Lawbreakers are forgiven
From the WRAs editorial board:
According to a state audit, by failing to follow the formula prescribed by state law when projecting enrollment, Portland, New Haven and West Hartford built or expanded schools and in the process stole a combined $6 million from state taxpayers.
Ordinarily, fraud and misappropriation of public funds are punishable by imprisonment, but in those communities and many others, elected and appointed officials routinely are absolved by acts of the legislature, edicts by the state education commissioner or the indifference of state bureaucrats. In the case of Portland and West Hartford, legislators passed laws specifically forgiving their theft of tax dollars because local taxpayers already were struggling to pay back construction loans and the additional burden of repaying the state would have caused them serious hardships. But it's OK, apparently, to spread that additional burden on unsuspecting state taxpayers whose only crime is their residency.
There's a reason why people call our state "Corrupticut."
Tim White
2 comments:
I'm not usually in the business of buying excuses, but it is possible these towns just got bad advice from their consultants, did what they were told to do, and overbuilt. Unless someone wrongly profited from the error, seems tough, especially in Portland's case, to hammer them for reimbursement. Heating the white elephant at today's prices seems like a visible sanction
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