Cheshire referendum questions 2008
I got my referenda mailer on Friday. Here are the questions:
I know most of you already know the questions, but I think having them online may be useful someday. I can't forget all the nonsense talk by town officials claiming "no one ever promised the pool would be self-sustaining."
Going forward, I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit to see Question 7 be used toward "Mary Fritz' gift" to the town.
Tim White
5 comments:
The wording of these questions is horrible. I wouldn't be surprised either if on question 7 the money "may" be used towards the turf field. All the questions say - "may be spent on" - which to me means it "may not" be spent on exactly what you think. I'm voting NO on all of them.
Who writes these? Are they approved by the TC? I can't understand how the questions can be so vague when they are looking for that kind of money.
Tell them there's a damm recession.
Vote NO on all of 'em
During Council budget discussions, I voiced my desire for specificity in the referenda... particularly with the streets.
I got tons of pushback.
But it's not just a Dem majority thing. In years past, it was the Rs who wanted a lot of ambiguity on the open space questions... which arguably makes sense (presuming that public discussions would lead to higher land prices... though I'm not so sure I still accept that argument... since the town always buys discounted anyway... from people who want to ensure the property remains undeveloped in perpetuity).
Anyway... after you crossed the line of ambiguity on open space... others decided it could be used for all questions.
There's also very much a degree of avoiding accountability.
For instance, I wanted to know the streets that would be paved for $1,000,000.
I was told that "flexibility" was needed. And that is partly legitimate, IMO. Frankly though, I think the lack of disclosure is because some people don't want to say a road will be completed for $100,000 dollars... only to drop the ball somewhere and have the project cost $150,000.
Make no mistake... the wording of the questions is a very deliberative process. And if you hear otherwise... you're just getting some classic Town Truthiness.
Btw, I strongly encourage people to write some LTTEs demanding transparency in the referenda questions. Otherwise, you can expect this stuff to continue and only get more and more vague.
Could roads include the Canal walk???
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