Council Questions Community Organization Expenses, Rental Inspections

On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Milford City Council held the first of three workshops designed to discuss the 2026-27 budget. The first night of hearings focused on budgets for Council, Community Support, the City Clerk, Planning & Zoning as well as Parks & Recreation. After a long discussion about an additional staff person for the City Clerk’s office, council turned to the City Council budget which includes funding for several non-profits in Milford as well as the Planning and Zoning budgets.

“The City Council budget handles just a handful of routine organizational matters involving City Council,” Lou Vitola, Finance Director, said. “Council expenses cover things like event registrations, but the biggest part of this budget is the community support that is extended to a handful of 501(c)3 community groups with which the city has a contract or MOU.”

Vitola explained this is not grant funding, but organizations throughout the city who have interests aligned with the City of Milford. The organizations include Carlisle Fire Company, Milford Museum, the Riverwalk Freedom Festival sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford, the Milford Library and Downtown Milford Inc. Each group is required to come to council in March to provide details on how the funding given by the city is used.

“There were some organizations that did not ask for an increase and for those, the requested amount was included,” Vitola said. “For those that requested an increase, we pared it down to inflationary figures, looking at an increase of three percent.”

When it came to the Carlisle Fire Company, Vitola explained that their service was more critical than others, but the city simply did not have unlimited funds or the ability to raises more funds. Vitola suggested that council consider updating the amount added to the Fire Department Enhancement Fund which is a fee added to building permits in the city. Vitola also suggested that restrictions on that fund be lifted and allow them to use the funds for personnel costs.

“It is easy to say increase the permit fee that people pay, but that hurts businesses trying to invest,” Mayor Todd Culotta said. “We also have the Police Enhancement Fund as part of that, so those permit fees can kind of pile on.”

Councilwoman Madula Kalesis questioned the expenses included in the City Council budget.

“So, we go to the SCAT dinners and everything else and the city pays for those,” Kalesis said. “We don’t all go, but maybe it should be that if you don’t show up, you have to reimburse the city. I know I have been guilty of signing up and then something came up. I also know that Carlisle Fire Company gets a big chunk of city money, but we also give money to DMI, the library and community festivals. And while I appreciate every single little thing those organizations do, when festivals happen, whatever DMI does downtown, it also brings money into their accounts.”

Kalesis continued, pointing out that police, public works and other city resources were used during festivals.

“If we do need to trim the budget a little bit, not saying we don’t give anything, because we have an agreement with them, but if we do need to trim, we can trim from those because the city does a lot of work for those festivals as well,” Kalesis said.

Culotta pointed out that there was a plan to slowly reduce the funds given to some organizations, but it was his understanding that when city resources were used, the organizations reimbursed the city. Chris Coleman, City Manager, stated that they had not done so in the past as they are considered in-kind services.

City Planner Rob Pierce presented the budget for Planning and Zoning. Councilman Danny Perez asked about code enforcement in the budget.

“We did not seek additional positions this fiscal year,” Pierce said. “We are going to maintain our rental inspection routine at every four years.”

Culotta asked how much was spent on rental inspections and Pierce stated that there was one full-time position in his office that was dedicated to rental inspections.

“The rental inspection program came about when Jason and I came on council, around 2018 or 2019, when there was an issue with slumlords and less than perfect apartments within the city,” Culotta said. “We’ve implemented that program and we’ve inspected them all now, so now we do it every four years. My question is why do we need to do it. Why not just do it in response to a complaint?”

In Culotta’s opinion, no one could come into his home to inspect it and that requiring landlords to adhere to an inspection program was unfair.

“It’s my take on this that the code exists for a reason,” Councilwoman Zychal said. “There are some good actors and there are some bad actors and some people who do not have eyes on them will let a situation slide here and there. I have been in situations in this city where a code has been violated, someone came to inspect it, the problem was fixed and then a period of time goes by and that same violation happens again. Having a period of time for inspections is an incentive to at least maintain a minimum standard with eyes on the situation.”

Councilwoman Katrina Wilson agreed.

“I know when we first rolled this out, those landlords were identified and it took so long for the codes to be brought up to standards and once they were identified, the code enforcers had to hold their hands to make sure things were done,” Wilson said. “And these were the same landlords they would go back and find things that were never done.”

Culotta felt that if a landlord was found in violation due to a report, they could have their rental license pulled. He questioned whether there was a list that landlords had to follow, and Pierce stated that council had adopted a national standard that landlords had to meet.

“The other thing is, some of our large apartment units, we can’t trust to do it one time and not go back because that is why we are in one of the situations we are with one of them,” Wilson said. “One of them is in a bad state because inspections were not done.”

Kalesis was surprised at Culotta’s suggestion that rental inspections be discontinued.

“I thought you were going to say the opposite, that four years was not enough, we should do them every two years,” Kalesis said. “Because in four years’ time, I can tell you, these rental properties fall apart and they don’t care. Some of them put a band-aid on and the inspector comes in, passes them, and the band-aid falls off.”

Culotta pointed out that renters have recourse.

“You say they could complain,” Councilman Dan Marabello said. “The tenant may be reluctant to complain because they are not in the driver’s seat. They have a fear; they have to live there. They don’t want to be harassed. You can’t trust they will come forward because of the possible consequences.”

James pointed out that as both a councilperson and a landlord, he was in favor of rental inspections. Councilwoman Nina Pletcher also pointed out that in four years, the owner of the property could change. Culotta again pointed out that a rental license could be pulled.

“If a rental license is pulled, the tenants then have to find a new place to live,” Pierce said. “Which is a general issue. If the place is vacant and we hold the license, that is one thing, but if it is rented, that is a little more difficult.”

Once council finished with Planning and Zoning, they moved on to Parks and Recreation. The entire budget can be found online.