Currey afraid to stick her neck out? Not on tax increases.
Mayor Currey has found herself in the news again. What for this time? Advocating a local sales tax. Is this woman mad? No… I’m afraid she knows exactly what she is doing and just doesn’t care about how if affects us average Joes (and Joans).
From Capitol Watch:
East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey spoke in favor of a regional sales tax, saying she would keep the state’s long-running sales-tax exemptions that currently exist for food and prescription drugs.
“We’ve all had to cut back services,” said Currey, a former Democratic state legislator. “In our communities, we’re doing public safety, public works, and education. That’s all we can afford to do.”
She said that Connecticut has wiggle room on the sales tax because the surrounding states have higher rates. Massachusetts is at 6.25 percent, while Rhode Island’s sales tax is 7 percent. Vermont is at 6 percent, but local jurisdictions can add another percentage point.
Just leave us alone Mayor Currey. First a 9.2% property tax increase proposal… then the $300-$400 per year garbage bag tax… now a sales tax increase!? Odd that Currey is so eager to take a leadership role on raising our taxes yet when the Governor called upon her and other community leaders to serve on an advisory board to find solutions to the state deficit problem at the end of the last year she was short on leadership saying “I’m not going to put my head out and say, ‘Chop it off,’”.
I’m fed up with these crazy tax proposals and frankly Mayor, your head is sticking out too far. I say ‘Chop it off’.
Mayor Signs Budget – Referendum Has Begun
Mayor Currey signed the budget last night opening the door for referendum on the out of control 6.8% tax increase. Budget petitions have already started going out.
Petitioners will be at Stop & Shop on Silver lane from 9am until 12PM tomorrow if you’d like to come by and sign a petition or pick up some petitions to assist in the process. With the voter registration surge the Obama campaign inspired the referendum effort requires a little over 4,000 signatures to get on the ballot up from the 3,700 range in the past.
If anyone would like a petition they may pick one up at the Town Clerk’s office or call me at (860) 930-4149.
Petitions must be turned in by 5:00PM March 26th.
The Citizens’ Budget Project has already halved the Mayor’s budget deficit and I am seeking volunteers for the citizens’ budget committee.
East Hartford Legislative Delegation Responds
I received a letter yesterday dated March 9th from our Reps. Larson, Genga & Rojas and Senator LeBeau in response to the letter I sent them on Feb. 25th requesting emergency legislation providing an exemption for East Hartford from Minimum Budget Requirements and binding arbitration awards.
According to the letter they are working on it but can’t gt it done in time. I disagree, if they wanted to do it it would be introduced by now. Incidentally the MORE commission presentation on the first round of recommendations does not indicate at all that there is any intention of suspending binding arbitration or Minimum Budget Requirements now or in the future. There is however plenty of reference to the commission being significantly behind new and increased taxes at the state level. They call them “revenue streams”. See for yourself. http://housedems.ct.gov/more/More3_3_10.pdf
Make no mistake, because of inaction by our legislative delegation our taxes in this newly adopted budget are almost $200 per year higher than they would otherwise be if we were free to set our Board of Education budget at reasonable levels.
If they continue to not act on these issues our taxes will increase another $400 next year.
If your Web browser is not configured to display PDF files click here to download the PDF file.
The Budget Proposal Details – Here are the Republican and Democratic Plans
Here are the specific budget plans put forth at yesterday’s budget meeting. It’s interesting to note that the Democrats’ proposed (and adopted) budget is actually less than the one put forth by the Republicans.
The Democrats’ proposed reductions totaled $2,285,916 for a proposed mill rate of 33.81824.
The Republicans’ proposed reductions totaled $2,201,518 plus a plan to increase revenue by $50,000 by auctioning surplus town equipment for a proposed mill rate of 33.84615. The Republican plan shares many of the same cuts as the Democratic proposal and as a result proposed only $799,103 in new reductions.
Had the entirety of both plans been adopted the mill rate would be 33.55 which would still represent a tax increase greater than 5.9%.
I am convinced that a referendum is necessary here, even though under current Charter rules it is toothless. Perhaps the proper followup to a referendum would be to submit our own citizens’ budget to the Council and Mayor. We don’t need to get elected. We have the political courage to do right by ourselves and our neighbors.
2010-2011 Republican Budget Report
2010-2011 Republican Budget Proposal
2010-2011 Democratic Budget Proposal
Some Budget Wisdom From The Speak Out Column
I am reading my Reminder, which I oddly get every week on Monday though the publication date is not until Thursday, and surprisingly there is more budget wisdom in the speak out section than at the actual budget meeting.
Courage
In regards to proposed tax increases, how about these ideas: a 0-percent tax increase, five furlough days required per year (starting at the top), employees to pay more for healthcare and new employees to manage their own retirement accounts. Private industry does these things and town leaders must find the courage to do the same. Lastly, let volunteers run the leaf vacuum truck in their neighborhoods. Take away the leaf truck and I’ll burn the leaves.
What’s The Story?
Last week our town’s finance director said there would be an increase in taxes of 2.9 percent, because of a 3 percent inflation. The federal government said inflation is 0 percent. This week I read that a proposed 9.2 percent tax increase is on the table. I guess we are the taxpayers with the golden egg.
Town Council fails in their duties again. 6.8% Tax Increase Approved. Budget Referendum Imminent.
I kind of feel like I got gang-mugged last night. Gagged, beaten and mugged, all while my attackers repeatedly insisted it wasn’t their fault and patted each other on the back for doing me a favor.
It may not be their fault that the economy is upside down, but it is their fault East Hartford can’t remember what economic growth is. It is their fault that employee wages and benefits are bankrupting this town. It is their fault that the Board of Education spends more every year for a worse education. Where is the leadership?
I will give the Republicans some credit, they at least took the basic procedural step of moving to amend the budget this year, an action that has been conspicuously absent from past budget sessions.
I won’t give the Democrats any credit. The ball was in their hands and they decided the best thing to do was nothing. Both parties’ budget proposals were abysmal at best. Marcia LeClerc was entirely unknowledgeable and contradictory in her criticism of Eric Thompson’s suggested removal of administrator raises (really? administrator raises?) and take back of administrator vehicles which in some cases go across the state and out of state every night. Her suggestion that these cuts can’t be done because these non-union employees are protected by union contracts removes any faith that I have that these people know what they are doing.
All told both parties proposed about 2.2 million dollars in cuts from the Mayor’s proposed 8.1 million dollar deficit. Unfortunately both budget proposals cut the same things making them almost identical. Neither proposal included any sign of political courage or desire to protect we the taxpayers. Neither proposal even looked in the direction of ensuring that the same problems driving this year’s budget won’t be back next year. The result, next year we will have a 6 million dollar shortfall from federal funny money (Thanks Bush & Obama), wage increases we can’t afford, benefit increases we can’t afford, and more capital expenditure requests for the Mayor’s pet project of turning Town Hall into the palace she clearly deserves (is there a sarcasm font?).
Hey, at least when we can’t afford birthday & Christmas presents for our kids or Thanksgiving dinner thanks to this 6.8% tax increase we can take them by Town Hall for a tour of the new granite curbing to show them where our priorities are.
Thank you East Hartford Town Council. Thank you Mayor Currey. Together you have ensured I have no faith in my government. This man does have faith in one thing though, referendum and initiative. I will sign the petition and vote for referendum and I encourage my neighbors to do the same.
If 2010 is going to go down as the year of political cowardice I can’t wait to see what 2011 will bring. In this meeting nobody wins the performance award. Nobody performed and everyone loses.
Pre-Budget Rumblings
Word on the street has it that the Dems will be proposing around 4 million in cuts from the budget with Reps proposing an additional 1.8 million in cuts. It’s unclear if the 4 and 1.8 overlap at all and what services are involved.
That translates into a tax increase around 4.5 percent or down around 2-3 percent if the Republican cuts are non-overlapping and are adopted.
I have heard vacuum leaf pickup could be on the block… though I don’t know why. It’s an appreciated service, that could be streamlined a bit but is certainly not expensive as a whole.
I did some rough math on the service and it seems pretty efficient compared to private alternatives.
http://www.brainflation.com/2009/11/21/my-leaves-are-gone/
We’ll see tonight. One thing is going to be certain. Nobody is going to address the runaway cost drivers. I have not received a reply to my letter to our legislative delegation, the delegation has not interacted with the Council and the Council has expressed no interest in reforming runaway mandates on employee and education costs.
Taxpayers Win at Garbage Tax Meeting… For Now
The Council and Mayor clearly didn’t expect the packed room at the Town Council Special Meeting last night. The Mayor’s expression appeared to turn rapidly to one of of concern and agitation when a minute into the hearing a member of the crowd began to express his concerns.
I will work on getting the video up today. Unfortunately the crowd is not very audible, though no doubt the rounds of applause Councilman Thompson got for refusing to take this abysmal failure of a tax savings plan lightly will be audible.
Chairman Kehoe in an attempt to save himself the political punishment of letting an idea such as this even see the light of day couldn’t say enough that the meeting wasn’t for anything more than to talk about an idea. Interestingly I checked the public notices history and found that any time the Council has called a special meeting it has specifically been to act on an idea agreed upon behind closed doors.
The Council does not ever call special meetings to discuss ideas and plans it has no intention of acting upon.
Kehoe, at least own up and say you didn’t realize we’d stand up against you.
Councilman Don Pitkin also made a surprise visit for this meeting to defend the taxpayers and ensure any action the Democratic Majority attempted to take would have maximum opposition.
The proposal itself was an absolute joke. The salesman from WasteZero, the company which sells the bags and skims the profits, gave the hard sell with purely imaginary figures. The salesman told the Council that the Town would see 2.1 million dollars in new revenue from this program from a combination of reduced tipping fees and actually save taxpayers money. His assertions of course rely on total fiction. The fiction that the average East Hartford residence uses just 1.25 garbage bags per week. That’s right, WasteZero, the Mayor, Public Works Director Taylor… all of them went right along with this clear lie that we use 1 and a quarter garbage bags per week. It is clear where their motivation is. Even then the numbers don’t make sense.
Doing unscientific surveys I have found that most of the smaller households (1-2 people) are using 3 to 4 bags per week. In my own, a household of 4 we use 4-6 bags per week. No doubt you are somewhere in this 3-6 range as well. If the true average is about 4 bags per week East Hartford’s 16,400 trash pickup households will consume 65,600 bags per week at a cost of $82,000 per week or $4,264,000 per year. All to save 2.1 million on our taxes?
Councilman Horan in his classic “if you don’t like it tough” attitude gave a moving speech suggesting that East Hartford ought to be the leader in taxation and environmentalism for the hell of it. The highlight of his speech was were he suggested that we should tell him how to do the job he and his fellow democrats ran for election telling us they could do. He complained that although he received over a dozen emails nobody told him how to write the budget. That is your job Mr. Horan. Do it. His lack of leadership clearly showed when he suggested that we, the taxpayers, have a choice of a new garbage tax or a tax increase. Unacceptable.
The audience for their part were loudly approving to Horan’s surprise when he suggested reducing payroll in government. To which Mr. Horan asked who to cut. I for one gave a nice summary of excess positions on the BOE side just about a year ago. They still exist.
As a result of our active citizenship this egregious plan will not be in the budget tonight. ( I hope… you never know) But I highly doubt this is the last we have heard of it. This has been a long time pet, one which is ill tempered and has bitten before in other towns, of this administration and they are not going to willingly put it down.
In my opinion Councilmen Thompson and Pitkin were the best of the night. It is not every meeting that the Republicans have the best showing, but this night was a Republican night. Correction, this night was the people’s night.
Edit: Here are is the video.
Part 1
Part 2
Action Alert: Please Attend Garbage Tax Meeting – Monday March 8, 2010 @ 7PM
Are you in favor of the new plan to make you Pay As You Throw by buying town garbage bags? Did you know this program will cost East Hartford taxpayers at least $80,000 per week? Did you know this program will cost East Hartford Taxpayers between $4,000,000 and $8,000,000 per year year in bag fees?
I can’t afford to pay another $390 per year in bag fees. Can you?
If you are as fed up with the runaway tax and spend policies of this administration as I am please attend the Special Meeting on this new Garbage Tax tomorrow in the Town Council chambers at East Hartford Town Hall at 7PM.
Feel free to protest in front of Town Hall before the meeting and bring your signs inside to show the Council we have had enough of irresponsible leadership.
Where:
East Hartford Town Hall
Town Council Chambers
When:
Monday, March 8, 2010
7:00PM
What:
Garbage Tax Protest
Can’t attend? Send the Council an email and let them know how you feel.
CLICK TO SEND COUNCIL EMAIL
More information:
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/East_Hartford_Trash_Bags_Hartford.html
http://www.brainflation.com/2010/03/05/town-council-calls-special-meeting-on-garbage-tax/
http://www.courant.com/community/east-hartford/hc-east-hartford-trash0305.artmar03,0,7487374.story
Town Council Calls Special Meeting on Garbage Tax
The East Hartford Public Notices system sent me an email a little bit ago informing me that a special meeting has been called relative to the Pay As You Throw garbage tax that the Mayor and Public Works director Billy Taylor presented to the Council this past Monday.
The meeting will be on Monday, March 8th at 7PM, directly against an important meeting of the Republican Town Committee at which the Republican Town Committee members will elect officers for the 2010/2011 term. This will force the Republican Town Council members and other Republican Town Committee members such as myself to either not participate in an important RTC meeting or skip the special meeting and perhaps be excluded from an opportunity to prevent this new garbage tax from being implemented.
Perhaps the Council will reschedule. Hopefully.
