Hebron Dollars & Sense

Very few people in attendance. Tonight's presentation is located on the town website under the department of Finance. It starts out with a slide devoted to a spending increase of only $429,024 or 1.27% over the current years budget. It ends with the estimated mill rate increase on the 33rd slide of a 4.56% estimated mill rate increase in our mill rate. TOO MUCH ... do not support this budget.

Notice they are still advertising positions on the town site and yet supposedly we are maxed out with spending. While on the Finance page be sure to read the Comprehensive Annual Report for FY ending in June 30, 2010. Read it carefully .. especially pages 8 and 41 Note 10.

I wonder if the BOE cost per student bottom line would be higher IF they included things covered by the town budget like new roofs etc.

I found it interesting that a woman on the BOF (Lynn Gurriero?) made a fuss over how they haven't heard from anyone in town. "Six people max," I think she said. Her justification for passing the budget on to referendum without making futher cuts, as Tom Sousa suggested they might. I counted at least EIGHT people who spoke at the public forum. So even if they've heard from very few people via email--what, the people who took the time to come out on a rainy Tuesday evening to speak don't count at all? I found that offensive. I also was offended by Mike Hazel's pointing out that the administrators at our schools haven't seen increases over the past few years. Those people are making AT LEAST FOUR TIMES what I am making, and I haven't seen an increase in 4 years. So that argument holds NO water with me.

Another thing that bothered me--Mike Hazel called the new student data system a state mandate. So it has evolved from a "we're probably going to need this in the future due to the state's increasing requirements" to a "this is state-mandated" item. Anyone who attended the BOE meetings will recall Kathy Shea pointing out that the new system was not, at the present moment, mandated by the state. It's like a game of telephone--things evolve as they're passed along and get distorted.

Someone just phoned me ... apparently the governor announced cuts to towns across the state. Our hit is 2.5 MILLION. Wonder how that will impact on their budget. Spend, spend, spend ... whether we have it or not. SHAME ON THEM!!

Heard a whisper about this yesterday. Then they brought it up during deliberations last night before they voted on whether to send the budget to referendum as is, or make further cuts. One theory is that Malloy is reacting to the criticism he has heard at his "town hall meetings"--people keep asking him why he can't just do what New York did and balance the budget without raising taxes. I heard him react to this question in Windham, and he basically explained that Cuomo avoided tax increases by severly cutting aid to municipalities. Perhaps he is just trying to show folks what that approach would look like in CT to get them to shut up? Some have said it's a scare tactic to get the unions to cooperate, but that doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't a better "scare tactic" for the unions be to show what massive state worker layoffs would look like? Either way, hopefully this will not become necessary.

By the way, there is a really good article in the Hebron and Marlborough Life dated April 11--I just got it in the mail today. It chronicles the struggles of a Hebron family as they deal with two years of unempolyment. It also talks about how many other residents in Hebron are struggling. A very, very important reminder to our town leaders at this time of year.

Taxpayer wrote:



We Iz around,Have been In Sick Bay



Problem Is That It seems That They Have Not Listened To the Electorate at all

All they Know How To Do Is Add, NOT SUBTRACT



How Can We Exspect Them To Be Able To Read Either Eh

VOTE NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!