Open forum 8/11
Cheshire seniors are petitioning for a tax freeze. Yesterday's Herald (by Leslie Hutchison) and today's Waterbury Rep-Am (by Lauresha Xhihani) are covering it online. I think providing options to municipalities is a good thing, but my preference would be to reform the property tax. And by that I mean, the state should allow towns to use whatever tax (or combination of taxes) works best for the town... allowing for a municipal income tax or a municipal sales tax... or whatever tax structure works best. This may also spur competition among the towns and really get them thinking even more about trying to save money and reduce spending.
The property tax is unrelated to one's ability to pay. So it hits those most in need the hardest... and that tends to be seniors on fixed incomes.
Of course, the real issue is spending. And I think reforming the rules that govern binding arbitration for the teachers' unions would go a long way toward addressing the growth of municipal spending.
Cheshire is going to apply for more STEAP money for the West Main area (Cheshire Herald, by Leslie Hutchison).
Tim White
State Representative nominee (R-89)
Bethany, Cheshire & Prospect
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
11 comments:
just a follow up.........did you ever get a phone call from the individual who was running from Prospect??
I haven't heard from him. Although Vickie Nardello called to congratulate me. I appreciated that.
maybe he doesn't have your phone number????
lol.
I'm focused on the first Tuesday, after the first Monday in November.
Well, we know there was at least one gentleman in the Aug. 8 primary, one who didn't attack the other's family, and one who vowed to support the winner. Fortunately that gentleman was the winner! Good luck Tim White!
Re: Senior Tax Freeze - I commend the seniors who petitioned for a freeze on their taxes! I also agree that the state should allow the towns to rework the tax collection process basing it more on one's ability to pay across the board.
Re: West Main Street Steep Grant - I am not sure spending near to one million dollars in grant money (which is really taxpayer dollars) to put in fancy lights, sidewalks, and landscaping would be money well spent. I think the plan, when it is reviewed by the council, should include a well thought out solution for having the linear trail cross West Main as that is the only way you'll see more "foot traffic" in that area. And I would hope the grant money, should it be accepted, could be used to also create a linear trail crossing.
Question - What is with the old Ball and Socket building?? Who owns it and are there any plans to do something with it?
anon 10pm...
Sr Tax Freeze--I'm all for property tax reform, including:
1) Massachusetts style Prop 2 1/2 - any municipal tax increase above 2.5% (or choose a number) automatically goes to referendum. I support that. And I've even supported that at the Council level... but even when I was in the majority, I couldn't find five votes.
2) make Boards of Ed their own taxing authority.
3) offer municipalities free reign to determine their taxing structures, so that taxes are related to one's ability to pay.
4) the senior tax freeze could definitely work, depending on how exactly it is implemented.
West Main St--If we're really trying to make it business/pedestrian friendly, then I think we should put in a traffic light (approx cost ~ $150-250k) and skip the idea of a bridge or tunnel. I think both would be cost-prohibitive. As well, we could pay for the light with the $1,000,000 in grant money. And with regard to concerns about trucks stopping at the bottom of West Main... I realize that things, including truck sizes & weights, change over time. But for many years we had trains running through there. And trucks/cars always had to stop for the trains.
Ball & Socket--I believe Dalton owns it. (same owner as the linear trail from Cornwall to West Main). I'm not sure about any future plans for the property.
I agree with you Tim on wanting to reform property tax, but that idea will never pass in this Yankee thought process dominated government. What this Town needs is ideas based on a different paradigm. we will never reform property tax, becuase that is the way it has always been done.
The work done by the seniors for tax relief is the best thing we have seen in years. One way to get local town officials to make changes is to force them to do it. One reason the Town Manager will not support this cpncept is becasue the Tax Assessor cannot deterine within a few dollars the true impact on tax revenue collections on a yearly basis. Without a true number the Town Manager will not know how much he has to have in savings, therefore he is out of his comfort zone.
The next item this Town needs is a charter change that allows for a maximum increase of 3% to the annual operating budget. Some towns in CT have implemented this as a change to their charter...Cheshire needs to be next.
anon 8:35pm... I'm all for getting the town to simply put a cap on spending/taxes/budget (you pick) increases, unless the voters approve.
I'd fully support the idea. And as I mentioned, I asked about it when I was in the majority, but didn't find five votes.
As for a charter change, I'm open to it. I'd like to see us change the Charter so that when a budget is approved by the Council and brought to referendum by the voters, we could bifurcate the school budget from the general gov't budget.
There was a landmark case, BOE vs. Borough of Naugatuck, 2004. That case set precendent. Chartered towns may now split out their budget referendum votes by line item.
(Oxford is trying to do something similar, but they have no Charter. So the state supreme court has not yet spoken to their particular situation.)
Wonderful and informative web site. I used information from that site its great. Burlington washington car dealers dvd flat screen http://www.block-internet-pop-ups.info/new2007cadillacescalade.html cadillac olympics sweepstakes 2004 Taniec latino Oldsmobile 1990 Truck rental in fairfield me maine Texas phone directories Voss chevrolet bobble head horse
Keep up the good work clomid retard de regles Bingo place Sarasota quit smoking Girls peeing in their pants for fun 2 line spread spectrum cordless phone How to work mp3 cd players Rosacea and proactiv solution cool backpacks Chemical structure fluoxetine http://www.cheap-hotel-in-rome.info/boating-world-medford-oregon.html Keeper babe of day Review of home security systems buy ultram Questions to ask about refinancing
Post a Comment