neither prudent nor ethical and certainly not transparent.

• Ensure the current revision to the town Plan of Conservation and Development accurately reflects the will of the people.
• Make sure our Land Use members adhere to its recommendations.
• Review, coordinate and update all land use regulations on a scheduled, periodic, consistent basis.
• Lobby to create the office of Land Use Coordinator to organize Planning, Zoning and Wetlands.
• Work with the state to establish a Planning Enforcement Officer.

• Encourage all town officials, especially the Mayor, Board of Education and Board of Finance members, to visit each school level for at least a half day three or more times a year, including shadowing a teacher to better understand a typical day.
• Review and educate the public about what is mandated by contract and the state and federal programs.
• Provide a better understanding of the budget; educate the public.

• Clean up the nuisance and neglected properties around town. Make New Milford a place where a small company CEO wants to bring their families.
• Focus on New Milford Hospital and its link with Columbia Presbyterian; nurture the healthcare industry in New Milford.
• Develop the village center concept and market spaces available, especially on Main Street.
• Stop looking for the big companies and encourage smaller companies like some of the ones on Pickett District Rd.
• Consider revitalizing or nurturing existing areas close to downtown that already have infrastructure in place such as the area south of Bridge St or Youngsfield Rd or the area just north of the new downtown CVS.
• Analyze the feasibility of changing the flood characteristics of the river near downtown.
• The Zoning Commission has adopted a Riverfront Zone. Now the town needs a plan to develop the riverfront properly.
• We urge negotiations with the Postal Service to find a way to reduce the number of mail trucks on Main Street, possibly by moving the back end operations elsewhere, but keeping the retail operations on Main Street

• Most importantly, complete a long-term plan for the town so voters can see where each project fits into the plan and its relative priority.
• We support the initiative to build a new creative playground and applaud the work done so far to make it a reality.
• We support a creative, joint approach to downtown parking including a comprehensive review of available parking and innovative, creative solutions to make more spaces available without building parking garages

• Continue to support the fine work of our Senior Center and Youth Agency.

• Make sure that quality of life and tradition are taken into consideration when developing the long-term plan for the town.