Gioiello Would Refuse Pay If Shelton Taxes Increase

Mayoral Candidate and Democrat Dave Gioiello vowed to work for free if he, as mayor, had to increase taxes.

The promise was part of a list of pledges he made Monday outside of City Hall. Gioiello is also the chairman of the Shelton Democratic Town Committee. He spoke surrounded by other members of his slate: Alderman John "Jack" Finn, Joe Knapick and Judson Crawford.

"For the fiscal year 2014-2015 I will propose a zero increase in property taxes or will work for free for the fiscal year," Gioiello said. He added that given increasing costs, such as the possibility of all-day kindergarten and bus payments, it may be difficult to avoid a tax increase.

More Pledges

His other pledges are:

• "To present fiscally sound budgets"
• "Immediately work on restoring your trust and faith in our City Government given the scandals that have plagued Shelton for years"
• "To hold all City Hall employees responsible for illegal or unethical conduct"
• "Not to enter into any transactions which may be perceived as improper or as a conflict or interest with my position as mayor"
• "To run my administration in open and transparent manner"
• "To treat every Fire Code violation as serious in nature"
• "To Work with the Board of Education and continuously evaluate the security of our schools in an effort to ensure the safety of our children"
• "To support the appropriate funding of our school system for the betterment of our children's education"
• "To listen respectfully to ideas, suggestions, critiques or questions from all residents and not to dismiss them as 'personal attacks.'"
• "To work my hardest to make Shelton a great place to live, to work and to do business."