Jimmy Sima questions Rosemary Lane work

Two years ago the Town repaved Rosemary Lane. At that time I knew this project was a problem. But I wasn't sure how to best address the poor planning, particularly since the former Council majority had no interest in holding staff accountable.

Fast forward to this summer and I got more vocal as the problems related to Rosemary Lane became quite visible. Though I mentioned the problems a year ago during the TMs annual review, it was this summer that anyone could see the poor planning that led to storm drains being installed two years after Rosemary was repaved.

The Town is lucky though. While the Council's Planning Committee Chairman, Jimmy Sima, is very fair and even-handed... he's also willing to investigate areas of concern. And now that the Rosemary repaving work is largely complete......Jimmy has begun asking questions and placed Rosemary Lane on the agenda for Wednesday's Planning Committee meeting:



If you believe that a legislative body should hold an administration accountable, then you got a big win last November when you voted for Jimmy Sima. Jimmy may "speak softly," but he "carries a big stick." And as long as he has a seat at the dais, you should know that you've got someone in Town Hall who believes in -- and fights for -- good government.

Tim White

The lame duck Council's turf vote: does it matter?

I'm sure many of you have seen the recent Heralds, including a new talking point for turf:

The Council voted for the "50% goal." Now the Council is moving the goal line!

That's a factual statement, but also a serious distortion of reality.

Perhaps a more honest and complete talking point would be:

Last November's Lame Duck Council voted for the "50% goal." Now -- of the current nine Council members, including one elected Council member who voted for the "50% goal" -- the new Council is moving the goal line!

Seriously, this is ridiculous. I hope somebody submits an LTTE and reminds people that the November 2009 Council vote included only one elected Council member among the nine current Council members.

Don't get me wrong though. I respect the fact that people are raising money. And I understand the concerns that Councils have not historically asked for replacement funding -- look at the playground at Bartlem -- but for me The Bailout changed everything. And I do think the current Council has a legitimate -- though short -- record on considering long-term, lifecycle costs. We did it with the pool structure. And I hope we continue to do that, particularly with the more visible, larger ticket items.

I think the turf would be really nice. But I also think it's going to drive up long-term costs for taxpayers. And I still need to hear a convincing argument addressing those costs, if I'm going to support the turf.

Tim White

Referenda results -- November 2002 to June 2010

With the capital budget here, I've been wondering if there were any trend lines in referenda results over the past few years. So rather than wonder, I went to Town Hall and compiled the actual results that you can see here:Couple things:

- I chose 2002 to present because that particular data was all in one book in the Town Clerk's office. To go back further, I would've needed to find the second book. And I wasn't inclined to do that.

- The descriptions are a bit haphazard, but that was the easiest way for me to dissect them to identify any trendlines... on which I'll share my thoughts in the next week or so. Regardless, I'm confident you'll be able to recognize each of the projects.

Hope this is interesting. And I think it's fair to say that for some stuff, voter support hasn't changed. But for some other stuff, voter support has waned... while nothing has increased support over the past few years.

Tim White

Connecting the dots and demanding accountability

IMO, today's Herald editorial on the CPD situation was spot on. Catching my attention in particular was the end:

it is a blackeye for everyone that the issues were allowed to fester to such a point... If mediation is to continue, new techniques and new individuals must be utilized. But the Town may be at the point where more permanent action is required, whatever that might be. (Cheshire Herald, March 25, 2010)

But do the Cheshire Town Government's problems end with the CPD?

Not as far as I'm concerned.

Let's not forget the Serenity Ranch development slipping thru in the middle of the night to which Councilman Schrumm wrote:

If the leaders of this community are so cowed into silence by a developer's legal tactic, they should quit and perhaps serve the Town in a capacity where courage in the defense of town residents is not needed. Was it really fear of the lawsuit or a convenient favor to the development community, who makes campaign contributions and provide work for real estate attorneys?

And who can forget hotWatergate and the related allegations of corruption? Personally, I don't think there's any corruption. But there was nearly unbelievable incompetence involved.

At what point do we connect the dots and begin to hold people accountable for their actions?

As I wrote back in October 2009:

If reelected, I will continue to push the Council to deal with the Town's failed management.

Tim White

Council meets with ICMA

With a number of police, residents and reporters at tonight's meeting, the Council entered executive session by a vote of 6 to 3 (Adinolfi, Ecke, White opposed). The Town Manager, Town Attorney, Labor Attorney, Personnel Director and two ICMA consultants fact-finders were also invited to join the meeting.

My opinion of the meeting? No comment.

But as I've been saying, the Council has no direct reporting relationship with the Chief or PD staff. Rather, the Council has a relationship with the TM.

Last fall, Cheshire residents voted for change. I recommend the new Council continue voting for change.

Tim White

Cheshire's voter turnout in 2009

I finally got Cheshire's 2009 voter turnout by precinct. Here are the results:As you can see pretty clearly, Republicans turned out in a much bigger way than Dems - 50.3% to 41.5%.

I don't have the election results handy. Nonetheless, it appears to me that even if Dems turned out in the same percentages as Rs... the GOP still would've won big with unaffiliated voters swinging to the GOP last November.

One other thing that caught my attention is the higher turnout for Tom Ruocco among all voters, particularly Rs. Impressive.

Tim White

Frank Luntz & Cheshire

I visited my parents tonight and was watching some of the pundits discuss Massachusetts. Frank Luntz' polling group jumped out at me.

At one point Luntz asked a self-described Obama/Coakley voter & healthcare supporter if the Congress should continue pressing forward with appointed Senator Paul Kirk. The Mass voter said something to the effect of "No. The voters spoke. That would be like jamming healthcare down the country's throat... when it's clear that's not what people want."

Luntz replied "But you say this even though you support the President's healthcare bill?" The voter replied, "yes."

Made me think of a little discussion and vote that occured with Cheshire's lame duck Council in November.

Tim White

Budget Committee agenda - January 19, 2009

David Schrumm's agenda for his meeting tomorrow:

BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
7:30 P.M., TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2010
ROOM 210, TOWN HALL,
84 SOUTH MAIN ST., CHESHIRE, CT 06410

AGENDA:

1. Roll call.
2. Pledge of Allegiance.
3. Water Pollution Control Authority budget.
4. F. Y. 09-10 Budget Status
5. F. Y. 10-11 Pre-Budget Planning
6. Adjournment.

And while I don't recall any public statements from the Budget Chair, I have asked him to clamp down on some of the Town's ridiculous spending in recent years - conferences & seminars all over North America, 6% & 7% payraises last year, etc. And I don't see any reason why that stuff needs to wait until "next year's budget." From my perspective, that stuff stops now - not on July 1 with the new budget.

It's one of the reasons I believe a GOP majority was elected.

Tim White

Some benefits of Election 2009

It's January and I already see changes in Town Government.

Not only are we moving forward with the concept of an enclosure for the pool, but the Administration is actually discussing the deauthorization of some money.

And is this deauthorization a case of the Budget Chair saving $1,000,000? Well, not exactly... since the idea came from staff. But as the elected official - and since we take blame for bureaucratic gaffes - he will deserve the credit, if it is deauthorized. Frankly though, I think the main reason staff brought this forward is because of the November election results. The handwriting is on the wall.

So even though I'm disappointed about the direction in which the CPD situation has gone ... I do see real progress being made in other areas by the new GOP majority.

Tim White

Buchanan on the Council's 2010

The MRJs Jesse Buchanan has an article on some of the big issues facing the new Council:

"There is an expectation that we'll be on the case," said Town Council Chairman Tim Slocum

Councilman Ecke spoke on the 'no confidence' vote at the CPD:

"Do I think it will be magically fixed in a year? Only time will tell," he said. "I don't know that it will be solved, but I'm sure it will be addressed."

Councilman Schrumm spoke on the budget:

"We can't print money like the Federal government,"... "I don't think they're in the mood for a substantial tax increase," he said.

And I weighed in when asked about the pool. I offered two goals of mine:

1) A referendum on a permanent structure by November... noting that a special referendum would cost money... so there would need to be a good reason for holding a special referendum... particularly since it would have an entirely different voter pool (likely much lower) than the general election in November.

2) All Council members say whether they will support / oppose the continued use of the bubble. I don't and won't. It costs too much money for a "self-supporting pool" and it wastes too much energy at a time when I thought we were supposed to be getting serious about energy consumption.

Tim White

2009 voter turnout

I've seen some of the voter turnout numbers for November 3, but have yet to see a useful data set. In the meantime, I understand that while total turnout was around 37%... Dems turned out at a rate of 45%, while Rs turned out at a rate of 52%. As soon as I get my hands on a useful data set, I'll offer some detailed numbers by district / precinct / demographics, etc.

Tim White

BOE Organizational Meeting - December 10, 2009

Freshman Board of Education member Tony Perugini wanted to let you all know about tonight's meeting. Tony has informed me that:

Gerry Brittingham is Chair unanimous vote.
Tod Dixon is Vice Chair unanimous vote.
Peter Massey is Secretary unanimous vote.

And the following is the list of assignments:I congratulate Gerry on his new role!

Tim White

BOE Chairman Brittingham?

Word on the street is that Gerry Brittingham will be elected the BOE Chairman on Thursday night.

Good luck counting those votes though. Though I've had several people tell me that Gerry has four votes... no Board member has told me his/her vote... nor do I recall asking any of them.

I also understand that Peter Massey will be named the Finance Committee Chairman.

Tim White

Organizational meeting of the 20th Council

Sworn in yesterday, the 20th Town Council had its organizational meeting tonight.

In a vote called by the Town Clerk, Carolyn Soltis, Council member Tim Slocum was unanimously elected Chairman. And with our Chairman in place, we elected a Vice Chair.

David Schrumm will be Tim Slocum's #2.

We also voted on meeting dates for the next twelve months and adopted rules of procedure.

In relation to the rules of procedure, I voiced two concerns with Cheshire's new Honorary Mayor:

1) I'd like to see stricter enforcement of the three-minute speaking rule... at least when there are other people who want to speak. IMO, it's a matter of being respectful to all the other residents who wish to speak.

2) All questions from the lecturn should go to the Chair. This relates to open-ended questions to all nine Council members. Council meetings will take forever if all nine Council members respond to open-ended questions.

Then after the votes, Council members were introduced to the TMs direct reports. This is my fourth Council and the first time that this introduction has happened.

Tim White

Taking the oath of office - December 6, 2009

Members of the 20th Council:Members of the Board of Education:Members of the Planning & Zoning Commission (including alternates):Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals (including alternates):
Tim White

The unofficial Council Chairman - Tim Slocum

The NHRs Luther Turmelle reports on the unofficial Council Chairman - Tim Slocum:

Although the newly elected Town Council won’t be seated for another week, its seven Republicans have already decided unofficially to make Tim Slocum chairman of the panel for the next two years.

Good luck Mr. Chairman!

Tim White

An apology related to the Election Day emails

Either on Election Day or the day before Election Day, there were some emails distributed that were effectively endorsing certain candidates. Those emails also seemed to some to be a representation of the views of non-profit organizations.

I just spoke with the gentleman who sent out an email related to the pool. He apologized. I'm a believer that we all make mistakes and I felt his apology was sincere. So speaking only for myself, I accepted his apology. For me, that's the end of it.

Tim White

And the Council Chairman is...

Wikipedia's Wikiuser7777 is reporting that the next Council Chairman and Honorary Mayor for the Town of Cheshire, CT will be...

drumroll, please...

Tim Slocum!

Obviously nothing is official until the organizational meeting on Monday December 7. But I think Wikiuser7777 knows his/her stuff. And for the record, I have no idea about the true identity of Wikiuser7777... though based on the contributions, s/he certainly appears to have some connections to India.

Tim White

Turf meeting on Tuesday

With the turf meeting scheduled for Tuesday November 17, I couldn't help but notice something.

At last Tuesday's meeting, the Personnel Chair made it clear that the PD issues should be delayed until the new Council takes office on Sunday, December 6. And since the Budget Chair was at the PD meeting, I presume he agreed with the Personnel Chair that the PD issues should be delayed.

But obviously the Budget Chair feels that the turf cannot wait until the new Council.

Does that suggest the Budget Chair feels the turf is a higher priority than the PD issues?

Tim White

The local papers' take on Election 2009

I had been meaning to link to the articles of the four local papers. Here they are:

GOP wins in landslide fashion, Herald by Josh Morgan

GOP wins big in Cheshire, NHR by Luther Turmelle

Republicans take back Cheshire boards, WRA by Lauresha Xhihani

Republicans take control in Cheshire, MRJ by Jesse Buchanan

My favorite is the Herald. I kinda like the pic. haha...

This wasn't a referendum on President Obama. As with all elections, this was a referendum on the incumbent.

And my take on the election? I continue to ponder the results and think there were a number of factors - police, pool, personnel, turf, teachers' contract, good government, council decorum... to name a few.

Tim White