Town must be running smoothly

[BuckWheat]

I guess the town is running on all cylinders, with less than a week to elections, we don't have any topics of interest to discuss.

[oldetowne]

I have had no takers on most of the subjects that I have lobbed out there, so I guess you are correct. Even the Courant said that all's well under the forceful leadership of our mayor.

I guess as long as the Democrats sing their sweet election time lullabies, the taxpayers will forget about the 30% tax increases, expensive and dangerously ineffective public safety radio systems, town hall renovations that are years behind schedule (6 years, millions of dollars and we have a grand opening of the BATHROOMS??!!), grand list growth of essentially zero, disappearing grocery stores, increased crime in all parts of town, financial incompetence at the board of education office, and the list goes on. Maybe we have to go back to discussing the turf and lights to stir up some interest here.

[Bulldog]

oldetowne, your right. The biggest one that winds me up is the radio system boondoggle that our former police chief and soon to be deputy mayor rammed down our throats.

As far as the town hall they should have taken a wrecking ball to it.

When the administration talks about the MDC, the taxpayers must assume they are right on top of all the flooding and sewage backups from last month that has been on their agenda and talking points for decades.

I'm glad our Mayor cut the ribbon on new bathrooms, it not easy to go from one end of the building to the other with your legs crossed.

[RGarrey]

Oldetowne, it does seem that people have become complacent. One thing that really strikes me is with the School budget. At the last budget hearing when a few parents got up and said that they support higher taxes so that the schools would have the proper supplies and teachers wouldn't have to bring in tissues, paper, supplies, etc. They wanted old schoolbooks replaced and enough books for everyone. Well we got the tax increase but from what I understand the supplies are still short and the books were cut from the budget. We are now getting the books due to an unexplained surplus in the budget but overall the increase paid for salaries and benefits. The renovations at the middle school, Stillman bldg. and Webb were part of a referendum that passed during the previous council so I don't know if those payments are now included in the budget.
I believe we need an outside audit of both our town and school budgets to get an unbiased look at where we are spending the money so that we can concentrate on the areas with the biggest impact. Wethersfield will never have a huge increase in our commercial grand list, there isn't enough land to develop. When one business closes and another opens that is a good thing but it does not raise the grand list, it is usually a break even situation.
Also without proper guidance and foresight in our Planning and Zoning decisions, we will over develop the residential areas which costs the town money to provide services to the new houses and citizens. Rarely do the taxes paid on a residential property cover the costs incurred by the town, ecspecially when there are children in the house.
Short and long term planning, and having all town staff as well as boards and commissions, working toward the same planning goals is the key to the continued success in town.
I will vote for the candidates who I feel will be able to have that vision and will get the paid town staff to also share and implement the goals set by the council.

Again, just my two cents for what it's worth.

[Jubashero]

Here is my take, for what it’s worth

The only councilors that provide continuity to the past are Morin and Cascio. If the republicans are the majority, I think Cascio would not want to be chairperson; Drake will likely take that position. The republicans wouldn’t introduce anything new since projects started by the current administration will require additional tax increases and the republicans will loath to raise them further. If the democrats retain control, I don’t see any changes except no deputy mayor and likely increases in taxes. The likely scenario is that the democrats retain control but the split will be 5:4.

The library will request funding for additional books but will be turned down; they will get the used textbooks from the school. The fees for the transfer station will increase until nobody can afford them and it closes down. The feeling will be that if the mayor can afford a second barrel on a fixed income, everyone should be able to get a second barrel and the transfer station is not needed. The MDC referendum passes on the second try after EPA restricts connection to sewers. The roads that just had been paved under the bonding money are torn up for the sewer installation. Wethersfield sues MDC because the discharge to the cove from the new storm water system includes oil and trash from Hartford.

Regardless of whichever party is in the majority, after two more years of the rancorous partisan bickering that has been the hallmark of the current council and may be a sign of future politics, the problem will be realized that the Town Charter gives too much power to the council. Candidates will emerge whose platforms include charter revisions requiring referendum approval of the annual budget.

[oldetowne]

Very interesting. My crystal ball doesn't see that far forward but I would be interested to check back in 2007 and see how close you came to hitting the nail(s) on the head.

[MrsB]

I would like to say that you are wrong, but I think you have a better than 50% chance of being right. I had such great hopes for this town 5 years ago, but the more I learn the more I think that politics will get in the way of true growth and prosperity.
Until both parties can spend a few years working together for a better Wethersfield, we will be in re runs of the past. Poor decisions made by personalities instead of leaders. As for the school system...well, we need a new superintendent that has the drive to make a legacy not someone who is counting the days until retirement. I had great hopes for Dr. P but so far I am consistently disappointed with his answers to the pressing questions. Maybe a new BOE will be able to put the pressure on so we can progress to excellence, hopefully without forcing out all the fixed income people in Wethersfield.

[oldetowne]

REMEMBER TO VOTE TOMORROW.

[JackAss]

I guess the town is running like the topic says. The Dems repeat with a 6-3 majority. CONGRATULATIONS!

I hope the lights are up when Pat Robertson comes to town. ;D

[oldetowne]

Speaking of the lights, I think there was a P&Z hearing last night about new regulations to permit lights like what they want at Cottone Field. Did anyone go? What happened? There wasn't anything about it in the Courant today (<==== sarcasm).

[SyZyGy]

Why should any member of the public want to attend that meeting? (<==rhetorical). With the cards stacked against any reasonable opposition to the pro-sports-lights faction in town, it was a fait accompli.

As for the Hartford Courant, MEFillo, wide-eyes and palpitating, will gather all of the slobber from the honeyed lips of DJO and voila! we will have an unbiased (<==sarcasm) article in the HC. DJO has trouble with the truth when he claimed (in a recent HC article) that the WRTC's election efforts were driven by the WTXA. The WTXA was, as an organization, no where to be found in promoting any candidate for office this year's local election.

We will have to wait a little while longer to see if the new, but not so new, Town Council (a majority (5 out of 9) of the recent incumbents returned!) lives up to THEIR (the majority of 5, 4 Dem's and 1 former/quasi-Dem) promise not to spend Town funds (real or in kind) for the purchase, installation, and maintenance of the lights on Cottone Field. I can see MEFillo's article now, quoting more DJO blather. But what can you expect from him; you can't expect a pit bull to purr.

Since he's dead in Republican politics in Wethersfield (?oxymoron), has DJO disaffiliated yet or has he shown his true color (Blue)(<==simple question)?

[oldetowne]

There is a large kernel of truth in the midst of the hyperbole, Sy. But my question still stands and I am curious to learn what track the P&Z is headed down on this issue. As with the zoning exemption issue that we debated in the spring, any new lighting regulations will be applicable to the entire town - public and private - not just for Cottone Field.