Mayor Todd Culotta looked ahead into the upcoming year, explaining what he saw as strengths and weaknesses in the city. Culotta also offered some insight into how the city will address some of those weaknesses.
“I think when the community and volunteers get involved in various organizations, ideally like DMI or the Chamber and other organizations focused on schools or other infrastructure, you see the community improve,” Culotta said. “The result of that is what you are seeing in Milford, business growth and things to do.”
As for what Milfordians should look for in the coming year, Culotta stated that this was the year for the Comprehensive Plan to be updated, something that is required every five years.
“This is where we make adjustments, if necessary, see where we have been, what we have achieved and where we want to go,” Culotta said. “I think part of that discussion; the community should be involved. Once we get to that point this year, I look forward to the community’s feedback about what we’d like to see. I think we all want to see growth, but we also are careful of not seeing uncontrolled growth. Without a plan, it creates gridlock and havoc.”
Culotta, who grew up in Milford but moved away after high school, pointed out that, although the town has changed, it still has the hometown feel.
“It’s just a great town,” Culotta said. “You can live here, you can worship here and you can be really connected to your neighbors. I’ve lived in big city areas where I didn’t even know the people who lived next door to me, much less the people across town or in different wards. Sometimes it can be a problem because everyone knows your business, but for the most part the community comes together.”
The morning of the interview, Westside Diner suffered damage from a fire. Westside, owned by City Councilwoman Madula Kalesis, closed in order to deal with the damage. Culotta stated that he went to the restaurant as soon as he could to see how he could help and that a lot of people were asking how they could assist.
“A lot of people come out and say ‘well, that’s an important business to us. We’ll help where we can.’ Folks that work there may face hardship,” Culotta said. “We know the struggle so we come together and support them as best we can. That is what Milford is, right there.”
As for an area that needs the most attention in 2026, Culotta felt over-regulation would be a problem.
“People will say ‘we’re growing one way or another,’ but you want people to realize the importance of organic growth,” Culotta said. “Adding people and businesses to the tax roll which then diversifies costs across everything so we’re not coming back to the taxpayer saying, ‘things cost more, here is the tax increase.’ That’s the last thing I ever want to do as an elected official, so I think organic growth is the answer.”
Culotta things people will be surprised at the businesses who want to open a location in Milford.
“It will be surprising to see the businesses that want to come here and have a presence in our community,” Culotta said. “it will not just impact Milford, but all of Sussex and Kent Counties. I think you’re going to see a big, big improvement when it comes to distribution, manufacturing, production and more. We’re going to move into the next level of economic growth.”
