Director Jerald Lentini

We just heard the Town Manager's budget presentation, where he recommended a tax increase of more than 8%.

To be clear: there is no way in hell we will vote for that.

But that means the next few weeks of the budget process are going to be brutal. We need to make cuts in the millions to get this budget down to reasonable levels. We have some major challenges that are barreling towards us, not least of which is that the cost of gassing up town vehicles is about to get way more expensive. (Never let it be said that national issues don't matter to local government.) When fuel costs skyrocket like this, everything becomes more expensive, and that's as true for our towns as for our families.

Our biggest challenge, though, is that the state isn't structured to prioritize communities like ours. We desperately need to fix the ECS formula to make sure that schools are funded more fairly. We also need the General Assembly to start looking at broader fixes that address the bigger inequities in our state, the biggest being that we're almost entirely reliant on local property taxes to fund local government. Our current system ensures that rich towns thrive while working class communities struggle. As long as that's the way the state approaches local government operations, we're always going to find ourselves behind the 8 ball this time each year. We need to spend some time talking with our legislators and candidates about how the state is structured in a broad sense.

All that being said, we need to hear from you. Most years, the silence from town residents around budget season is deafening. As we get deeper into the weeds on budgeting and looking for cuts, we need to hear from you about what programs and personnel make the most impact to you and your family. Comments like those are a thousand times more useful to us than cantankerous statements about belt-tightening and other cliches. So please come out to the public hearing on our budget, scheduled for March 19 at 7:00 pm, and tell us what you'd like to see us focus on for FY2027.

I’m proud to announce the first two national endorsements for my reelection campaign: the national Democratic Municipal Officials organization, and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee!

I’m honored to have their support, and yours! You can join them in helping our campaign by clicking here: https://secure.anedot.com/manchester-democratic-town-committee/lentini

I'm honored to have been endorsed for another term on the Board of Directors by the Manchester DTC.

The last two years have been some of the most productive for Silk City in recent memory. You just have to look at the steel beams of our new library rising over the corner of Main and Maple to see it. Or walk two blocks south to see the new skate park, pump track, and soccer field getting their finishing touches before opening this fall. Or visit the campus of the newly reconstructed Keeney Elementary, our latest net-zero elementary school. Or the new EV charging stations around town. Or the new housing and public space going in at Nathan Hale. Or the new softball fields at New State Road.

We're also pushing for progress within Town Hall. We launched a Charter Revision Commission to expand opportunities for all Manchester's residents to participate in government. We created a Human Relations Commission to help our communities and government embrace our diverse and growing population. Our downtown was designated as a Connecticut Cultural District--only the sixth in the state--for our focus on arts and culture. And we earned a Silver Certification from Sustainable CT for our continued work at making Manchester a place where every family of any means can make a home for themselves.

I could go on and on, because the Democratic caucus on the Board of Directors has worked tirelessly this term to keep Manchester moving forward. For us, this isn't a one-meeting-per-month job, and we don't believe that our community's future is just treading water. The City of Village Charm has been making incredible progress, and we're ready to see it continue.

As always, I'll be knocking on doors and making calls in the months ahead to speak with voters one on one about what your priorities are for the next two years, and how you think we can help achieve them.

Thank you again for your trust and support over the past two years, and for your continued support in the campaign ahead. Let's keep moving forward, together.

https://www.manchesterctdems.info/donate-here/

At the groundbreaking ceremony for our new 21st century library!

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up." - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Dec. 10, 1964

The Nobel Peace Prize 1964 The Nobel Peace Prize 1964 was awarded to Martin Luther King Jr. "for his non-violent struggle for civil rights for the Afro-American population"

Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes. Today was one of the really good ones!