The City of Derby held a simple, dignified inauguration
ceremony at Derby High School on Saturday, Dec. 3, and then the newly
elected officials got down to the serious job of governing as two boards
met on the same stage where the ceremony had taken place to elect their
new chairs.
State Representative Themis Klarides served as the
Master of Ceremonies for the 35 minute affair which opened with the
musical styling of the Derby High School Choir and the presentation of
the colors by members of the police and fire departments. Following the
singing of the National Anthem by Mayor Anthony Staffieri's niece Cara
Staffieri and an invocation by Rev. Mitchell Wanat, the oath of office
was administered to members of the Boards of Education, Apportionment &
Taxation and Aldermen as well as the constables and the Treasurer. The
honor of administering the oaths went to State representative Linda
Gentile, U.S. Representative Chris Murphy and Klarides.
It was then Mayor Staffieri's turn and Judge Joseph
Flynn administered the oath which was followed by the mayor's inaugural
address (watch or read below!). The ceremony closed with Cara
Staffieri's rendition of God Bless America a benediction by Rev. Wanat
and the retiring of the colors by the fire and police departments while
the Choir sang once again.
Immediately after the ceremony, the Board of Aldermen
and the Board of Apportionment and taxation held meetings on the stage
to elect their new chairs. Ron Sill was elected to head the Aldermen and
Anita Dugatto was selected to head the Tax Board. Their election marked
the shifting of the control of the boards to Democratic control as the
Democrats won control of the boards during the November election.
Good morning
Mayor DellaVolpe, Mayor Lauretti, I thank you for joining me today and
wish to thank you for your friendship and the bi partisan relationship
we have shared for the past six years.
I would like to thank His Honor, Joe Flynn, for being so kind in
offering me the oath of office. Joe, your service to Derby, to our State
of Connecticut and to the Judicial System has been extraordinary. You
have set a standard of intelligence and impeccable honesty as a shining
example for all of us to follow. You humble me with your presence.
To my dear friend, State Representative, Themis Klarides, who wore out
shoes walking with me these last couple of months. I thank you for your
spirit, your counsel, and of course, your shoe leather.
To those many volunteers who worked on my behalf during the recent
campaign and Judy Szewczyk, who gave so much of her time, her
intelligence and her creativity, I thank all of you. You amaze me.
To my sister Liz and my brothers Jim, Ezio and Aldo, I thank you. Family
is everything to me and I am very lucky to be part of our family.
To my wife Diane and to my three sons, Anthony, Paul and Joe, your
support and love has been and, continues to be, the high point of my
life. I thank and love you.
The most sensational aspect of living in the United States of America is
our wonderful ability to vote and elect those who will represent us.
The people in Derby have voted and we are now the elected officials
selected to move forward, making the lives of Derby’s citizens better
for today and into the future.
May I congratulate each and everyone of you on your successful campaign
to serve the people of Derby.
May I also congratulate those who sought office but were not successful.
Without your effort to gain elective office, our system of government
would stagnate and lose its competitive nature. Your efforts provide the
motivation for creativity, and a voice for what is best within our
system.
In a campaign, we are either a Republican or a Democrat. Once the votes
are counted, we are no longer party members but we are now elected
representatives of the people.
We, as free minds, will differ on a number of issues but, the difference
is not based on a party affiliation but on our vision of the future. We
see enough partisan politics in Washington DC and in Hartford. The
people of Derby deserve better and I believe they should receive better.
Join with me and lets begin moving forward in making Derby the very
best. Let us disagree on minor issues but let us continue moving
forward.
The downtown redevelopment is moving forward. In these tight economic
times, to find a developer interested in the creation of a project has
not been easy.
I believe we have found one. His plans are creative and practical. He is
putting together his financial package and is ready to move forward. And
may I add, without any money from the Derby taxpayer. This project will
provide tax revenue to the City and many jobs for our citizens
unemployed or underemployed.
We own an asset called East Derby Water Works built in 1971. We receive
no value for our ownership. I want to sell East Derby Water Works and
use the one time revenue for one time improvements to our City. Once
sold, it becomes a taxable piece of property thus we will receive
ongoing revenue from the sale.
With this one time revenue, we can protect the future of our city by
putting some money into our fund balance.
We can also purchase one time items, whether it be modern vests for the
protection of our police officers or new breathing devices for our
volunteer fire fighters. The City Hall computer system is getting old
and the expenses to keep it running are increasing dramatically. We can
save our citizens tax dollars by replacing the system.
I would like to create a demolition fund so when a building is
substantially blighted and the owners have abandoned the property, we
have funds to purchase and demo the building. This will greatly enhance
a number of neighborhoods within Derby and create opportunities for
people to buy the property, build decent housing and attract more people
to our city.
We need to consider items such as visiting team bleachers at Ryan Field,
a public park for children on O’Sullivan Island, and other recreational
activities like tennis courts.
The sale of the water company asset would allow us to investigate the
above items. All in our effort to make our city a better place to live.
I wish to aggressively seek public and private funds for the Sterling
Opera House. We now have a realistic plan for returning the Opera House
to a functioning theater. There is no better way to enhance the activity
of our downtown than having a theater attracting people to Derby. Our
restaurants, our shops, and our people will all be the beneficiaries.
Construction of our Greenway Phase III should begin shortly which means
we need to get started on planning for Phase IV which will be the
connection to Orange.
Our road into our new industrial park will be completed shortly. We must
now prepare bid packages and review development plans to decide what
best idea will suit Derby. Which proposal will produce the greatest
amount of tax dollars and which will produce the greatest number of jobs
for our citizens.
Finally, there has been much discussion about helping our senior
citizens and how they pay their property taxes. There are a number of
directions we can follow including the Four payment system, a tax freeze
program and other ideas I have been investigating. Many cities
throughout Connecticut have come up with creative solutions to help
their older citizens living on a limited income. It is time for Derby to
be creative.
I believe, by working together, we can solve any problem we are
confronted with, we can move Derby forward into a bright future, and we
can make Derby a better place to live, a better place to work, a great
place to raise a family and a great city to retire.
All it takes is working together.
Join me and let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.
