Some community events 4/13

April 19 - Nature walk on the DeDominicus property (park on Old Lane at 9:30am) sponsored by the Environment Commission

April 22 - Presentation on "Seniors, Alcohol & Medications" at the Senior Center (11am to noon) sponsored by the Human Services and Youth Services Committee and the Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking

April 27 - Pancake breakfast fundraiser at Masonic Lodge (corner of Country Club and Rte 10 from 7:30am to noon)

April 28 - Tommy Fund benefit for Childhood Cancer (The Watch Factory Restaurant from 5:30pm to 9pm) $50 donation includes hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and a silent auction

May 3 - Ramband fundraiser $100/ticket raffle for a 2008 BMW Z4 (for tickets, call 272-1854 or Mike Rocci at 272-6121... he tells me he'll even hand deliver or airmail them to you at no extra charge!)

As always, feel free to remind people about your own projects / fundraisers here. I know I'm not particularly good at maintaining a "community calendar" here, but there's no reason why you can't remind people!

Tim White

Brittingham on drug & alcohol survey

The NHRs Luther Turmelle is reporting on the Town's recent survey on the use of drugs & alcohol by CHS and Dodd students. In particular, the article focuses on BOE member Gerry Brittingham and his frustration with the handling of the survey:

Problems associated with administering a survey of high school and middle school students about their attitudes toward alcohol, drug abuse and smoking made for some tense moments at a Board of Education meeting... “I can’t begin to quantify my level of frustration at how this happened,” Brittingham said at Thursday’s meeting, claiming that officials at the high school “bungled” the survey process.

Tim White

Blogging the 103rd

Al Adinolfi is accepting public funding for his campaign (MRJ).

And speaking of the race in the 103rd... if you're going to make charges of this or that, that's fine with me. But you're going to have to substantiate your claims... or I'll be deleting your comments... particularly the smears along the lines of "wait until the truth comes out."

Why wait? If your claims are true, then it should be easy to find links to reputable news sources and include those links right here. If you don't, those comments will be deleted.

And as always, if any of you are interested in doing your own front page post, feel free. But you will need to substantiate any facts that you offer.

Tim White

BOE vote on study of turf

From the NHRs Luther Turmelle (not online):

"The Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday night to create an ad hoc committee"

for a study on handling the installation of turf. The committee's membership will likely include the CHS AD, an administrator, a Council member and one or two members of the public.

Before the board voted, Florio seemed to suggest that he supports having the district use the state money rather than return it. "I will say this: The town of Cheshire sends far more money to Hartford than it gets back," the superintendent said.

Tim White

What's going on here??

Note: Video editing allows comments to be taken out of context.

Turf toxins under fire

From the Courant's Regine Labossierre:

Citizens groups in Connecticut have asked their town officials to stop installing the material, which some studies say can cause asthma, eye and skin irritations, cancer, and a decline in plant growth and aquatic life.
Local groups and state officials want to know for sure whether the turf being used in more than 80 municipalities across the state is really dangerous. A bill before the state legislature is asking the government to appropriate $250,000 to the state Department of Environmental Protection to study the issue...

What's unclear is which chemicals and how much of each are getting into the systems of the people using the fields, said Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human Health....

Not everyone has the same reaction to artificial turf. School officials say they have found nothing wrong with it and say their athletes enjoy playing on it....

Vincent McDermott, senior vice president of Milone & MacBroom, a Cheshire consulting firm of engineers, landscape architects and environmental scientists, said there is a significant body of scientific literature that supports the environmental safety of artificial turf. He said Milone & MacBroom conducts studies of the runoff from artificial fields.

Tim White

Explaining my police budget vote

In an effort to explain what happened during the April 3 vote on the police budget... I remind you that Jimmy Sima tried to add funding for an additional police officer:To which the response was this:and this:I'm not sure why there was vehement opposition to this amendment, but I do have to say that I've been through five town budgets as a member of the Council... and there has been a tradition of not offering amendments on the night of the budget vote. I'm fine with that tradition because as I understand it, there is a real potential for professional risk to staff... and it would be unfair of me to expect that of staff, if they voiced a concern.

However, since staff said only ten minutes was necessary to make the adjustment, I didn't understand the vehement opposition.

Anyway, the bottom line is that Jimmy clearly didn't have all the information to which other Council members must've been privy... either information about process (the tradition) or about substance (at what point did Jimmy, and others, learn of the additional police officers being reduced from 2 to 1?).

So here is Jimmy (at the April 8 meeting) starting to set the record straight on "what he knew and when he knew it."And for my own take on what happened with this... at the March 25 budget meeting, someone (Ecke??) mentioned the Council's desire to keep 2 new police officers in the budget. Then the TM said something to the effect of:

I hear the Council "loud n clear."

I'm not sure of the precise words, but I distinctly remember hearing the words "loud and clear."

So that begs the question... at what point were the two positions reduced to one?

I now understand that change was agreed to in the budget committee on Tuesday April 1. So in fairness to Matt Hall, he was going on the basis that Tom Ruocco knew of, and agreed to, this change. And that's fine. But I'm sure Tom also had a million things running through his mind during those budget meetings... and while this was a significant change... he didn't necessarily speak with the three other Republicans all the time.

And remember... we're talking about a 48 hour window here... from the evening of Tuesday April 1 (budget mtg) to the evening of Thursday April 3 (budget vote). So as I mentioned during a previous post, when there are substantive changes to the budget... staff should make the nine individual Council members aware of those changes.

Anyway... assuming that I'm correct about these dates (particularly April 1), then that begs another question... were either Jimmy or I there... and should we have known about this change? Well, I have no idea if Jimmy was there because (if I have all my dates straight) I wasn't there. Rather, I think I got there as the meeting was adjourning. So Jimmy may or may not have been there. I don't know.

However, I will also point out that I do recall Tom mentioning the police change to me at some point during that 48 hr period... and I recall thinking that there was no point in working to change it because everything was already "set in stone." Therefore, I chose to spend my remaining hours (the evening of April 2) working to identify spending reductions. And yes, I realize those spending reductions (such as eliminating the trips to Seattle and Virginia and Lake George) would not be adopted by the majority... but I also felt as though I needed to explain my perspective to the public. I needed to explain my vote.

That's my perspective on what happened with the reduction of police officers from 2 to 1. Essentially, it happened under the cover of darkness... and I believe I only became aware of it after the final budget meeting.

So were there any underhanded tactics by anyone here? No. I don't think so. But if this version of the story is correct (and it could have errors... I haven't researched this thoroughly... this is based on discussions with other Council members... D and R), then it reinforces my belief that the Council simply needs to direct staff to update Council members of substantive changes to proposed legislation in a more timely manner.

Tim White

Earmarks: Murphy v Cappiello, but no Nania

From the Litchfield County Times (by Scott Benjamin):

The incumbent Democrat and the Republican challenger in the Fifth Congressional District are addressing how to reform the use of congressional earmarks, the funding that gets steered to districts without even going to a public hearing.

In this article, the Democrat is Chris Murphy and the Republican is Dave Cappiello... no mention of the other Republican, Tony Nania.

Tim White

Turf study committee recommended

Turf was on the agenda for the BOE tonight. And an anonymous poster said (on another thread) that the BOE recommended that the Council create a Turf Study Committee.

And since it appears I'm no longer allowed to attend Council meetings and ask questions that are not pre-vetted... I do have one question that I'd like answered about the turf:

What were the criteria used by the state in determining that Cheshire should receive $525,000 for turf?

ECS has a formula. PILOT follows the same logic, as does the Pequot funding.

Again, what criteria were used?

Tim White

Performing oversight

Here's the clip (4:41) of me asking about the financial software:

Q: Who (or what) is responsible for this?

A: a confidentiality agreement... I’m willing to take the hit for that.

(Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't exactly catch the phrase "a confidentiality agreement.")

Anyway, as much as I'd like to... I'm not going to delve into this... I've already been put on notice about the blog and too much discussion. Nonetheless, I did ask two questions that needed to be asked... and need to be asked every time we have these significant cost overruns:

Who is the individual responsible for this?

What are the consequences for that individual?

Frankly, I think one of the main problems with asking these questions is not a lack of recognition that these are important questions. No, it's not that.

The problem probably has several parts, but in Cheshire... this is one of the main problems we face in asking these questions:

To which I must ask: Who's in charge?

Tim White

Cox rates increasing May 15

From the Courant (by Mark Peters):

Cox Communications Inc. will raise its cable TV rates in May by a few dollars a month for most customers.

The increases, announced this afternoon, will affect all three Cox franchises in Connecticut, which cover the Meriden, Manchester and Enfield areas for a total of 19 towns and cities. The rate increase, which doesn't require state regulatory approval, begins May 15.

Cox blamed the increase on rising operating costs including higher prices for gasoline and utilities and increased costs for programming. The Atlanta-based cable company last raised its basic rates in the Meriden and Enfield areas in 2002 and in Manchester in 2004. Increases for some expanded packages last happened in 2006, the company said.

After the tax increase last week, I decided that something had to go for the time being. So I decided to axe my cable bill indefinitely (I pay my taxes every six months. And since they're not in escrow, cash flows are a big deal to me). I'm glad I did.

Tim White

The White Elephant drives food prices

I was watching ABCNews tonight (since I cancelled Cox cable last Friday, I can't watch the cable news) and they had a piece on the cost of food around the globe. It was both interesting and extremely concerning. I think it's fair to say that the piece was placing the blame for the rise in the cost of food largely on energy prices... particularly as crops are now being diverted from feeding people to making biofuels / energy.

This reminded me of the pool and its insatiable energy appetite... and it reminded me of my belief that the pool is a perfect example of how Cheshire could "think globally, act locally." Unfortunately, based on comments during Council meetings... it seems at least one member of the majority believes Cheshire shouldn't sacrifice its "quality of life" (an indoor / outdoor pool) for increased "energy security" (energy conservation).

Anyway... you probably could guess that I'm of the opinion that the Council (and this new bubble committee) have virtually no credibility, when it comes to the pool. Nonetheless, I hope the Council makes a real effort at dealing with the bubble. But to gain the credibility required for taking action... the rhetoric will need to change. And we're going to have to acknowledge that sacrifice (dumping the white elephant) is almost certainly necessary... and we can't simply increase the volume of natural gas fed to the pool, if we want take a responsible approach to directly dealing with the bubble (and indirectly dealing with energy costs and with food prices)... because ultimately, they're all related.

Tim White

NHR on financial software

The NHRs Luther Turmelle wrote this article on the town's financial software.

Tim White

Personnel to discuss grievances

At last night's Council meeting, during the Committee Reports... Personnel Committee Chairman, Matt Altieri, said that my question about compiling a report on employee grievances by department for the past five years would be addressed at a Personnel Committee meeting later this month:Regarding the "however briefly" comment... it does make me wonder if there'll be much of a discussion. But then... I just want to see a report of numbers of grievances... I don't wish to see any names... so I'm not sure why there's even a meeting. Maybe there's a problem with employee morale and grievances are being filed more often than usual? I don't know. That's why I asked.

As for why it's taking a month and a half to compile this report, I'm at a loss. I figured that the Personnel Director could compile the report pretty easily. And since I presume that a Personnel Director would have little to do with the just-completed-budget... this report should've been done a while ago... I would think. But then I don't know the responsibilities of the Personnel Director... which by the way... did anyone else catch the comment last night by the Finance Director about how she has only one HR person? And since it's not the Personnel Director... what gives? Seems odd that an HR person wouldn't report to the Personnel Director. But again... I don't even know what responsibilities are given to the Personnel Director... well... except for being "Assistant Town Manager." And don't even get me started on that title... that deserves its own post.

Anyway, I am glad that other people seem to agree with me that my request is reasonable. From the WRA to the cartoon in this week's Herald, I think it's fair and necessary for the Council to maintain a basic grasp on employee morale. And whether or not the Council agrees with me... at least other people seem to believe it's a reasonable request.

And finally, I thank Matt Altieri for following up on this.

Tim White

These aren't the droids you're looking for

Energy Commission continues progress on pool

While the Council continues talk, talk, talking about the pool (and yes, I voted for last night's motion... but that's only because I had seen the majority's writing on the wall... "our way or the highway..." so I compromised), the Energy Commission's Dave Gavin continues to make REAL progress on the pool bubble.

I got an email from Dave today. He's in the process of scheduling a pool visit by Sprung, Inc.... one of the "pool building" vendors he identified in the Energy Commission report that was drafted by him.

And FYI... here's a brief comment on another use of Sprung's structures.

Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison

Adinolfi to run on record

The NHRs Luther Turmelle has this story on the race for the 103rd.

Tim White

Esty makes it official

I had heard that she was planning on making her announcement yesterday. And the WRA reported it today... Elizabeth Esty is running for the 103rd House district against state Rep. Al Adinolfi.... no word yet on whether any Dems will by running against her for the nomination. And remember... with public financing... people will probably come out of the woodwork this year. And don't forget Al had an opponent, Phil Brewer, two years ago. So don't be surprised if he, or others, want the Dem nomination this year. Regardless... assuming Elizabeth is the nominee...

I suspect there's going to be quite a divide between the two candidates on a number of issues.

But in keeping this post brief, I'll just offer what is often the most divisive issue in politics... abortion.

Al Adinolfi has received money from the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut... an organization known for its pro-life positions. While Elizabeth has donated money to the liberal Emily's List... an organization dedicated "to elect pro-choice Democratic women."

No doubt that criminal justice reform will take center stage in this campaign though.

As for my support... it goes to Al... nobody works harder than he does. Though that's not to take anything away from Elizabeth. I have my differences with her, including some strong philosophical differences. But she's always straight with me.

As for who wins? I'd put money on Al. But I can't help wondering if Obama might actually... for the first time in a long time... get the 18-30 yr old demographic (who are usually considered "unlikely voters") to vote?

As always, "events on the ground" will dictate turnout. If Iraq and the economy have people down... that may motivate the youth vote with Obama as the nominee. Alternatively... if HRC is the nominee... will the economy make a difference, if she gets blamed for NAFTA? I have no idea. My sense is that Al wins... but the Obama factor makes me wonder. More on this later though... going to bed in a minute.

And speaking of Presidential politics... count me as one of those Republicans who isn't yet sold on McCain. But being a Paulista... I can't imagine that would surprise anyone.

Tim White

Simsbury development

I got a note from my former colleague David Schrumm tonight. It's about a proposed 900,000 square foot residential/retail development in Simsbury (by Cox). There was a hearing planned, but things didn't work out so well because... the Simsbury fire marshal shut it down when an overflow crowd showed up at the auditorium of Eno Memorial Hall. It seats 240. Opponents say the development is not in character with the town. The hearing has been rescheduled....

Tim White

Pool bubble resolution

Here's the motion for the discussion on Alternatives to the pool bubble:For the record... I had absolutely nothing to do with this motion. And it doesn't really remind me of my motions from either February 26 or March 11.

Tim White

MRJ on DeCaprio

For a while now, the MRJ has been working on a human interest piece on my favorite 3rd District Councilman. They even sent a videocamera guy to a Council meeting for some additional stuff in their MyRecordJournal online edition.

Anyway, I haven't read this whole article on my successor as the youngest member of the Council (I'm 35. She's 30.) ... but thought you might like to see it (by Stacy Graham Hunt).

Tim White

Altieri on number of grievances

Following the March 11 Council meeting at which I asked the Personnel Committee Chairman, Matt Altieri, for a report of "grievances by department" for each of the past five years... I sent him an email yesterday. I was wondering if he'd have the report prepared for today's Council meeting. I appreciated his quick response. But unfortunately... nothing yet. Nonetheless, he said he will be taking up the issue at a Personnel Committee meeting scheduled for later this month.

Tim White
Town Council, 4th District

Pool referendum

As promised...

I stopped by the Town Clerk's office recently. I went directly to the October 1996 section of the "Council documents book." There I found the pool referendum:Several thoughts...

Hopefully in the future there won't be anymore town residents getting berated at Council meetings for suggesting that the pool was supposed to be self-sustaining (see #9).

And it's also worth noting the question seems clear to me that the pool was supposed to be an indoor / outdoor facility (see question and #5).

Thing is though... is the Council serious about energy conservation or not? I'm serious about it. And I'm acutely aware that conserving energy does not always provide for one's optimal quality of life (This winter, when I've been alone, I've turned the heat way down and bundled up because of the cost of oil).

Regardless... all things considered, we need to consider alternatives to the bubble and, IMO, start addressing the bubble's insatiable energy appetite.

Tim White
Energy Commission, Town Council liaison

Council agenda 4/8

Here's the agenda's old and new business for this Tuesday's meeting:Tim White

Viral video

You may have heard of viral video. Here is wikipedia's explanation. But I add that the best way for video to become truly viral is to email the video links to other people who you feel may be interested. To do this with one of the videos here, you would double click on the image (though not on the "play button"). That should move you over to YouTube. From there, you just copy the "address" or link to an email... for example, here's the link for Jimmy Sima's motion in support of the police budget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyNoA1QkX2c

then you send the email and you've got viral video.

I love Web 2.0!

Tim White

Sima's motion for a police officer

Jimmy Sima's proposed resolution to increase the number of police certainly generated some discussion. For those of you who didn't see it, here it is:

Personally, I didn't think the "notion" that Jimmy thought of this on Thursday was "ridiculous." Though there was a ridiculous aspect to this whole discussion.

And as I recently stated here... I'm fine with the budget being "decided" before the actual vote. I recognize that there's paperwork involved and have no interest in causing the TM any undue professional risk.

But the reaction to Jimmy's motion did seem to be a bit much. I mean, it is a meeting. And there is supposed to be discussion, right?

Though later in the meeting, Matt Hall did explain his vehement opposition by saying where things need to improve... there needs to be improvements within the "internal" communication of the nine council members: Unfortunately, this logic is predicated on the two party system*. But what if there's an unaffiliated (independent) Council member who has no caucus member on the Budget Committee? Or what if some members of a particular caucus** don't communicate well? This plan falls apart.

No, Matt's call for improved internal communication of the nine Council members doesn't work. Instead, staff*** should keep Council members aware of happenings... such as the last-minute, under-the-radar removal of a police officer from the budget (something I only heard about a few days before the budget as well). So, IMO, this was not a failure of communication among nine volunteers.

It was a failure of the Council to direct staff to keep Council members aware of proposed changes to the budget. But, of course, it's apparent to many residents now that this Council doesn't direct staff. Rather, staff directs the Council:

Tim White

* As explained in this post on political fundraisers, to the best of my knowledge... nothing has yet been done to rectify this inequity that disenfranchises all voters who are not members of one of the two major political parties. So this suggestion doesn't surprise me at all.

** There's definitely some Republicans in Washington who don't like working with Dr. Ron Paul because of his unwavering, strict interpretation of the US Constitution.

*** Perhaps someone tasked with the distribution of "public information" could perform this function... and post the information on the website also... allowing the voters a greater understanding of the process.

Embracing new media: Obama v Clinton

Although I've been turning off the TV a lot lately, I still can't avoid seeing some of the coverage of the Democratic Presidential primary: Obama v Clinton.

I've heard a number of arguments about why one is up or why one is down, etc. But there's still one storyline that I've yet to hear any of the TV pundits even consider as a significant factor in the surprising rise of Obama: transparency and openness.

What do I mean?

In a nutshell, Barack has left me with the feeling that he's fairly candid and open. Hillary has left me with the sense that her campaign, and particularly her message, is entirely controlled. (Although that may be changing based on what I heard mentioned on the news today.)

What's the significance of a candid, open, free-flowing message vs. a controlled message?

Simple. In today's day and age... from YouTube to Google, from blogs to wikis... there is a higher expectation for information... for open government.

Of course, your classic pols want to have 100% control of their "message." But as George Allen, and Joe Lieberman to a lesser extent, learned... controlling the message is no longer possible. Politicians, such as Obama, who embrace (or at least accept) new media... and take hold of Web 2.0... will, on balance, do well compared to those who fight it.

What's an example of how new media is embraced by Barack and shunned by Hillary?

Again, simple. Barack admitted his drug use in his book. Hillary created a story about snipers when she arrived in Bosnia. And while neither story began in new media... both stories were "information" and new media allowed millions to consume the information. So while Obama seems to have been honest and open with his past... Clinton's Bosnia arrival has nearly two millions hits on YouTube and certainly hasn't helped her campaign. Though if she had been honest and open... she never would've taken the bruises she got for her Bosnia comments.

My point?

Pols should stop trying to create and control the message.

Anyway, while I haven't seen this discussed as a factor in the Dem's Primary... I do think that it's a major factor in Obama's rise and HRCs inability to run away with the nomination (though I'm still far from counting her out!)

And FWIW... I wish more pols would be more honest and open. IMO, when a politician tries to control things... it gets ugly more often than not... because new media enables people to shine a light on the lies, misrepresentations, half truths and contradictions that so many pols are prone to make.

Last, but not least, I actually thought of this post a month or so ago... and while I haven't watched much TV since then... I'm thinking that the dynamic in the Dem primary may be changing. I've heard HRC is picking up steam with a renewed emphasis on real, uncanned, open town hall meetings. Nonetheless... this post is more about new media than about the primary.

Tim White

Chamber expo

If you're driving past the high school tomorrow between 9am and 2pm, the Chamber of Commerce will be holding it's annual Spring Business Expo. This year's focus is on energy.

Tim White

Budget passes along party lines

The Council adopted the Town's budget (NHR, by Luther Turmelle) "Proposal A" by a 5-4 margin... with "Proposal B" failing by a 4-5 margin. Both votes were along party lines.

The Council unanimously adopted the budget of the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA = sewers).

The Council voted to adopt the Pool budget. The vote was 7-2 (Sima, White opposed). I was glad when Jimmy joined me. It was nice to have support. I'm hoping the people in town also notice his vote... he deserves credit for drawing the line and basically saying "enough is enough." We need to get serious about the pool and stop with all the "we only have one chance to get this right" hogwash. And as far as I'm concerned, asking Yankee Gas to provide more natural gas capacity is anything but getting serious about the pool. We should be conserving, not asking for more capacity to feed the bubble's insatiable energy appetite.

Anyway, back to the Town's operating budget... here is the draft of my comments, though I'm sure my precise words were different:

For the past four years that I’ve been on the Council, I’ve supported each of the annual operating budgets because I felt they were right at the time. But I can’t support this proposed budget because it’s not good enough at this moment.

I keep hearing from people in town that the cost of gas and heating oil is going thru the roof. The cost of food is hurting people. And the general uncertainty of the economy is weighing on the minds of most people.

Companies are laying people off. One company, my former Stamford-based employer: UBS, announced yesterday that it wrote-off $19billion. That's Billion with a "B."

In light of the current circumstances, the town should be tightening its belt even moreso than in the past few years… just as residents are tightening their belts and adjusting their home budgets accordingly. As one resident has said… “instead of a three week vacation, maybe you take a two week vacation this year.”

We should and could cut spending further. For instance, supporting this budget means that:

We'll be spending $750 for two calculators

and

We'll be spending $34,000 on seminars and conferences to a number of places, such as Lake George, Seattle and Virginia

We'll be spending $950 for reviews of the town budget and town audit. And you should know… this is not a fee for the budget or audit… this is a fee to review the budget and audit. For that fee and review, the town may win an award. But paying for an award is unnecessary and we should not ask the taxpayers to foot this bill. And...

We'll be spending $14,000 for another strategic plan.

And of course, there’s the $420,000 subsidy for our “self-supporting” pool. At a time when Senators Obama, McCain and Clinton seem to speak endlessly about energy concerns, Cheshire's pool just consumes more NG every year.

I’m not going to make a motion to amend either of the existing resolutions, but will note that if we removed the items I touched on… we could reduce spending by about .20 mills. And that spending reduction would ensure no tax increase this year. And I think that’s a commendable goal that everyone who pays for gas, heating oil or groceries would appreciate this year.

I thank Tom Ruocco for his strong efforts at producing "Proposal B." I'll be voting in favor of it.

Now as a followup... after the meeting, Laura DeCaprio was kind enough to explain to me that the $14,000 budget for the strategic plan is a bit more complicated. She said some of the money could be spent on videostreaming too.

But as far as I can tell... that's going to be "under review" for years to come. And as I've been trying to demonstrate here recently... the only way to make something happen in Town Hall is to direct the Town Manager to do something... but if you do that, you'll get accused of micromanaging the TM. Absolutely absurd, IMO... but an unfortunate reality of this majority. Besides... web video doesn't cost anything. In fact, I've been told you can even get the software for free (though I paid $40 for my software).

And just thinking now... since I've already tried emailing the Council and asking them questions (with answers to be posted here unedited), only to get no response from the majority... since it's unacceptable for the town to cut back on its junkets* around North America... I'd love to hear from Council members if their businesses have cut back on "Travel & Entertainment."

Finally, about the pool referendum... I'll try to post the text in full this weekend.

Tim White

*I normally don't use the word "junket." However, I seem to recall that particular word being used by one member of the current majority (then minority) during the '04/'05 Council discussions. At that time, he said something to the effect of "I want to give the Board of Ed this money and I don't care if they spend it on a junket to Mexico." So I think it's the perfect word for this post.

Budget vote tonight

The Council will vote on the budget tonight (Thursday). We'll cast a number of votes with the focus likely being placed on the:

1) Town budget
2) WPCD budget (sewers)
3) Pool budget

Furthermore, I understand that residents will be allowed to comment on the budget. So you may want to attend... if not to actually change anyone's mind... then simply to use the power of the bully pulpit and speak to the TV cameras to share your views with the entire town.

Going to bed now.

Tim White

p.s. Go girls! Go Geno!

CT businesses closing

According to the WRA (by Mark Silvestrini):

Businesses in Connecticut closed at a record pace during the first quarter of 2008, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Secretary of the State's office...

Don Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research for DataCore Partners LLC of New Haven, also linked the data to the slowing national economy.

"The data on starts suggest that the Connecticut economy is starting to feel the effects of a national recession, which probably began last year," he said. "Business starts are an important gauge because they speak not only to business confidence, but job creation and investment as well.

"The severity of the national recession is clearly going to impact us through the remainder of the year," he said. "I expect further erosion in business starts, and a rise in business failures."

I'm so glad I attended the dog & pony show budget committee meetings. If we didn't have those meetings, we may have ended up wasting $14,000 on ANOTHER strategic plan! And, along with other unnecessary spending, that would lead us to further increasing spending and... raising taxes even higher and... perhaps forcing even more businesses to close... all because of unnecessary, wasteful spending in both Cheshire and Hartford.

Oh wait!

We are going to waste that money on the strategic plan. Sorry. I forgot. I was thinking that we had elected officials who represent the Town's people, not the Town's management.

My bad.

Tim White

Pushing forward on the pool

Going back to the Council's two most recent televised meetings (Feb 26 & Mar 11)... some of you may have wondered if I was surprised by all the strawmen and obstructionist tactics (see here and here for some examples that include video) being thrown at my request for an RFI for alternatives to the pool bubble.

If you thought I was surprised (particularly on March 11), you were right. And here's a one minute YouTube from the February 26 meeting that I believe explains why I thought my March 11 proposal may get five votes:

Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison

Proposed town budget cuts

Here's the list of $80,000 in town budget cuts that will almost certainly be adopted on Thursday:

Stop loss - $13,750
Social Security - $3,000
Truck - $34,000
Police Department car - $14,000
Fireworks - $5,000
Server $3,000
Public properties - $7,250

I'm not quite sure who created this list... apparently it was either Ecke or Milone, but I got to the meeting late. And I understand there was some fuss over who created the list. I mean... if it came from Milone... some may argue that this is little more than a rubberstamp. Right?

Regardless, in an effort to further reduce taxes and spending, Ruocco offered additional spending cuts. (And an increased use of the surplus?? Again, I got there late and missed this.) Tom's suggestions:

Park & Rec - water - $1,000
Town Clerk - printing - $1,000
Elections - $1,000
RWA - $8,000
Roads - $14,000
Building repairs - $3,750
Library - $1,250
Training - $2,000
Education assistance - $2,000
Town Attorney - Charter revision - $6,525
Public Properties - $5,000
Capital non-recurring - $127,000

Of course, while these suggestions are important... they won't be going anywhere. The budget has already been decided (which is fine with me. Administratively, staff need some time to properly prepare the necessary resolutions). So, the budget will see a spending increase of 3.95% and it will include additional spending of:

$435,000 for the pool
$14,000 for a new strategic plan

among other ill-conceived spending programs.

Hi ho, hi ho... it's off to tax we go!

But none of this comes as a surprise to me. Remember, it is The Rubberstampers who decide. And they certainly wouldn't want to direct the Town Manager to do anything specific, such as not waste $14,000 on another strategic plan. After all, directing the Town Manager to do something (do anything, for that matter) could lead someone to make charges of Council members micromanaging the Town Manager:
And finally, something to keep in mind about the "budget cuts"... don't be surprised to see some of the above mentioned "cuts" reappear in the capital budget this July. Keep in mind, the rules for the capital budget require items to last more than five years and cost more than $110,000. But if that's the case, how did $8,000 for Town Hall carpeting get in the capital budget a few years ago? My recollection is that it was cut from the operating budget, then stuck in the capital budget.These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along.

Tim White

NHR on budget meeting

Here are some excerpts (see blue italics) of the NHRs take on last night's budget meeting (by Luther Turmelle):

Formerly representing "the fightin' fourth" and a long-time Democratic leader in Cheshire... “If you can, find your way to a zero (mill) increase, go for it,” said Joy Hostage. “The people of this town will stand up and cheer.”

From one of the town's most attentive and independent-minded residents... “Have confidence in your decision, that the people will accept whatever cuts you choose to make,” said Ray Squire.

But there was an alternative view voiced... members of the council’s Democratic majority said they felt uncomfortable with a zero increase in the tax rate.... “It sets an expectation that we can replicate it again in the next budget cycle,” said Michael Ecke, the council budget committee chairman.

I strongly disagree. I doubt anyone in Cheshire has ever said "well, my taxes increased 3.2% this year. So I guess I can expect that next year." Seriously, that argument seems so flawed. Although it did sound better than the remarks that made me think some people were drinking the Kool-Aid when they seemed to suggest it's good for taxes to go up every year.

But what do you expect from The Rubberstampers?

Tim White

Dems to bureaucrats: no tax increase!

It was a truly shocking meeting tonight. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. I walked into the budget meeting expecting to hear about all the hardships that would be endured if there a reduction in the budget... spending cuts, no! The sky will fall! It was unbelievable to hear some of the rhetoric about the difficulties being faced by town residents... and how heating bills really hit people this year... and the town would actually need to tighten it's belt. Then I remembered... April fool's!

More residents on budget

Here's just a couple more residents who spoke at the Council's public hearing on the budget last Thursday:





Tim White

3.95% spending increase

The Budget Committee (and full Council) met tonight to discuss potential budget cuts. Basically the story is this... the Dems will not be supporting Tom Ruocco's proposal for a 3.25% spending increase (Option B). Rather, I'm confident they'll be supporting a 3.95% spending increase. It was proposed by Elizabeth Esty... with Altieri and DeCaprio both voicing concerns about the spending cuts being larger than they prefer.

In order to reduce the budget from a 4.25% increase (Option A) to the new proposal of a 3.95% spending increase, there would be an additional $80,000 reduction to the Town budget (and $560,000 to the school budget).

And as the Town Manager said last week... he presented the Council with some suggested spending cuts that he feels would be straightforward reductions. His suggestions are as follows:



I offered some suggestions for spending cuts... including a spending reduction of $435,000 to the pool budget. I said I could support a smaller subsidy, but was told two years ago that's virtually impossible to do... unless you get rid of the bubble. Hence, I want to get rid of the bubble. Of course, I'm eager to investigate the possibility of a permanent structure... or just make it a summer-only facility... but what I don't want is to do is nothing. I'm tired of all the talk, talk, talk.

Anyway... what are your thoughts on the Town Manager's suggestions for places to reduce the budget?

Tim White
Town Council, 4th District

Pool report, part 5 - Strategy for the study

- baseline analysis of our bubble emphasizing energy and seasonal operating costs
- contact vendors of various enclosures
- “ballpark” costs, initial and operating
- energy consumption
- determine air handling requirements
- report on available options

Dave Gavin
Energy Commission

Kunde on NG capacity on South Main

During last week's Council meeting, there was some discussion about the availability of natural gas (NG) on South Main Street (particularly in relation to the pool and CHS). The discussion touched on a two year old study that was conducted by Pan American Power to consider NG-powered microturbines. Working very close to this study was town resident, Bill Kunde. Here is his comment from another thread:

The comment about the gas supply is incorrect. When Pan American Power did their study and proposal two years ago they worked with Yankee Gas in particular about the gas supply issue. At that time they proposed to install microturbines for the high school and one for the pool. According to Yankee Gas the gas supply and pressure was more than sufficient. The problem came in when the plan to install fuel cells at the pool and high school was brought forward. With the 5 or 6 fuel cells there was not enough gas supply or pressure. Please do not get the two proposals mixed up and the facts need to be corrected. If you don't you will make another incorrect decision.

Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison

Waterbury's indoor water park

Waterbury's hotel-of-a-million-names (the one next to Costco) is scheduled to complete CTs first indoor water park (WRA, by Mark Silvestrini) by mid-October.

Tim White

Council members on the pool

You know how I feel about the pool... it wastes too much energy, the taxpayer subsidies are excessive and, just recently, I learned it's driving up the cost of education (By using all the natural gas available to it, it eliminates natural gas as a heating fuel option for CHS. In turn, the high school must switch its dual fuel heating system to oil at an unnecessarily high cost.). My solution is to either make it a summer facility or move forward with a permanent structure. But you know my thoughts.

So what are the thoughts of other Council members?

Here are a few comments from the past six months:







Tim White

Pool report, part 4 - What are our goals?

- Be ready to make informed decision
- reduce energy consumption/cost
- be “green”
- lower lifecycle operational cost
- improve aesthetics and ambiance
- maintain a year round facility

(some may be mutually exclusive)

Dave Gavin
Energy Commission

Scaring Cheshire

We had the second public hearing on the budget last night. I appreciated the comments from residents, particularly this exchange between BOE member Peter Massey and resident Li Feng:

As mentioned in Luther Turmelle's piece in the NHR

Peter Massey, chairman of the school board’s Finance Committee, said cuts that deep would be “catastrophic” to the school system. “If you go to $1 million, there will be programs cuts and layoffs,” Massey said.

But while sitting at home, watching the meeting on TV... Mr. Feng felt compelled to respond to Peter's comments. In fact, he felt so strongly, you'll even see him literally running to the lecturn to speak... to say that "scaring" people is wrong.



FWIW... I agree with Mr. Feng.

Tim White

Another STEAP grant

State Rep. Al Adinolfi just announced that Cheshire will be receiving $400,000 for West Main Street improvements. This is in addition to the $500,000 already alotted via the Small Town Economic Assistance Program.

Tim White

A grievance? Never!

According to the WRA:

Casual dress privileges on Fridays have been restored to the police department's administrative lieutenant and training officer, under a settlement between the Cheshire Police Union and the town last week. (by Jodie Mozdzer)

Question for you: With regard to the relationship between the Town's upper management and all other town staff...

Is this an indication of a bigger rift?
	Yes, but the rubberstampers ignore it
	No, you're just mean-spirited!
	Doesn't matter. Altieri said the Council does not need to know*
pollcode.com free polls

* See meeting minutes here.

"These aren't the droids you're looking for. Move along."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

But on a serious note... a suggestion for all bloggers... if you happen to be friends with anyone who works for the town and your friend trusts you... ask them about the relationship between town staff (him/her) and upper management. Unlike Matt Altieri apparently believes, I think it is the responsibility of Council members to have a basic grasp on employee morale.

And finally... for the record, this is precisely the type of article of which the Council should be made aware before it hits the headlines, IMO. And yes, for four years I've been asking to be given a head's up before I learn of things in the newspapers... but I get nowhere. Thankfully, I was ahead of the curve on this one... too bad for the town employees that the rubberstampers are so far behind the curve... and, even worse, are giving the impression that they're comfortable staying there.

Tim White

Nania visits GOP Town Committee

The Republican Town Committee met tonight. The highlight for me was hearing from former state Rep. Tony Nania. He's running for the CT-5 GOP nomination against Dave Cappiello... one of them will almost certainly be facing Chris Murphy in the fall. I don't recall any real specifics, but he did seem to get a positive response when discussing the 2nd amendment. Beyond that, I asked about my pet peeve... the unfunded long-term liabilities... which btw, made the cover of today's CT Post under the headline "Medicare, Social Security in peril" (AP, by Martin Crutsinger).

The trustees, issuing their once-a-year analysis, said the resources in the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by 2041. The reserves in the Medicare trust fund that pays hospital benefits were projected to be wiped out by 2019.

Both those dates were the same as in last year's report. But the trustees warned that financial pressures will begin much sooner when the programs begin paying out more in benefits each year than they collect in payroll taxes. For Medicare, that threshold is projected to be reached this year and for Social Security it is projected to occur in 2017.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, one of the trustees, warned of a fiscal train wreck unless something is done.

"Without change, rising costs will drive government spending to unprecedented levels, consume nearly all projected federal revenues and threaten America's future prosperity," Paulson told a news conference....

For what it's worth, addressing Social Security is one issue where I give great credit to President Bush. I have a lot of disagreements with him, but at least he pushed the envelope on this to the point that he got even Teddy Kennedy to acknowledge it has solvency issues. And IMO, that was a major accomplishment.

Anyway, about Tony Nania... he seemed like an intelligent guy who is sincerely interested in the job.

Tim White

UPDATE: Dave Cappiello's Communications Director, Adam Bauer, emailed me with the SOTS link that provides 2008 election dates, including the 2008 primary election date: August 12.

Flip flop or rubberstamp?

(The question's about the Council majority, not the TM)

And for a visual reference to understand the discussion about why the rail trail is good for the majority now, but wasn't good two years ago (when they were coincidentally in the minority):

And for a bit more context on the Southington component, here's a link to Monday's MRJ rail trail article that led into yesterday's MRJ article on the trail.

By the way, I have to give huge props to the TM here. Despite the majority's valiant attempts at rubberstamping the Town Manager's earmark request for the linear trail, the TM strongly (and correctly) resisted taking direction from fewer than five Council members. I disagreed with the TM on requesting this earmark, but he was absolutely correct in resisting this not-so-uncommon display of the rubberstamp.

Tim White

Sox opening day?

Did the Sox have their season opener today? The WRA seems to report that their Japan games count, but the Sox homepage still has last year's stats. If it were a real game, they usually update right away to being "1-0."

Tim White

Avoiding the issue

There's a movement afoot to increase pool fees (NHR, by Luther Turmelle). I'm not sure whether I'll support a fee increase or not. To me, it just seems like it's missing the whole point: the bubble and the energy costs.

From the article:

under the proposed 2008-09 town budget, the operating subsidy the pool gets from the Parks and Recreation Department budget is increasing from $416,000 to $435,226.

Tim White

Thursday's public hearing on the budget

And don't forget... there's a public hearing on the budget on Thursday night at 7:30pm in Town Hall. I didn't attend tonight's budget meeting, but already got an update from Tom Ruocco. He said there are two budget proposals on the table. A Dem proposal increasing spending by 4.25% and a GOP proposal increasing spending by 3.0%... I told Tom that I think we can reduce spending further, but I'm not yet done with my budget analysis.

Regardless, I'll let you all know what I'm thinking, as soon as I'm done with it.

Tim White, CPA

W/S project in Dedham

From the Boston Globe, by Thomas C. Palmer, Jr.:

Despite difficulties in lending markets, the developers of a planned Dedham shopping center with as many as 80 stores and restaurants have secured construction financing and are set to break ground next week....

"People have been trying to build better retail in this area for 20 years," said Dick Marks, a partner in WS Development of Newton, one of the developers, which started planning four years ago.

WS Development and partner National Amusements of Dedham have a loan of almost $200 million from Sovereign Bank to finance the 675,000-square-foot project.

There's lots more to read further into the article. So you may want to click on the above link.

Tim White

h/t to LT !

Southington rail trail extension

The Southington Town Council voted to apply for $2.5million dollars in state grant money for to extend the linear trail from Plantsville to the Cheshire line (MRJ, by Leslie Hutchison)

Tim White

Public hearing on bgt on Thursday

If you'd like your voice to be heard, please attend the public hearing on Thursday (7:30pm at Town Hall) and speak your mind. Based on comments tonight, it appears the majority is set to increase taxes by 0.63 mills this year. That would be a 4.25% spending increase... including probably both a full-time custodian for the pool and $14,000 for another strategic plan... among other gems.

Please come out and share your thoughts with the Council.

Tim White

Pool report, part 3 - What are our options?

1) Summer Operations Only
2) Replace with:
a) improved air-supported bubble
b) “conventional” Butler-type building*
c) “green house” with retractable panels*
d) transparent thin film, wire/air supported
e) non-conventional, sky-lighted and insulated*

*will require dehumidification

Dave Gavin
Energy Commission

Gulf of Tonkin: my hero

The words may seem simple enough, but taken in context... hands down, these are the most powerful words I've ever heard spoken by someone I know: Can any of you guess: described by the New Haven Register as the "Most Naive Man," who is this 28-year-old?

And for those of you who don't recognize the footage (it's older than me and I'm 35), it's the 1968 Emile de Antonio documentary... In the Year of the Pig. It's 1 hour 45 minutes long and you can order it here.

Tim White

EC Gavin's pool report, part 2

What some experts say:

“In summary, air-supported structures should perhaps be thought of as affordable short-term solutions for pools simply aiming to stay open through the winter but may not be an ideal option for aquatics facilities looking to develop robust, year-round programming.”

- Dawn Klingensmith, Recreation Management Magazine

Initial Council discussion on web video

Back to the topic of uploading Council/PZC meetings to the web... here's the first Council discussion (Aug 14, 2007) in which the concept was more than simply mentioned in passing:And here's the post of the draft motion on Transparency and Accountability in Local Government.

Tim White

A Blessed and Happy Easter

Deadlines and dollars

Quinnipiac is offering a talk on a topic I'd love to discuss:

Assistant professor of journalism Karin Schwanbeck will screen her one-hour documentary "Deadlines and Dollars" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room in the Lender School of Business Center.

The free event is open to the public...

The documentary offers a critical examination of local TV news and how story coverage is affected more often by profit and efficiency rather than by meaningful stories with a direct impact on viewers' lives...

A question-and-answer session follows the screening.

This reminds of another story I hadn't mentioned... the NHR cost-cutting measures that included laying off Greg Hladky, their capital bureau chief. IMO, Hladky was a real asset to the NHR and to the entire state due to his investigative reporting.

Tim White

Alternatives to the bubble

At some recent Council meetings, I've been advocating the view of the Energy Commission and, what I believe is, the view of much of Cheshire... the pool bubble wastes too much energy and money. And if America is serious about conserving energy (Clinton, McCain and Obama all seem to talk about it), then we're going to have to take steps at the local level... not just at the federal level.

So in an effort to move past the bubble... on the way home from work yesterday (exit 56 on the Merritt), I finally stopped to see the Milford YMCA. The Milford Y has gotten some attention here in Cheshire due to their former use of a "bubble" for their pool... a bubble which was eventually replaced with a permanent structure designed and built by OpenAire of Canada. (For a view of the OpenAire structure in Milford, see here.)

But that's been described as the "Cadillac" of permanent structures for pools. And I certainly am not advocating Cheshire move in that direction. I'm just offering it as part of a broader dialogue.

Anyway, I was writing a post on the pool, then realized a much better approach to this would be to simply use the report prepared by Energy Commissioner Dave Gavin... but I'm going to break it down into pieces, starting here:

What's wrong with the bubble?

- large surface area and volume, low R value <2
- air-supported, requires lots of hot air
- more than 20% escapes as “leaks”
- inefficient blower exchanges the equivalent of 2 Cheshire colonial houses of hot air per minute
- high humidity leads to corrosion and fouling problems
- aesthetics and ambiance
- significantly lower non-summer attendance
- $40k (up and down) and 2 weeks downtime per year

So that's the first two pages of Dave's report. I'll continue providing more of it over the next week or two... and based on my conversation with Matt Hall a few days ago and with Dave Gavin today... I have hope that we will be able to move forward with this... because, while I'm comfortable making it a summer-only facility, others aren't... and I don't want to get to the point when we can't use the bubble and we still haven't even considered any alternatives. That really would be the equivalent of sticking our heads in the sand. And that would be unacceptable.

Tim White
Town Council, Energy Commission liaison

Open forum 3/22

I just got another oil bill: $3.94/gallon x 155 gallons = $610.94!!! And I don't even turn my heat up above 58F anymore! On the bright side though, I use Standard Oil. So at least I'm still getting oil. Nonetheless, the cost of oil is outrageous. And it's hitting everywhere.

I was buying some Easter flowers from Zentek's today and they're having to incorporate the cost of gas in their flowers now. And what's even worse, IMO... who thinks the price of gas is going to drop? Not a chance. It's only going to get worse.

I know the efficiency of ethanol doesn't yet make sense for widespread use, but it would be nice to see some more biodiesel available. By most accounts I've heard, biodiesel does make sense.

And for those of you who are interested in learning more about biodiesel (or any bioenergy) and the related costs and benefits, I learned of the bioenergy wiki at the renewable energy conference that I recently attended.

In other items of interest, according to the NHR:

"Police Chief Michael Cruess was hospitalized overnight Thursday, a department spokesman said Friday" (by Luther Turmelle).

Ned Bowman resigned from CT Innovations (by Luther Turmelle). Personally, I think it's a loss. CT Innovations has had major management problems for years and from what I could tell, Ned was making real progress.

And not from the NHR... just my own story... I saw Chris Murphy at Stop n Shop this afternoon. He had a line of people waiting to speak with him, so I didn't wait around. But I did speak to one of his staff and asked him to remind Chris about my #1 concern... addressing the solvency of the entitlement programs and America's disastrous fiscal policy. I just don't see how America can continue this charade of deficit spending in perpetuity. At some point, China is going to ask for reimbursement. Then what will we do?

Tim White

MRJ on web video

Today, the MRJ ran an article on the possibility of adding meeting video to the town website. The article's not online, but I am confused about one of the concerns being raised.

I've been told the Ordinance Review Committee is going to review this for privacy concerns. Frankly, I have no idea why that's an issue. I mean... how is it ok for the Town to videotape people and broadcast their words and images on the TV, but not on the internet? But perhaps more analogous... CT-N is available "on demand" over the tubes. And CSpan is available on the web. But we need to study this? Seems like overkill to me.

As Phil Knight likes to say, "just do it!"

Tim White

Charter Oak Plan moves along

As reported by CTNewsJunkie:

The Human Services Committee made some changes to a bill initially intended to delay Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s Charter Oak Health Plan for uninsured adults...

Rep. Al Adinolfi, R-Cheshire, said the RFP for the Charter Oak Plan is already out to bid. Bids are expected back March 28. He said passing the bill is “just a waste of time.” He compared it to building a house, “if you keep making changes, it never gets built.” (by Christine Stuart)

Tim White

Focusing on the important stuff

While some Nutmeggers may feel energy, healthcare, education et al are the "important stuff," our beloved legislature knows better. They're focused on the things that truly matter, such as banning candy in school and apologizing for witchhunts (AP).

I wish we could add back a lever in the voting booth... not a party lever, per se. I just want one lever... "throw them all out!"

Tim White

15 mos for trash hauler

Cheshire's trash hauler finally got his day in court. And with it, he got a prison term of 15 months. (NHR, by Luther Turmelle)

Tim White

TMs proposed staff increases

Here are the TMs proposed increases in staff:Personally, I'm concerned about an increasingly tough economy... one in which we'll almost certainly see less funding from the state. So I have to wonder about all these increases in staff.

As for the PD... FBI guidance is used. If I recall correctly, they recommend 2.1 officers for every 1,000 residents. So depending on whether you include the prison (which does impact the police) you can count 26,000 or 29,000 residents in town. Either way, the town's 48 sworn officers (4 mgt & 44 union) are fewer in number than the 55 to 62 as recommended by the FBI. As for whether adding two officers would reduce overtime costs, my understanding is that it would not. However, it would free up the "specialty" officers to perform their specialty roles. I think an example of a specialty role is a detective.

Tim White

Stop n shop Q&A

If you have questions for the Congressional candidates... next up... Chris Murphy (D) will be at Stop n Shop this Saturday, March 22 from noon to 2pm.

And about Murphy's office... while perusing the Courant's Capitol Watch, I stumbled across a link to Politico.com. It basically says that Chris Murphy has the best dressed Congressional office (by Helena Andrews). Ridiculous and irrelevant? Yes. But I found it amusing anyway.


Tim White

Budget mtg 3/19

Tonight's budget meeting kicked off with the Fire Department. As with all departments, the Department head proposed his/her budget to the TM... before the TM proposed his budget to the Council. In Jack's case, the budget proposal is going from a $311,000 current year budget to a TM recommended $351,000 for next year. The Chief requested a staffing increase from 5.14FTEs to 7.28FTEs, but the TM cut that back to 6.14FTEs. The increase of one person (1 full time equivalent) is for a:

Deputy Fire Marshall / Safety & Training Officer

I told the Chief my biggest concern is not cost when it comes to this request. My concern is a gradual transition from volunteers to paid staff... and the impact that would have on morale within the department.

Consider... one day you and all your friends show up to wash the truck for free... then the next day, you and all your friends show up to wash the truck for free... and at the same time, you've got some guy getting paid to do it.

How would you feel as a volunteer? I know I'd be pretty annoyed.

Anyway, the Chief gave probably the best answer possible. He said it falls back on him... and that he let's his department know that pay is irrelevant by washing windows and doing everything himself. And I said that's probably the best way to motivate people... show people that you'll do anything that you ask of them.

Reminds me of when I was in high school and I went to work for John Romanik. I was a bit of a goof off... and he saw it... and he had me cleaning toilets in no time... and he showed me what he wanted done, by doing it himself... and for those of you who don't know him... John is a fairly successful businessman... but he's not above anything or anyone... and for me... that was a great motivation. So I really appreciated Jack's approach to working with so many volunteers... he won't ask anyone to do anything that he won't do himself. I think that's important.

Next up was the schools... I'm not even going there right now. Way too much to discuss.

Then came the Town Attorney. The fees are proposed to increase with the budget going from $251,000 to $317,000. Included in that are fees for Charter revision.

Then the TMs office... like the schools, I think this particular department merits some additional analysis... maybe I'll get to it this weekend.

Finally, the Town Council budget was discussed. It's proposed budget is increasing from $42,000 to $59,000. That includes $8,500 for advertising (legal notices), $16,000 for the Clerk of the Council (the lady who takes the minutes), $13,000 for the video services and my favorite... $16,000 for consultants! That's broken down into two items:

1) a new strategic plan!
2) videostreaming.

First on the strategic plan... since I expect The Rubberstampers to be out in force on this one this year, I offer the same simple comment that I offered last year... "How does this benefit the taxpayers?" Sorry, but it seems to me that if we (as a body) do our job well, then we don't need to pay someone a bunch of money for a strategic plan. For instance, if there was a major problem in town... say... discontent among town employees... I think it would be incumbent on Council members to pick up on that... and to take action. Alternatively, if we didn't take action... well then the voters would show us the door... but I don't think we need to spend $14,000 to figure out what's right or wrong in town. I think we each just need to pay attention. And if we don't pay attention... well, we've probably outgrown our welcome and "need to go." It happens.

Finally, we got to videostreaming! Apparently there was some miscommunication last night. It's not that videostreaming is impossible... it's just that live videostreaming is impossible... which is fine with me. I think offering Council meetings on the web would be great... but I don't see the need for realtime feeds at this point. As long as we can get the Council meetings up on the web within a few days, I think that'd be great. Plus, staff wants to index the meetings in some manner. And that'd also be really useful. That way people could go directly to the issue of concern to them. As for costs related to videostreaming... I have no idea. I've spent a total of $40 for the downloadable iSofter Ripper software. And with that, it was off to the races... haven't spent a penny since.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm going to bed.

Tim White

Open forum 3/18

Tonight, we had the first of two public hearings on the budget. It wasn't the biggest crowd I've ever seen, but a few people did attend and speak. Personally, I appreciated the people who were calling for no tax increase this year... particularly with market uncertainty, rising food prices and... talk of $4 gas by Memorial Day... I think avoiding a tax increase is a worthwhile goal.

One thing I forgot to mention last night... about the Youth & Social Services budget... they're planning on launching some sort of student outreach effort. It'll be done via web-based video. I'm not sure if they'll be using YouTube or Google or Daily Motion, etc. But I do know that they won't be using either the school website or the town website... because as I found out last night... the town website is incapable of providing you with video.

Yes. You heard that right. The town website can't handle video. Of course, brought to you by blogger... my freebie website... is quite capable of handling video, but... ummm... well... I guess it'll be impossible for the town to ever provide you with Council/PZC meetings over the web. Sure... the town could create it's own blog at no cost... and link the town website to the blog at no cost... and have staff spend ten minutes uploading each Council meeting to Google Video, but... ummm... well... who among you believes this rubberstamp majority is willing to direct staff to do that?

Anyway, back to my point... I appreciate the initiative being taken by the Youth & Social Services department in trying to contact kids and provide them with an outlet... I know that as soon as I reached Dodd, and for several years thereafter... until either any of my friends or I could drive/work... I was often looking for something to do... some of it was afterschool sports, but especially in summer I had time on my hands and I think a lot of these efforts could have a real benefit... I recall always having fun at the "youth center dances."

Finally, as an update to my previous post on Town-owned vehicles, here's an update for the PD:
Tim White

Alcohol awareness week

Cheshire Cares, a service of the Human Services Committee, has been updated for:

Alcohol Awareness Week
April 21-25, 2008

Tim White

Kleist on gas use

Here's Cindy Kleist following up on the town's gas use policy:Tim White