Mark D. Boughton Mayor
Address:	155 Deer Hill Ave Danbury, CT 06810
Telephone:	203-797-4511
FAX:	203-796-1666

Statement of Mission: The City of Danbury’s mission is to ensure a superior quality of life for its citizens by providing the most cost effective municipal services while preserving the cultural, historical and natural resources of the city.  We are committed to working with citizens to enhance Danbury’s position as a premier place to live, work, and raise a family in a traditional yet progressive community.

Elected to a two year term, the Mayor is the presiding officer of the Common Council and is responsible for the administration of all City Departments.
For a detailed description of the Mayor's responsibilities please refer to the section of the City Charter listed as The Mayor

About us:

The Mayor’s Office services constituents and supports the Mayor’s administrative tasks. The Mayor’s staff services thousands of individuals year round through phone calls, emails, letters and by way of walk-in visits. The staff oversees a variety of city projects and programs in addition to assisting other departments and organizations with their daily business.

The Office’s Chief of Staff is Wayne Shepperd. Mr. Shepperd aids the Mayor with the supervision of city projects, staffing and everyday operations. Mr. Shepperd coordinates legislative matters scheduled for City Council consideration, serves as an office liaison to several community organizations, is regularly involved in economic development issues and attends events or meetings when the Mayor is unable to attend.

The Community Services Coordinator, PJ Prunty, serves as the mayor’s liaison to the public. Mr. Prunty assists the Mayor with constituent requests for services, and coordinates city services for special events. Mr. Prunty accompanies the mayor to the Mayor’s Senior Advisory Council and other community meetings to address concerns and service demands. In addition, Mr. Prunty is active in managing Danbury TV (DTV) on channel 24, and the appointment of individuals to city boards and commissions.

Assistant to the Mayor, Roger Palanzo serves as representative of the Mayor’s office on various commissions, boards and task forces. Some of which include Danbury Promise for Children Partnership, Main Street Partnership and Housing Partnership. Mr. Palanzo manages specific communications for the Mayor and also assists in the work of responding to residents’ questions and concerns. Mr. Palanzo deals with major projects including the City’s annual Clean City Danbury Day bulk waste collection, and the Adopt-a-Street & Adopt-a-Spot programs.

Elisa Munoz is the Mayor’s Administrative Assistant. Ms. Munoz handles scheduling and communications on behalf of the Mayor. Additionally, she coordinates activities and special events. Ms. Munoz distributes information through the city’s website, through the Mayor’s quarterly newsletters, and via press releases to the media. She helps facilitate the Mayor’s Summer Reading Challenge for students of all ages through the Danbury Public Library and takes part in the planning, organization, and execution of fundraising events such as the Mayor’s Ball and The Mayor’s Cup golf tournament, both raise funds for local non-profit groups. Several interns from local schools and universities throughout the year provide additional support to the office staff. These students are coordinated by Ms. Munoz.

Joan Soderstrom serves as the Receptionist to the Mayor’s Office greeting all of the Office’s guests and directing visitors to other office staff when needed. Ms. Soderstrom also provides additional help to the Mayor and his staff with various projects.

The 2011-2012 fiscal year was exceptionally busy in the Office of the Mayor. During the course of a several months, we were regularly addressing Mother Nature’s wrath. Danbury had more rainfall than in seven previous years; we were hit by Hurricane Irene and later by Storm Alfred. These storms necessarily required us to repeatedly open our Emergency Operations Center and steered our staff toward many long days of resident assistance as we addressed CL&P’s power outages, flooding and downed tree limbs.

Mayor Boughton hired Economic Development Coordinator Bruce Tuomala to focus on business expansion and attraction. He quickly became involved in the expansion of Belimo Air Controls, the Shops at Marcus Dairy, Pitney Bowes, Kimchuk, Danbury Fair mall, LesserEvil and a whole host of other businesses. Mr. Tuomala interacts daily with our city’s businesses with the core mission of retaining those who are here and attracting those who might fit nicely into our city’s business community. He is committed to helping companies create jobs for Danbury residents. We continue to watch the daily energy generated by three other, ongoing, large-scale projects, the $150 million Western Connecticut Health Network (Danbury Hospital) expansion, the $90 million performing arts center at Western Connecticut State University and the U.S. Army Reserve Center at Lee Farm.

Annually one of the highlights of the many community involvement projects orchestrated from the Mayor’s Office is Clean City Danbury Day. Hundreds of residents (specifically 484 volunteers) and many businesses and organizations partner with the City for this one-day event. On a year-round basis 52 adopters (individuals, businesses or organizations) are part of our Adopt-A-Street program as we ask our residents to help us remain one of the cleanest cities in our state.

The youth of our city had the opportunity to do their part in the community, as well. The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program is designed to encourage our younger citizens to gain an appreciation for work and income. More than 60 students participated in the six-week program. This program is funded by the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, facilitated by the Mayor’s Office and run by Danbury Youth Services and PAL. Selected students worked at these sites: Hispanic Cultural Center, Tarrywile Mansion, PAL, Bishop Curtis Homes, CACD, Danbury Youth Services, WECAHR, Music Guild, Morris Street Pre-School, Classified Guys and with the Student Conservation Association. Among other things some built a bridge and others built picnic tables. All learned the basics of becoming a successful employee.

The Mayor also put into place two all-volunteer task forces --- the Danbury Airport Task Force and the Danbury Main Street Task Force (now the Main Street Partnership).  Both are fully engaged and taking meaningful steps forward.

The Mayor’s Office continues to maintain its connection with the senior community. The Mayor’s monthly Senior Advisory Board meetings at Elmwood Hall consist of an open discussion regarding important issues in the community. The seniors are presented with updates regarding new projects as well as the state of the city. In turn, our seniors offer valuable support and suggestions.