Candidate Profile: Councilwoman Randi Duffie

The lone Democratic voice on the Borough Council, Councilwoman Randi Duffie says that New Milford deserves continued two-party rule, where a balance of power flourishes. 

"The people of New Milford deserve a council where there are differences of opinions and open dialogue," she said.

An issue Duffie says is central to the campaign is United Water and flood control. She said she strongly believes that the Mayor and Council have to challenge the water level that United Water holds for maintaining their reservoirs.

Dissatisfied by United Water's consistent statements that they are bound by DEP regulations regarding the level at which they can hold the reservoirs, Duffie said she decided to challenge their claims.

She called a number of people within the DEP's Dam Management, Water Allocation, Water Enforecement and Drinking Water departments and questioned them on whether or not United Water was bound by DEP permits as they repeatedly said in a meeting attended by the Mayor and Council and residents after Irene. 

One DEP employee Duffie said she spoke to, Darin Schaffer in Dam Safety, told her that the state does not require a certain level in the reservoir be retained, she said.

Duffie also contacted a resident who is a climatologist at Hunter College.

"After looking at 100 years of data, he's convinced United Water can control flooding and provide drinking water. He's convinced there should be a flood management plan," she said.

"When there's a drought, we never flood," she continued.

Regarding post-Irene recovery efforts Duffie is adamant that the recovery plan should have included the immediate deployment of Dumpsters to give the residents some relief.

Another issue central to the campaign is employee contracts. Because borough contracts are up on Dec. 31, Duffie says that the council must find a way to balance services and taxes.

"The question is how do you maintain quality of services without raising taxes?" she asks. "We have to negotiate because in this economy we have residents losing their jobs, their houses, and many cannot afford their taxes," she continued.

One area of contention for Duffie, she says, is that Mayor Ann Subrizi has been meeting with union representatives without inviting the council to participate in the preliminary contract negotiations.

"I will be an advocate for including the public," Duffie said. 

Duffie maintains that it's difficult to keep taxes low without reducing services, especially with the decrease in state aid.

"People are struggling. The council has to review the budget and look for areas where we can combine services." Duffie continued, "Every department is already pared down, but we should look to see where we can share services with the Board of Education. We shouldn't be overlapping in areas like purchasing."

New Milford is a member of the Riverside Cooperative, which negotiates joint contracts with other municipalities for services such as garbage pick-up and the paving of roads. Duffie wants to do more to find a way to share services to reduce costs. 

Duffie said she is also focused on develpment.

"The 16 acres on the north side of town is the elephant in the room," Duffie said, referring to the United Water Property.

"In April, the developer made a presentation for re-zoning that land to commercial use." Duffie continues, "In September, the mayor called for a zoning vote, but I refused to vote because there was no notice. And then the flood happened."

"Post flood we're in a new phase," she said. "Will homes sell to Blue Acres? If they do, that's a loss of revenue for the town."

Duffie says that the Mayor and Council is going to try to re-negotiate every contract and look to save "wherever we can." 

Prior to being elected to the Council in 2008, Duffie served on the Board of Education and the Planning Board, on which she sat for 14 years.

When she was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the council in the mid-1990's, she said it felt like a natural progression. At the end of that term she ran for the seat, and lost.

"When I won the seat in 2008, I felt that my time had arrived," she said. "It just felt right."