Just thought you might want to get a look at the home jersey for the Danbury Madhatters.
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Mississippi Queen
2 hours ago
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Danbury MadHatter Hockey Uniforms
Just thought you might want to get a look at the home jersey for the Danbury Madhatters.
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A busy, busy day.
Yesterday started off as a regular day here at the City of Danbury. It finished as one of the busiest I have ever had as Mayor.
Between the bomb threat, the bank robbery and everything in between, our public safety personnel, schools, and emergency management team did a terrific job. I am proud of all those who helped pull together a monumental task of moving almost 10,000 students out of our buildings to safety.
Our emergency out call systems worked well. There were individual incidents of parents not getting the most up to date information, most of those incidents were due to incorrect information in the data base (old phone numbers, no secondary number, etc.) but all in all it was a flawless day.
The measure of success was how well and how quickly were able to move students around. The measure of success was how safe our children were. In this aspect, the day was a total success.
We are investigating the entire incident, and we will catch the person or persons responsible for this event.
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Between the bomb threat, the bank robbery and everything in between, our public safety personnel, schools, and emergency management team did a terrific job. I am proud of all those who helped pull together a monumental task of moving almost 10,000 students out of our buildings to safety.
Our emergency out call systems worked well. There were individual incidents of parents not getting the most up to date information, most of those incidents were due to incorrect information in the data base (old phone numbers, no secondary number, etc.) but all in all it was a flawless day.
The measure of success was how well and how quickly were able to move students around. The measure of success was how safe our children were. In this aspect, the day was a total success.
We are investigating the entire incident, and we will catch the person or persons responsible for this event.
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Memorial Day speech 2008
Memorial Day
2008
Ladies and gentleman, Gold Star mothers, veterans, friends and my fellow Danburians, I am honored and proud to once again address you in honor of those American heroes who as Lincoln said “paid the last full measure of devotion” to our Republic.
I would like to thank the Danbury Council of Veterans for a wonderful parade. I would also like to thank our Director of Veteran Affairs Pat Waldron for the compassion that he shows to the veterans of this city each and every day.
Memorial Day is a day like no other. Since 1868 we have come together in our communities, towns, and cities to place flowers and flags on the graves of those who answered the call of duty. Today, we honor the living, and remember the dead.
Legend has it that Memorial Day or what was once called “remembrance day” or “decoration day” began when mothers of fallen soldiers of the South placed flowers on the graves of their sons who died in the Civil War. The interesting part of their remembrance was that the mothers also placed flowers on the graves of the Northern soldiers who were buried at the sides of their children. This act of tender mercy led to the declaration of a national day of remembrance for all of the fallen.
I guess that it is only fitting that mothers started it all. After all, they have paid a supreme sacrifice for our countries liberty. The child that they raised, that they laughed with, that they cried with, and that they shared life with- is gone.
The families of all of the heroes of our democracy have also paid a sacrifice. Each night we see scenes on TV of another family devastated by the loss of their loved one in Iraq.
As we speak here today, there are thousands upon thousands of mothers with sons and daughters in Iraq who are praying every night before they go to bed for the safe return of the child. We must never forget their payers and we must let the families of our ser vice men and women know how much we care for them.
But still, it is the mothers that I think about. What do we say to a woman who has lost all that she is. How do we share with them our compassion our sorrow. How do we let them know how proud we are of their sons and daughters? I am not sure if anything that we do or say here today can really ease their pain. While the memories and the images fade, the longing, love, and pain of their loss does not.
So we set aside this day, this Memorial Day, to honor the living, and remember the dead. Part of our ceremony must be to honor the families of our soldiers as well. They have also made a sacrifice to our country. A sacrifice that endures through the decades.
There are many things that we are called to do to show our devotion and to demonstrate our gratitude to the families.. We owe to the living, as much as we owe to the dead, the preservation and protection of our republic and our democracy. We owe to the living as much as we owe to the dead to participate in our democracy. We owe it to the living as much as we owe to the dead to elevate our communities, and to work together for a better tomorrow.
Today, on behalf of all of the residents who reside here in our wonderful city, I want to say thank you to every family, every father, every mother, every husband, every wife, every son, and every daughter of the servicemen and women serving in the many battlefields and military posts around the globe.
But I still think of the Mothers. Mothers of a far away time, who on a warm spring day began planting flowers on all of the fallen soldiers graves, regardless of what side they fought on, because only a mother can know the true sacrifice made and only a mother can understand the price that has been paid for our freedom.
Indeed, it is the mothers who understand the true meaning of Memorial Day.
Let the rest of us never forget..
God Bless America, God Bless the City of Danbury.
2008
Ladies and gentleman, Gold Star mothers, veterans, friends and my fellow Danburians, I am honored and proud to once again address you in honor of those American heroes who as Lincoln said “paid the last full measure of devotion” to our Republic.
I would like to thank the Danbury Council of Veterans for a wonderful parade. I would also like to thank our Director of Veteran Affairs Pat Waldron for the compassion that he shows to the veterans of this city each and every day.
Memorial Day is a day like no other. Since 1868 we have come together in our communities, towns, and cities to place flowers and flags on the graves of those who answered the call of duty. Today, we honor the living, and remember the dead.
Legend has it that Memorial Day or what was once called “remembrance day” or “decoration day” began when mothers of fallen soldiers of the South placed flowers on the graves of their sons who died in the Civil War. The interesting part of their remembrance was that the mothers also placed flowers on the graves of the Northern soldiers who were buried at the sides of their children. This act of tender mercy led to the declaration of a national day of remembrance for all of the fallen.
I guess that it is only fitting that mothers started it all. After all, they have paid a supreme sacrifice for our countries liberty. The child that they raised, that they laughed with, that they cried with, and that they shared life with- is gone.
The families of all of the heroes of our democracy have also paid a sacrifice. Each night we see scenes on TV of another family devastated by the loss of their loved one in Iraq.
As we speak here today, there are thousands upon thousands of mothers with sons and daughters in Iraq who are praying every night before they go to bed for the safe return of the child. We must never forget their payers and we must let the families of our ser vice men and women know how much we care for them.
But still, it is the mothers that I think about. What do we say to a woman who has lost all that she is. How do we share with them our compassion our sorrow. How do we let them know how proud we are of their sons and daughters? I am not sure if anything that we do or say here today can really ease their pain. While the memories and the images fade, the longing, love, and pain of their loss does not.
So we set aside this day, this Memorial Day, to honor the living, and remember the dead. Part of our ceremony must be to honor the families of our soldiers as well. They have also made a sacrifice to our country. A sacrifice that endures through the decades.
There are many things that we are called to do to show our devotion and to demonstrate our gratitude to the families.. We owe to the living, as much as we owe to the dead, the preservation and protection of our republic and our democracy. We owe to the living as much as we owe to the dead to participate in our democracy. We owe it to the living as much as we owe to the dead to elevate our communities, and to work together for a better tomorrow.
Today, on behalf of all of the residents who reside here in our wonderful city, I want to say thank you to every family, every father, every mother, every husband, every wife, every son, and every daughter of the servicemen and women serving in the many battlefields and military posts around the globe.
But I still think of the Mothers. Mothers of a far away time, who on a warm spring day began planting flowers on all of the fallen soldiers graves, regardless of what side they fought on, because only a mother can know the true sacrifice made and only a mother can understand the price that has been paid for our freedom.
Indeed, it is the mothers who understand the true meaning of Memorial Day.
Let the rest of us never forget..
God Bless America, God Bless the City of Danbury.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
A remarkable evening....a great film.
I just left the Palace Theater. It was incredible to see the Palace Theater come to life. It was incredible to see a packed house and a great film to boot. I strongly recommend "The Flyboys" it is funny and will be a festival favorite. In general, I am thrilled with the start of the film festival. There is a terrific film on Saturday night that I am seeing with my wife called "Americanizing Shelley" so if you are interested check it out. This really could be the start of something big.. For more information, go to www.ctfilmfest.com.
Monday, May 19, 2008
K-Man Band back in town..
Quite possibly the best original music (and cover tunes) to ever play at our local establishments. Special thanks to Ethan, Tim, Lou, Clarke after dark, and the rest of the crew at I-95 FM for bringing them back and raising money for the United Way. As a seasoned K-maniac I will see you at the next show. Thanks to Tony Richards and the band as well.
New newsletter
I have developed an e-newsletter that will be e-mailed out from time to time to update our residents on issues and happenings in the city. The Boughton Bulletin is completed and will be e-mailed shortly. If you want to be included as a recipient please e-mail me your address and we will add you to our list. Newsletters will be available only to subscribers so make sure you sign up now!
All the Best,
MayorMark
PS. Absolutely no taxpayer dollars are used for the Boughton Bulletin
UPDATE #1- by popular demand, here is the link to the Boughton Bulletin. Now, sign up because I will not always put this on the web!
All the Best,
MayorMark
PS. Absolutely no taxpayer dollars are used for the Boughton Bulletin
UPDATE #1- by popular demand, here is the link to the Boughton Bulletin. Now, sign up because I will not always put this on the web!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Westconn gets funding to design new Fine Arts Building.
This is huge. Westconn received funding from Gov. Rell to begin designing the Fine Arts building on the Westside campus. The bond appropriation will be for 12.2 million dollars. Wow! This is crucial because the state would not spend that kind of money if they were not going to build the building. Great news! Thank you Gov. Rell.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Don't forget the phase in..
Several of you have contacted me about the impact of our budget on your taxes. Some of you have taken the new mill rate (21.35) and multiplied that against your new assessment. This is a mistake because you are forgetting the phase in of the reevaluation. There is no easy way to determine your tax liability, I would suggest that you contact us at the office (797-4511). But rest assured that the majority of residents will see between a 5% to 7% increase.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Budget Passes.
A lot of work. That what putting together a spending plan for the City of Danbury. This budget was, by far, the most difficult that I have written and worked on. Why? A variety of reasons. Revenue's from building permits and from the Real Estate Conveyance fee are off by about 50%. On top of that, we have a state mandated reevaluation to be managed. With a average tax increase of 5-7% for our homeowners, I think we have done the best we could given the circumstances. Commercial property will see on average, higher increases because the reevaluation showed a tremendous increase in the value of commercial property.
Some have claimed that we should have not done the revaluation. That is just silly. The State of Connecticut requires all municipalities to follow their schedule. There is no mechanism in the statutes to throw data from a reval out. You can delay the implementation of the reevaluation for one year if there are so many appeals that you cannot get a read on the grand list, but you still have to implement the reevaluation the following year.
There was some positive things that came out of the budget process this year. The grant agency system or lack of one is a disaster- we are going to restore some order to the process. The education budget continues to present challenges. Our capital plan which will be voted on next month, must continue, or we will pay in the long run. To be continued...
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Some have claimed that we should have not done the revaluation. That is just silly. The State of Connecticut requires all municipalities to follow their schedule. There is no mechanism in the statutes to throw data from a reval out. You can delay the implementation of the reevaluation for one year if there are so many appeals that you cannot get a read on the grand list, but you still have to implement the reevaluation the following year.
There was some positive things that came out of the budget process this year. The grant agency system or lack of one is a disaster- we are going to restore some order to the process. The education budget continues to present challenges. Our capital plan which will be voted on next month, must continue, or we will pay in the long run. To be continued...
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Clean City Danbury Day huge success!
Thank you to all of the residents who volunteered for Clean City Danbury Day. Pictured above is some of the scrap metal we collected. The numbers are not in, but we had an awesome day. A special thanks to our "clean teams" who dedicated countless hours to litter control. You are terrific. As soon as I have some numbers on tonnage of material collected, I will post the grand total. Thanks again.
All The Best,
MayorMark
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Beauty and the Beast is terrific!
Tonight I debuted in my cameo role in Danbury High School's Beauty and the Beast. I am so impressed with the level of professionalism and the passion that Danbury High students bring to this production. This is a must see. Way to go Danbury High!!!!
Show Times:
Friday-7:30 PM
Saturday-3:00 PM matinee.
Saturday Night-7:30 PM
Tickets are still available.
All The Best,
Mayor Mark
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