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Twisting the Facts

On Sept. 7, Dominic Milano asked what happened to $918,000 in the 2015-2016 Board of Education budget [“A Pretty Big Error”]. He implies that it’s missing and even called for a costly, scary-sounding “forensic audit” to find it.

Residents can rest easy. The certified auditors who performed the 2015-2016 audit for the town had no trouble locating it. It’s accounted for on page 20 of that audit, which is on file in Town Clerk’s office. Although Mr. Milano doesn’t mention it, page 20 of that audit also shows the town ran a healthy $1.1 million surplus and increased its rainy day fund to $4.9 million that year.

Mr. Milano also ignores the fact that in November 2016, international credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s reviewed the town’s finances and awarded the town an upgrade in its credit rating to “A+.” This rating is a full three tiers above the shoddy “BBB+” rating the town suffered under the Democratic party that is now attempting to reinvent itself with Sal Maltese at the top of its ticket.

A certified auditing firm and an internationally recognized credit rating agency validated the town’s books and fiscal policies. Despite that, Mr. Milano is calling for a scary-sounding, incredibly costly forensic audit to tell us what we already know.

It’s an election year and the mayor’s critics, including Mr. Milano, are twisting the facts and hoping residents will fall for their gimmicks. Their tactics are ugly and desperate, and they have no place in this mayoral race.

Nicole Penta

East Haven