In the April 9 story “Maturo Presents Reduced Spending Plan,” Democratic Town Committee Chairman Rich DePalma made the laughable comment that Mayor Joseph Maturo’s half-mill tax decrease “will have very little impact to the average taxpayer.”

The half-mill decrease proposed by the mayor is the largest decrease in a non-revaluation year since 1989. Records in the tax office only date back to 1989. However, the decrease is likely one of the largest in the town’s modern history. Best of all, it applies to every car, home, and piece of personal property, so even those who don’t own a home benefit from it.

When you compare the half-mill tax decrease to the crippling effect of the 17 percent tax increase that he and his team gave the town just a few short years ago, I agree with Mr. DePalma that the positive impact of a half-mill tax decrease seems minor, even though it is the largest in a non-revaluation year since 1989. However, the mill-rate reduction shows a genuine effort to lower costs and put money back in taxpayers’ pockets.

Mr. DePalma’s comment that this tax decrease will have little impact on the average taxpayer demonstrates just how out of touch both he and his party are with the residents. Though he might try, Mr. DePalma cannot minimize the importance of this tax decrease. It is real, it is substantive, and it will certainly impact taxpayers, despite what Mr. DePalma may want the taxpayers to think.

Paul Carbo

Paul Carbo

East Haven

Paul Carbo chairs the Republican Town Committee.