Peter's Place

The Tax Reality Check – Why Your Bill Will Likely Rise By Peter C. Frank, The Bloomfield Dispatch BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut, November 30, 2025 – Following the publication of Part 2 of this investigative series, a debate emerged in a private Facebook group about the town's property tax phase-in. Some suggested that, as assessments rise during the four-year phase-in, the mill rate will "naturally drop" to keep tax bills stable. This is a comforting theory. Unfortunately, historical data and math strongly suggest it is a common misconception. To clear the air, I have analyzed the past decade of budget data for Bloomfield and our peer communities. The numbers tell a clear story: Budgets do not  stay the same. The "Static Budget" Misconception: The theory your tax bill will stay the same is founded on a single assumption: the Town Budget will remain "Revenue Neutral" ( i.e. , the town colle...

Gratitude for the Mind, the Spirit, and the Signal in the Noise By Peter C. Frank Bloomfield, Conn., November 27, 2025 - Thanksgiving is often painted in broad strokes—turkey, football, and parades. But for me, this year, the gratitude is granular. It is deep, specific, and hard-won. I am thankful, first and always, for my foundation: for my sister, whose strength is a constant; for my nieces, who bring light into the world; and for my father, a veteran whose resilience is part of my DNA. I am thankful for the healthcare teams who have navigated the complexities of my care, and for the friends—both offline and especially online—who refused to let me drift away when things were at their darkest. But this year, I am also thankful for an unexpected ally: Artificial Intelligence  (AI). For a long time, living with a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), I feared that the best parts of my mind were lost in the fog. I worried that the sharp, analytical edge I prided my...

Part 2: The True Cost of Mismanagement By Peter C. Frank , The Bloomfield Dispatch BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut, November 24, 2025 - In Part 1 , I discussed the silence of our elected officials in the face of administrative turmoil. In Part 2 , I am breaking that silence to look at the raw numbers. 🚨 BREAKING UPDATE: S&P Confirms "Weaker Management" & Cannot Explain $21M Data Gap [UPDATED 11:40 AM November 25, 2025] - In a response to questions from this reporter, S&P Global Ratings—the agency that assigns Bloomfield's AA+ credit rating—has acknowledged that the town's "management profile... is weaker relative to most higher-rated peers" and confirmed their analysis relies on unaudited financial data. The $21 Million "Phantom" Reduction: Crucially, when pressed to explain a $21.4 million discrepancy between the OPEB liability ...

  Part 1: The Mandate Denied Inside the 7-2 vote, soaring legal bills, and the political war that defined the new council's first meeting. By Peter C. Frank, The Bloomfield Dispatch (Part 1 of an investigative series; read the article that kicked off this investigative series) BLOOMFIELD, Connecticut,  November 16, 2025  — The inaugural meeting of the Bloomfield Town Council on November 10, 2025, was not a celebration of democracy but a masterclass in its subversion. In less than ten minutes, a 7-2 vote by the incumbent majority dismissed the clear will of the voters, a new councilor who ran on a platform of unity voted to suppress the electorate, and the newly re-installed mayor threatened to have dissenting residents ejected from the chamber. This was not an isolated incident. It was the public face of a government defined by a documented culture of financial secrecy, procedural obfuscation, and a fundamental contempt for the very public it claims to serve. I. The Fir...