6:00 P.M.
Town Council Chambers
FY 2011 – 2012 BUDGET
1. Moment of Silence
2. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call
3. B U D G E T W O R K S H O P
A) Board of Education
B) Cafeteria
BY Jason Zandri
It’s that time of year again. Wallingford’s budget has been presented and was published as a legal notice in Wednesday’s Record Journal.
It was of little surprise that the education budget took the biggest hit, originally proposed at $91,573,029. Education spending is about 62 percent of the total operating budget even after the Mayor trimmed it down to $86,793,733. This is a cut of $4,779,296 from the Board of Education’s proposal. Of those cuts the Mayor outlined, the most heavily target ones were the certified salaries. That action cut the school board’s proposed $50,514,163 down to $47,302,695 which is a decrease of 6.4 percent or $3,211,468.
This 6.4 percent reduction doesn’t necessarily translate to layoffs as school administrators can find other ways to make up the difference. There is the possibility of retirements or the shifting of some smaller amounts of money from other small surpluses. Once the budget is passed the funds are sent to the Board to allocate to the outlined costs and some of the amounts can be shuffled around.
On April 11, 2011 at 6:00 pm in the Robert Earley Auditorium the Wallingford Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on the 2011-12 budget. People can attend and ask questions on the individual appropriations and requests.
I am sure we are going to see many parents and educators in attendance for these upcoming public hearings. April 11th is a Monday and historically the public hearings are not recorded or televised. If history repeats, one would need to be in attendance to hear the whole story and/or to provide any input.
You really need to be at many meetings before this event as all the monies that are directed and spent throughout the year have an effect as to how the budget is put together. Having said that, it is better to see people show up now rather than not at all.
The bottom line is, at this point it will make little difference.
I know of one elected official that received nearly 20 letters/emails from parents regarding the education budget over the past few weeks. This individual reviewed all the letters in detail and then took a look at the voter registration for the writers. Only two were registered voters. Knowing that only 37 percent of the registered voters show up for local elections, it is safe to assume that only one of the two made it to the polls in 2009.
Eighteen other people took the time to write a note but couldn’t be bothered to go and vote. I guarantee you that it takes longer to compose a message and mail it or email it than it does to vote in a local election.
The bottom line here is all the letters should be reviewed on their individual merits but we all know that never can happen. We also know that in most cases, self preservation of the elected official is their first priority. So are they going to cater to the younger people with families that do not come out and vote or to the “over 50” set that come out in spades every election?
Older people who are approaching retirement or who are already retired have already put their kids through the school system. They are dealing with smaller cost of living increases if they see any at all and the last thing they are going to be looking for is additional education spending that will increase their taxes.
It is commendable to write letters to your elected officials and to come once a year to a few budget meetings but if you’re not going to go out and vote and get involved with a political party and push an agenda you support then you need to understand you might as well be trying to blow out a light bulb.
Get informed, get involved and get out and vote.
I submitted our cause to the project; here is the response I received:
Congratulations! Your Pepsi Refresh Project idea fund the 2011 Wallingford Fireworks Celebration has been randomly selected for review out of all the submissions we received this month.
You’re one step closer to getting your idea out there! But before your idea can be posted for public voting, we need to review it to make sure it meets the Pepsi Refresh Project’s Official Application Guidelines. If it doesn’t meet all requirements, it won’t be posted.
On the first day of next month, we’ll let you know if your idea has been approved and will be up for voting. After that, you would begin promoting your idea for a chance to receive a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Project Grant!
Thanks for participating in the Pepsi Refresh Project. Keep at it! It’s because of you, your votes and your participation that we’ve made a difference in refreshing the world.
Any questions? Please consult the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions).
Sincerely,
From here, anything is still possible so stay tuned!
Today we did fairly well at Dunkin Donuts (I have yet to count the money but the donations were steady.) I’ll be checking in with my Dad later to see how he did.
I had the dates wrong for when we had permission to collect at Stop and Shop; the date we had reserved was for tomorrow, Sunday the 19th so I’ll be there from 11AM to about 4PM.
Our collected total right now is $9,210.27 and we have a lowered goal of $30,000.00 for the June 5th deadline. For all those details you can see out prior blog post – Update on the Wallingford Fireworks Fund efforts – 2011 goals have been lowered
For more information on any of our upcoming collections or to make a donation or to find out how you can help out please contact me at (203)294-4647 or via email at Jason.Zandri@wallingfordfireworks.org or visit our website http://wallingfordfireworks.org/
If you cannot come to us but want to make a donation you can make it via PayPal online on our website or you can mail it in.
Please make checks out to: “Wallingford Fireworks Fund” and send to: Wallingford Fireworks Fund, c/o Jason Zandri, 35 Lincoln Drive Extension, Wallingford, CT 06492
Thanks again for the support.
6:00 P.M.
Town Council Chambers
AGENDA
1. Pledge of Allegiance
2. Roll Call
3. Public Hearing on the Town of Wallingford Budget for FY 2011-2012
Board of Assessment Appeals- No comments or questions
Board of Education
Board of Ethics-
Board of Selectmen
Building Department
Cafeteria
Capital Appropriations Reserve
Capital and Non-Recurring
Capital and Non-Recurring Fund
Civil Preparedness
Conservation Commission
Contingency Account
Debt Services
Economic Development Commission-
Electric Division-
Dog Pound
Employee Insurance and Other Benefits
Engineering Department
Fire Department
Fire Marshal
Government Access TV
Health Department
Inland Wetlands
Insurance-Property & Casualty -
Law Department
Library
Mayor
Pension Fund
Personnel, Pensions, & Risk Management
Planning & Zoning
Police Department
Probate Court
Program Planning
Public Works Department
Recreation, Parks and
Registrars of Voters
Six-Year Capital
Social Services Contributions
Town Council
Town Clerk
Utilities –Water & Sewer -
Veterans Service Center
Youth & Social Services Bureau
Zoning Board of Appeals
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR
FUNDRAISER ![clip_image002[1]](http://zandri.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/clip_image0021.gif "clip_image002[1]")
WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND
ZANDRI’S STILLWOOD INN – 7:00P.M.
1074 SO. COLONY ST., WALLINGFORD
FRIDAY MARCH 18, 2011
TICKETS: $25.00 EACH (Children tickets are $12.50)
We are a registered 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization; our tax id# is 27-2576599
The 2011 Sponsor Book will be handed out at ALL fundraising events (after first printing, on or about March 15th), this includes the annual dinner fundraiser, the March Madness collections (which continue through April) and any other events we’ll be having until the July 4th fireworks show. (If there are still copies remaining for Celebrate Wallingford 2011 we’ll hand them out there as well).
AD BOOK DONATIONS:
All advertisements are black and white
· Full page ad ( 5 x 8 ) – $250.00
· 1/2 page ad ( 5 x 4 ) – $150.00
· 1/4 page ad ( 2.5 x 4 ) – $80.00
OTHER ADVERTISING:
· Personal dedication page – 300 characters (three lines) – $30.00
· Personal dedication page – 200 characters (two lines) – $20.00
For more information, please contact:
Jason Zandri – (203)294-4647 – Jason.Zandri@wallingfordfireworks.org
or visit our website http://wallingfordfireworks.org/
Please make checks out to: “Wallingford Fireworks Fund” and send to: Wallingford Fireworks Fund, c/o Jason Zandri,
35 Lincoln Drive Extension, Wallingford, CT 06492
Hi everyone – We’ve gotten permission to collect at the Dunkin Donuts so we’ll be at the Yalesville Dunkin Donuts on Main Street (Route 150) from 7AM to about 10AM.
Please consider supporting this great Wallingford family event.
We also have our fundraiser dinner as well at 7PM so if you’re already headed out to grab something to eat this Friday night and you’d like to support the cause, please consider joining us at the dinner.
Tickets are available at the door.
Hi everyone.
My father will be collecting at the landfill this morning from 8AM to around noontime.
I’ve gotten permission to collect at the Dunkin Donuts in town so I will be at the Yalesville Dunkin Donuts on Main Street (Route 150) from 7AM to about 11AM.
From there I am going to see if I can stand at Stop and Shop through 4PM or so.
Please consider supporting this great Wallingford family event.
I will have tickets to next Friday’s dinner fundraiser with me if anyone wants to get them and I will also have T-shirts and other items that we are selling with me as well.
Hope to see you there.
Town Council Chambers
6:30 P.M
AGENDA
Opening Prayer – Deacon Eugene C. Riotte, Most Holy Trinity church
1. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call
2. Correspondence
3. Consent Agenda
3a. Consider and Approve Tax Refunds (#577 - #594) totaling $25,658.38 Acct. # 001-1000-010-1170 - Tax Collector
3b. Consider and Approve an Appropriation in the Amount of $25.000 to Overtime Acct # 001-5015-101-1400 from Contingency-General Purpose Acct # 001-7060-800-3190 – Public Works
3c. Approval of Resolution to authorize the Mayor to execute and deliver to the State of Connecticut, DEMHS, any and all documents deemed appropriate for the 2011 Civil Preparedness Emergency Management Performance Grant - Mayor
3d. Consider and Approve Appointment of James Vitali as a regular member of the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission for a term ending March 1, 2016 – Chairman Robert F. Parisi
3e. Consider and Approve Appointment of James Heilman as an alternate member to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission for a term ending March 1, 2014 – Chairman Robert F. Parisi
3f. Approve minutes of Regular Town Council meeting of February 22, 2011
4. Items Removed from the Consent Agenda
5. PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER
6. Consider and Approve a Transfer in the Amount of $500 to Meetings, Seminars & Dues Acct # 001-5010-701-7990-00 from Continuing Education & Training Acct # 001-5010-501-5700-00 - Engineering
7. Conduct a Public Hearing at 7:00 P.M. to consider repeal of existing Ordinance and enactment of revised Ordinance regarding Abandoned Vehicles, Chapter 214, of the Code of the Town of Wallingford – Co-Chairmen Cervoni and Farrell
8. Discussion and possible action on scheduling proceedings (pursuant to C.G.S. § 8-43) to remove William Fischer as a Commissioner of the Wallingford Housing Authority - Councilor Craig C. Fishbein
9. Discussion and possible action on scheduling proceedings (pursuant to C.G.S. § 8-43) to remove Thomas Mezzei as a Commissioner of the Wallingford Housing Authority - Councilor Craig C. Fishbein
10. Discussion on Judge Berdon decision on CT Historical Commission vs. Town of Wallingford, and possible action involving options, including sale of the property - Councilor John Sullivan
11. Discussion and action regarding selection of firm to conduct the Town’s audit - Comptroller
12. Executive Session pursuant to §1-200 (6) (D) of the Connecticut General Statutes with respect to the purchase, sale and/or leasing of property – Mayor
As published in the Record Journal, Sunday February 27, 2011
The discussion has come around again with respect to union contracts, pay raises and the possibility of binding arbitration.
As we have already seen here in Wallingford, we never win a binding arbitration case. When you take something to arbitration you can say that the outcome is an unknown but not here in Wallingford; we always lose.
This is mainly because arbitrators review the case and consider the union position and the town’s “last, best offer” and compare the two.
Our last, best offer lately has been “zero.”
Salaries are compared with other union contracts in town, and pay rates for similar positions in towns with a comparable financial picture. Wallingford’s finances are assessed and it’s reviewed whether the town is able to afford pay hikes. Because of years of frugal spending habits and tight money management, Wallingford is so fiscally responsible that in this small circumstance success works against us. All of these factors end up making it impossible for the town to win an arbitration case.
This is best addressed by agreeing that the arbitration process is broken. When a negotiation reaches the point at which it goes to arbitration, arbitrators cannot properly consider objectively and simultaneously what is best for both the town and the union. When a town such as Wallingford ends up in this situation, it’s “rainy day fund” is often looked at like a solid resource available to fund the arbiters’ decision. In fact, that rainy day fund is really the fruit of responsible spending set aside for real costs and emergencies.
Wallingford and other towns should be proactive to work with lawmakers to address the arbitration process to make it fairer and more balanced in future situations. In the meantime Wallingford needs to understand what “bargaining in good faith” really means. It does not mean “zero percent raises regardless for the entire X year agreement” or “let’s set this now at zero and possibly re-negotiate it as needed later.” Unions would not be stupid enough to accept this. They know full well that no town would come back to the table merely because conditions have changed for the better. Most municipal employers — or any other kind for that matter — are not set up to respond that way.
We all understand that 16 percent of the workforce is unemployed or underemployed and that 9 percent of them are collecting unemployment. What needs to be understood as well is that the remaining 84 percent are working. We are dealing with rising fuel costs, food costs, insurance costs, local, state and federal taxes, and so forth. These things are not all sitting idly at zero percent inflation. It should not be assumed that pay should remain at the zero point either.
I am keenly aware that pay raises for municipal employees is one catalyst which causes taxes to go up. I am also keenly aware that going to arbitration generally leads to the cost of the arbitration itself and very often more in actual judgments than what was asked / negotiated for in the first place. That raises taxes even higher.
Wallingford needs to find a better understanding of what the actual work climate is for those still working and to obtain a proper understanding of what competing salaries are for given jobs. Then it must work to provide the best and fairest deal for all.
Otherwise the decision gets taken out of Wallingford’s hands and is made by others. Historically that has amounted to a win for the unions only. Good for them for winning those arbitrations, too, if the town is not being smart about playing the game under the current rules.
As I have said before, Wallingford does many smart things and they have worked well for years. I wouldn’t suggest changing anything that still works. But there are clearly some things that no longer work the way they used to. This is another perfect example of where we need to change up our game.
FROM CITIZEN MIKE:
The Citizen Mike Show is on the air at 9 p.m. Watch Comcast channel 18 or Uverse 99 for WPAA. Also, check out the video on demand feature on the station's website, so you can see shows you missed.
(From Jason - It is cross posted here from the WPAA VideoAlive page. )
It’s a ten and half minute video and worth every second of your time.
Please consider supporting our cause in honor of the birth of our nation and in honor of these great men.
As published in the Record Journal Tuesday February 22, 2011
By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
WALLINGFORD — Town Councilor Vincent Testa Jr. may be the Democratic hopeful for the mayor’s seat this fall, in what would be his second attempt to defeat Republican William W. Dickinson Jr., the state’s second-longest serving top municipal official.
Since 1985, many have tried and failed to oust the 64-year old Dickinson from office, and there’s good reason for it, says Nicholas Economopoulos, a Town Council Democrat — people like the charismatic mayor, a guitar-playing, well-spoken lawyer. “He buys open space, people like that stuff,” Economopoulos said. “He keeps taxes down and he keeps his salary down. He has this image of being prudent and paying attention to everything — and it’s not true.”
Dickinson could not be reached Monday for comment. Testa, the 51-year-old father of two, said he hasn’t decided yet whether he’ll formally announce his bid for office, but said he was very interested in running. He said he’ll likely get a better idea of his plans after talking with party officials at the Democratic Town Committee meeting March 16 at 350 Center St.
“I’ve had an interest for a while — I haven’t made that a secret,” Testa said Monday. “I haven’t made the decision yet, but I’ll be making a decision soon.”
Testa ran in 1997 in a municipal election with relatively low voter turnout and lost by a more than two-to-one margin. He said he lacked the experience in government to fare better, having served on the school board for four years.
“A lot of time has passed since then,” he said. “I learned a lot more about how the town operates. I was the one who pushed to get the town’s self-insurance model. It has saved us a lot of money.”
But the question remains: can Dickinson be beaten?
“Everybody’s beatable,” said Vincent Avallone, Democratic town chairman. “You need the right candidate focusing on the issues and people working together. It also takes getting more voters out — below 50 percent come out for municipal elections, and it’s not enough to beat him.”
A big issue for Democrats is the town’s handling of union contracts, which recently drew attention when two unions won arbitration awards and Dickinson cut staff and services to meet the pay raises in the awards.
“There’s got to be a major change in the way we negotiate those contracts. The stand that the mayor’s been taking is just not in keeping with current labor practices,” Testa said. “Every union has made suggestions on how they can help in this budget crisis. What he’s refused to consider is individual union concessions. We’ve missed a lot of opportunities to save money. We go to arbitration and we lose, and it’s not an effective strategy.”
Unseating Dickinson will take more than a few new ideas, however, said Republican Jerry Farrell Jr., council vice chairman.
“I was a freshman in high school when he was elected, just to put perspective on it,” said Farrell, who joined the council in 1996. “It’s not impossible to beat Dickinson but you’re really climbing a mountain.”
The idea of Testa running for mayor didn’t come as a shock to the two other Democrats on the council, and both said it would be a good fit. Testa started his political career in 1990 on the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, and served eight years on the Board of Education. He’s been on the council since 2004.
“He’s come up through the chairs — he’s well spoken and well educated and he has a real understanding of how government works in town,” said John Sullivan, council Democrat. “In order to beat Bill Dickinson you have to have a majority of registered voters turn out. We need to energize the young people and get them actively involved in government. It’s best for the entire town.”
Sullivan said town government could be made to run more efficiently, and the mayor’s hard-line reaction to financial troubles overlooked streamlining and tightening costs, instead of trimming staff and services or raising taxes.
Along with getting more businesses into town, Testa said government should be evaluated for efficiency and that cutting jobs or services tied to public safety should be a last option.
“We’ve got a very stagnant economic development plan and we need to bring more businesses in,” he said. “Our Grand List has declined while other towns’ have gone up, even though the economy is tough. There’s only so much we can do in cutting. We can’t keep raising taxes.”
But Farrell says the success Dickinson has enjoyed with conservative fiscal policies is due to a formula that will have to be used and bettered by his opponents.
“His calling card has always been keeping the town on a fiscally conservative path, but he also tries to keep in mind what it all means to the average taxpayer. That’s been his winning formula,” Farrell said. “If someone wants to beat him, they’d have to take that formula and prove they’re more of a fiscal conservative than he is and still manage services. That’s a very high order.”
Examiner.com is the inside source for everything local powered by Examiners, the largest pool of knowledgeable and passionate contributors in the world providing unique and original content with your local city in mind.
One such Examiner is Maggie Griffin, a journalist who’s contributions are in the fields of the performing arts and entertainment as well as writing for charities, events and people and organizations that devote their time to humanitarian efforts.
Maggie dropped me a note letting me know she was posting a story about Wallingford’s efforts to raise money for the second year to restore the 4th of July Fireworks Celebration scheduled for this July 2nd.
You can read her article “Jason Zandri Warms up Wallingford, CT’s 4th of July Firework Display” on the Examiner.com website.
As originally posted on the Town of Wallingford Website:
Under the Municipal Parking Ordinance, the Chief of Police is authorized to declare a parking ban to facilitate the removal of snow and maintain the safe flow of traffic on town streets.
Due to excessive snow and the need to widen Town roads, the PARKING BAN WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT INDEFINITELY.
It is important to note that the parking ban will remain in effect until it is publicly lifted and NOT when the snow is removed from any particular street location.
IMPORTANT: Vehicles found to be in violation of the parking ban will be ticketed and towed.
The Citizen Mike Show is on each night at 9PM except Sundays on Comcast channel 18 and on U-Verse channel 99.
The February 3rd episode, featuring his discussion with Democrat Town Councilor Vincent Testa, is now available on demand. I have it cross posted here and it is available on the WPAA VideoAlive page.
The episode presents Vincent Testa, Democrat Town Councilor and the topics discussed were Wallingford's Grand List and its decline this year for the first time in over 25 years, the mill rate and taxes here in Wallingford. Also discussed was the recent revaluation and the proposed Board of Education budget among other topics such as planning and zoning and ordinances.
It is a MUST watch for anyone that would like more information on all of the details on these topics.
Again – I HIGHLY recommend the Citizen Mike Show as “must see TV.”
As published in the Record Journal, Sunday February 13, 2011
by Jason Zandri
Changes in area Grand Lists were recently outlined in a story in the Record Journal. Meriden showed slight growth in 2009 of 0.31 percent which was their best year since 2007. In Cheshire the increase was 0.52 percent. Southington finished up 1.17 percent.
A recent article in the New Haven Register outlined that even the City of New Haven showed a respectable 2.97 percent increase over 2009.
Things may not be back to 2007 levels but they are better than they were last year.
Here in Wallingford the Grand List went down 3.04 percent over 2009, the first decline in 25 years. (2008 to 2009 was effectively a wash at just a slight uptick.) Mayor Dickinson was quoted in the paper saying “This isn’t a rainy day — it’s a rainy decade.”
No it’s not.
2008 and the start of 2009 — sure, I can agree with that. It seemed as if the rain was never going to end. Times were the worst they have been since the Great Depression; “were” being the operative word.
Yes, unemployment is still sitting at 9 percent and that only counts the people collecting. The real number of unemployed / underemployed is 16 percent. These still are high rates but they are improved from the worst of it.
I am not suggesting that everyone go out and do the Snoopy dance. It is not going to be sunshine, rainbows, and dogs and cats living together in harmony forevermore. Certainly not right away.
Just like the winter we’re experiencing currently, it is still here and who knows how long the snow is going to stick around. Even after it’s gone there will be a ton to clean up. Repairs will continue into the summer.
Having said all that, the corner has been turned. To keep looking back is a waste of energy and shows a lack of proper direction. Also, continually having a downbeat outlook often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So what is our plan? We have great schools, competitive taxes and the lowest electric rates in New England. It’s the same tune we’ve been singing for the past quarter century. So why are we experiencing additional contraction in our Grand List? Can’t the general public hear us singing our siren song anymore?
Take another look at the numbers above. Our downdraft in the Grand List is pretty significant especially when you consider it has occurred AFTER everyone else has clearly begun their respective, slight recoveries.
When you consider that and the fact that we have things to offer that other towns cannot you have to ask yourself “isn’t it time we took another look at our playbook”?
Wallingford does many smart things and they have worked well for years. I wouldn’t suggest changing anything that still works. There are clearly things that no longer work the way they used to and we do need to look at changing up our game.
We are competing with the likes of Cheshire, Meriden and North Haven for new residents and businesses and the tax dollars (and the tax costs) that come with them.
We need to be proactively going after them, courting them if you will.
We can’t rely on old standbys anymore of “our taxes are low and we have the best electric rates.”
Our taxes are lower but the disparity isn’t what it once was and the same is true of our electric rates; they are cheaper but not as much cheaper as they once were.
These things alone are clearly not enough to entice new families and businesses to make Wallingford their home.
If our town is to grow and prosper we must move forward proactively; we will not be able to continue to do it as we have in the past. The game has changed and if we are to keep playing we need to roll with the change and tackle it head on.
