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Shelton Rebublican Town Committee Platform
Mayor Mark Lauretti and the Shelton Republican Party have been working to make Shelton a "city of choice" for families and business. We have pursued an agenda based on the philosophy that balanced growth generates the additional revenue needed to achieve all our goals as a community - low taxes, excellent schools, and superior city services.
We hope to continue the success Shelton has enjoyed by continuing a number of policies:
Strong Economic Development
Shelton has become known as a "growth dynamo" throughout Fairfield county—our grand list has almost tripled over the past 14 years. Under Mayor Lauretti, over 800 new businesses have moved to Shelton, creating over 7,400 new jobs. Bridgeport Avenue has become a model for how a city should plan balanced development. We are committed to continuing to move corporations, small businesses, and retail shops into Shelton in the same balanced fashion we have for the last fourteen years Not only does this economic growth create jobs, but provides the tax base that enables us to keep taxes low for our families.
Keeping Taxes Low
Shelton’s taxes have been 20-40 percent lower than its neighbors for more than a decade due to three factors. First, our economic growth creates a virtuous cycle of businesses moving in, increasing our tax base, keeping the tax rate low, which encourages more businesses to move in. Second, the Lauretti team has controlled the growth in non-education spending—most years see increases well below the rate of inflation. Third, our administration has a strong management team that watches every dollar to make sure the taxpayer’s are getting the most for their money. We are committed to keep Shelton’s taxes the lowest in the area.
Excellence In Education
Shelton’s education system has made tremendous progress in the past 14 years and the future looks bright. The Lauretti administration and our Republican Board of Education has worked together to create new programs, build new facilities and improve the experience of our students. In the last 14 years, the Lauretti administration has increased spending on education by over 75 percent. Shelton has built a state-of-the-art new Shelton Intermediate School, made improvements on every elementary school and currently is undertaking comprehensive renovations on Shelton High School. We are committing to continuous improvement in our education system while balancing the needs of our students and our taxpayers.
Increasing Open Space
Under Mayor Mark Lauretti and the Republican team, we have designated over 1,000 acres of town as open space. We are committed to preserving the suburban nature of Shelton and we have a goal of setting aside 15 percent of our land as perpetual open space. We will continue to make strategic purchases to expand our city’s open space for generations of Shelton residents to enjoy.
Revitalizing Downtown
Our plan to attract new businesses and make facilities renovations downtown continues to being improvements. Our new Riverwalk has been host to concerts, fireworks, picnics, or just the everyday evening walk. We have built new senior housing downtown and recently broke ground on a new condominium complex. We have removed or refurbished more than a dozen buildings through the anti-blight program. While more still needs to be done, we are well on the road to rejuvenating our once-vibrant downtown area.
Shelton Republican Town Committee © Copyright 2007
Paid for by the Shelton Republican Town Committee, Jean Anderson Treasurer
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