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’.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Part 2

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

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.brainflation.com/2010/03/04/something-stinks-in-east-hartford-mayorpublic-works-propose-a-new-tax-to-pay-for-garbage/

http://www.courant.com/community/east-hartford/hc-east-hartford-trash0305.artmar03,0,7487374.story

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.

Is this coming to East Hartford?

Mayor Currey and Public Works Director Billy Taylor took the lid off a plan they’ve been discussing behind closed doors for a while at Monday evening’s Public Works budget presentation before the Town Council.

The pair are pushing a plan which will require every household in East Hartford to purchase special garbage bags in order to dispose of their trash.  According to the Hartford Courant the estimated cost per bag is $2 for 33 gallon bags, $1.25 for typical 14 gallon kitchen size bags and $0.63 for an 8 gallon bag.

In a sinister fashion this plan is being pushed as an alternative which can trim 2% off the 9.2% proposed tax increase if the Town Council adopts it this year. Based on the Mayor’s calculations in her budget message a decrease in the tax increase of 2% would yield a  $78 savings, yet the cost to a taxpayer who disposes of 4 kitchen bags of trash per week will be $260.  Clearly this is an ill thought idea or one whose motives are not truly rooted in any sort of fiscal prudence.

We get a clearer look at what the true story might be with the following from the Mayor.

“I believe this is where the rest of the country is going to be in the next 10 to 15 years,” Mayor Melody Currey said. It would enable the town not only to save money, she said, but to be an environmental leader. If all goes according to plan, and residents cut back as much as WasteZero says they will, the town’s 17,489 tons of trash output could be reduced to less than 10,000 tons.

“I know we are a poor community, but that doesn’t mean we have less of a responsibility,” Currey said.

Let’s be clear. The Town will not save a single dollar, the taxpayers will pay substantially more taxes while satisfying the personal moral objectives of certain elected leaders, the wallets of the taxpayers be damned.

Every dollar in reduced tipping this plan could save can already be saved through efficient single stream recycling. No new tax is needed, no new tax is wanted. Just as we saw a significant increase in illegal bulky waste dumping, such as at Gorman Park, when the Town decided to charge a permit fee for disposal we will almost certainly have examples like the above photo around town if this plan is implemented when those of us already struggling can’t afford to dispose of our garbage legally.

We have problems here in East Hartford. We have problems with our municipal government, problems with our school board and problems with the State of Connecticut. All told the lack of leadership in these three arms of government have brought us to this point here tonight. The point of having to sit in front of a microphone and speak before this council on an issue of absolute lunacy, a 9.2% tax hike.

I know that the council minority will not abide such a tax increase and I don’t for a second believe that the council majority has any plans to let it stand either. The question is if not a 9.2% tax increase, what level of tax increase does the council majority have in store for us?

We cannot afford another thin dime and to force any increase on us, particularly in this time of complete financial calamity, is a despicable crime against the taxpayers of East Hartford.

Today greater than 1 in 10 East Hartford workers are unemployed according to the latest Connecticut Department of Labor data.

Adecco, one of the largest Human Resources firms in the United States, reports that 85% of large businesses could not give their employees raises in 2009 and according to George S. May International Company, a business consulting firm boasting over 500,000 clients, 77 percent of small businesses will provide no raises in 2010.

Yet at the same time we, the unemployed and under compensated private sector citizens are being told we must foot the bill for union contracted raises, which in most cases come twice per year, as well as raises for town administrators.

This recommended budget contains greater than one million dollars in new raises.

I am saying NO MORE.

When will you? Certain departments under this recommended budget, such as the fire department and parks maintenance have recommended salary increases approaching and exceeding 10%.

East Hartford has been running in the red for years and yet those at the helm have seen a steady stream of ever increasing green. This year East Hartford saw a decrease in our Net Grand List of .38% or 11.7 Million dollars.

Why is our Grand List shrinking? I suggest it is because the government of East Hartford has a long history of ensuring development of town owned property takes decades, and in some cases will never, break even on the tax giveaways and discounted property sales prices.

Take for example the development on Main Street which has a break even of over 100 years, the doctors office on Burnside which will take 20 years or more and the pending Daley Court Development which will take over ten years and by the very nature of the facility cost us additional federal and state dollars every year that it operates.

A new building in a blighted area may seem like a victory, but it isn’t when it comes at the cost of ensuring further economic harm to East Hartford.

Meanwhile East Hartford’s largest employer, property owner and tax payer, Pratt & Whitney, will see a tax increase under this proposal of over 1 million dollars per year.

Is it secretly this administration’s plan to coax Pratt out of East Hartford?

I can’t help but wonder with the ever increasing taxes and the push to use our tax dollars to complete portions of the private development of Rentschler field which will allow the Matos Group, whose principle and founder has been perhaps to largest contributor to Mayor Currey’s reelection bid, and Pratt and Whitney to profit handsomely from the development while we are left holding the bag with a promise that some decades from now we might see a return on our investment.

Looking at the capital improvement budget I am happy to see that some basic upkeep such as replacement of vehicles has returned to the budget in 2010.

This is the type of spending that cannot be avoided.

On the other hand I am disappointed to see over 200 thousand dollars being allocated for new granite curbing in the town hall parking lot. Granted the parking lot may not be the shining star of East Hartford but to date it is functional.

There are no doubt leaky roofs and other pressing needs just waiting to present us with a mid year emergency appropriation that this money could be directed to instead. Let’s leave luxuries such as granite for a time when we are not out of work and underpaid.

It is also time for this council to get serious about pushing for reform at the state.

Donald Pitkin was on the money inviting our delegation to the council. It is unfortunate that Mr. Kehoe didn’t see the wisdom in his request. I hope this council will engage our legislators.

East Hartford desperately needs relief from state mandates in two key areas of our budget. Contract Negotiation and Education funding.

Next year the Board of Education will forward a budget to the town council which will ask we the taxpayers to come up with 6 million dollars to cover the shortfall in funny money from the federal government.

This shortfall represents another tax hike of 6.3% next year.

If the Town Council does not comply with the board’s request the Board of Education will lose an additional 12 million dollars in State funding.

Additionally the same out of control cost drivers causing financial headaches this year will be back next year including spiraling employee and benefit costs.

We cannot control our budget until we control these costs. To control these costs we must be able to negotiate wage contracts that reflect the economic climate, not past practice from boom years enforced through arbitration.

We need freedom to create education budgets and employment contracts that work for the students and taxpayers of East Hartford, not arbitrary state statute and union lobbying.

Our Legislative delegation including Reps. Larson, Genga and Rojas as well as Senator LeBeau must introduce and aggressively fight for exemptions from Minimum Budget Requirements, Minimum Expenditure Requirements and binding arbitration awards for East Hartford. We need you as the East Hartford legislative body to encourage them to do so.

East Hartford is an economically dying city and with this budget the Mayor is holding the knife. We can save East Hartford, but it will require you to make difficult and painful decisions. Decisions which may not be politically popular, but which must be made.

Part 1 – Economy

Part 2 – Jobs/Healthcare

Part 3 – Healthcare/Foreign Policy

Part 4 – Foreign Policy/Closing Statements

Republican Debate Between Peter Schiff, Linda McMahon & Rob Simmons 03/02/2010

Part 1 – Jobs/Economy

Part 2 – Foreign Policy

Part 3 – Health Care

Part 4 – Politics

Part 5 – Closing