Municipalities Tackling Pension Costs ; how will Wallingford move into the future?

The story Municipalities Tackling Pension Costs was online at the Courant.com at http://bit.ly/6189IO written by reporter BILL LEUKHARDT

It is an interesting read and I would recommend it to folks.

Below are some highlights but I do recommend that you follow the link above and read Mr. Leukhardt’s entire story.

• Ten years ago West Hartford's pending pension obligations were $13 million. Now, officials say, the figure is closer to $25 million.
• Local government is playing catch up to the changes that were made by “Main Street” businesses in the 80s.
• In 2006, almost 80 percent of state and local workers nationwide aged 25 to 64 were covered by a pension, compared with only 45 percent in the private sector, according to data from Boston College
• 80 percent of those public sector workers with retirement coverage had a defined benefit plan. In private industry, "more than 60 percent of [pension] participants [are in a] defined contribution plan," according to the Center for Retirement Research.
• 28 of the state's 169 municipalities have some version of less-expensive 401(k)-type plans for workers in place of traditional pensions
• Avon made the jump in 1997
• Currently, 25 percent of the town's workforce is on the old system, and 75 percent is in the new plan
• Avon’s contribution into the 401(k) plans is a third of the cost of the defined benefit system they were in.

It is something that I believe Wallingford is going to have to look at more closely in the near term and take action on it.

I am not sure if we even engage in this at all presently – phasing out pensions in favor of 401(k) plans that have employees putting in their own salary where the municipality matches it up to a certain percentage.

With all the talk that I hear and the conversations discussed about the pension, it not being fully funded, and the pension commission itself and so forth I assume “no” but I’ll stand corrected if I am in error on that.

The main issue with pensions in general is that they increase over time as workers retire at higher levels of pay and this is reaching a level that Wallingford is going to find additional difficulty in sustaining going forward.

The only way that they can is by raising taxes; that is given. At what point the taxpayers choke on this is anyone’s guess.

When you couple the cost of all the other services in town with this added and increasing burden you just know progressive planning and action must be taken now.

Wallingford and her taxpayers are going to need to put more and more money into the pension plan year over year for the workers going forward so that the fund is fully funded. This needs to occur so that the plan can pay out to retirees as it should.

And those promised benefits SHOULD be paid; a deal is a deal and a promise is a promise.

Considering moving new hires to a 401(k) system has at least one major benefit – once you know what you’re going to pay out (e.g. match the first 5% of the employees’ investments dollar for dollar). Your expenses become much more predictable year over year.

Yes, this will have to be negotiated with the labor unions but it can be done, especially in this economy.

“Avon’s contribution into the 401(k) plans is a third of the cost of the defined benefit system they were in.”

If we could just save 50% let alone 67% we MUST take a look at it.

It will take many years to change everyone over by attrition so the initial savings is going to be minimal and it will slowly grow.

The savings will come and those of us that stay in Wallingford into our older years will get some benefit of this lower cost and through the need of less taxes due to the change from the current obligation.

Future residents and businesses will reap the larger rewards.

None of it will happen until we start work today.

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,taxes,pension

FROM WALLINGFORD - It’s your town

As originially published online at MyRecordJournal.com and in the Sunday Record Journal print edition on January 3, 2010

There was a lot of activity in Wallingford over the course of 2009.

Updating the town website in compliance with House Bill No. 6502, parking issues on Center and Main streets and downtown in general, dredging project at Mackenzie Reservoir, to name just a few - there was a lot on Wallingford's plate at the beginning of the year.

The 2009 budget came along with work on the Reskin Drive bridge (which is still not completed, much to the chagrin of the residents in the area).

There was the cease-and-desist order given regarding the publishing to the web of the Government TV-produced-programs in April which included Town Council and other public meetings, despite the purchase of brand new remote-controlled cameras in the Town Council Chambers.

Charter Revision hearings were held and the finished topics were given some input from the council and the people. The final questions were delivered to the electorate where they were effectively summarily dismissed by the voters that turned out.

While it was one of the lowest voter turnouts in recent history for a local election, the ones that did come out spoke loudly - "steady as she goes on the charter; we are content with the governing playbook for the town."

Regardless of whether it was low turnout, charter revision questions, lack of a Democrat candidate for mayor or the fact that it was partly cloudy - voters changed the makeup of both the Town Council and the Board of Education for the next two years.

So, where are we headed for 2010?

Unfinished issues, such as the Choate proposal to build the Environmental Center and asking for the closure of Old Durham Road, will likely resurface.

Issues with downtown are still open for discussion and action - from the parking situation which hasn't gotten any better to the new overlay district being proposed.

There is the issue with the Police Department's needs for expansion. This will not occur this year; it needs further discussion because actions need to take place ahead of any proposed work.

Is the Wooding-Caplan property to be used for this cause, or another piece of property elsewhere?

If another property is chosen, you still have to address "what do we do with Wooding-Caplan"?

Budget season will be on us a lot faster than most would like, and with the education portion of the budget greater than 60 percent of the entire budget, it is going to be a difficult pill to swallow.

Wallingford will have to deal with local taxes in conjunction with less available state funding for prior programs.

How the upcoming revaluation will affect the mill rate and whether it impacts homeowners or businesses equally or throws one out of the current alignment with the other remains to be seen.

Wallingford has famously worked to budget to a certain degree the expected spend for the year and tries to hold that line, sometimes cutting back or out something to keep from going into the red.

The taxes need to be collected in order for spend to occur; this is going to be a big challenge this upcoming year, unlike anything Wallingford has seen in recent memory.

There are a lot of other things that are going to be coming up over the course of the year that I don't have the space to present.

Your say of what is to happen with your town didn't end at the voting booth this past November - it was just the start.

Make sure you stay informed and engaged all year. Make it a point to have your voice heard either to your representatives or through them. Have them base decisions which are representative of what you want. Do not have them make the decisions for you.

It's your town - get informed, get involved.

Technorati Tags: FROM WALLINGFORD,charter revision,election,taxes,revenue,Wallingford,Wooding-Caplan

Democrat and Republican caucus information for Wednesday January 6, 2010

This is a follow up to my post http://bit.ly/5iQ7Rr regarding the notice of caucus to endorse candidates for election to the Democratic Town Committee of Wallingford which is to take place on January 6, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at

Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, 106 Pond Hill Road, (Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 & 9)

and

James Moran Middle School, 141 Hope Hill Road, (Districts 5, 6 & 7)

to endorse candidates for election to the Democratic Town Committee and to transact such other busi­ness as may be proper to come before said caucus.

An article titled Routine caucuses expected was published in the Sunday January 3, 2010 edition of the Record Journal which included information regarding the Republican caucus which I did not have.

According to the article the Republicans will hold their town-wide caucus at Brothers Restaurant, 33 North Cherry St., at 8PM. on January 6, 2010.

My big thing is for people to get informed and get involved and that applies to everyone – Democrat, Republican and all of the smaller parties and independent and unaffiliated voters as well.

I wanted to make sure that now that I have this additional information for the Republican caucus that I post it up.

I personally do not have any other information regarding the details of the Republican caucus other than what was posted in the paper but I am certain that if you have questions you can reach any of the the Republican councilors or councilor-elect members and they would be sure to assist.

Technorati Tags: committee,town committee,wallingford

Town clerk changes as council shifts

By Dave Moran
Record-Journal staff
dmoran@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

As published in the Record Journal Saturday January 2, 2010

Follow all the news directly on the Record Journal Website for the most up to date information. www.myrecordjournal.com

Write a letter to the editor letters@record-journal.com

WALLINGFORD — Monday will mark the end of Barbara Kapi’s two years as town clerk. On Tuesday, Barbara Thompson, who served as clerk for two years before Kapi, will assume the po­sition again after the new Repub­lican controlled Town Council appoints her at its swearing in ceremony Monday evening.

Under the Town Charter, the Town Council is responsible for appointing a clerk. Typically, if control of the council shifts, the majority party appoints a clerk who is a member of the same party. On Monday, the Republi­cans gain a 6-3 advantage.

Since the charter was adopted in 1961, the position has changed hands 11 times (Monday’s switch will be the 12th), but three of those switches have occurred in the last six years. In January 2004, Rosemary Rascati, who served 12 years as clerk, was re­placed by Katherine Zandri, a De­mocrat. Thompson, a Republi­can, succeeded Zandri in January 2006, and Kapi, a Democrat, re­placed Thompson in 2008.

“It’s difficult,” Sue Colberg, who has worked in the office for 14 years, said Thursday. “It’s just repetitive that we have to go through it every two years, all the same things.”

Because the clerk is a promi­nent position, there has been a recent effort to find a way to sta­bilize the job. The clerk heads the office that keeps the town’s per­manent records and vital statis­tics, such as birth and death cer­tificates, and issues licenses.

One of the seven proposed re­visions to the Town Charter that voters rejected in November would have changed the clerk’s position to a merit job — hired, supervised and, if need be, dismissed by the mayor.

Thompson, a real estate agent, said the potential for volatility could be detrimental to the town.

“The drawback is there’s a lack of consistency of the head person in the department to move the department for­ward,” she said. “I think we’ve been very lucky to have very good clerks through the appointment process, but at some point that is not going to happen.”

Thompson said she sup­ported the amendment that would have made the clerk a permanent position. Kapi, who said she is looking forward to some time off be­fore looking for a new job, said the uncertainty did not influ­ence her decision to accept the post two years ago.

“You have to be wary of that,” Kapi said. “It just comes with the territory.”

She favors making the clerk an elected position, for a mini­mum term of four years, be­cause it took her more than a year to learn the job.

“The job is so involved,” Kapi said. “And there’s always changes. There’s been so many changes in the two years that I’ve been here.”

Despite having to learn a new computer system, Thompson said she does not expect the transition to be too difficult the second time around. “I figure about 10 days to two weeks and I should be up to speed,” she said.

The council sets the clerk’s salary when it makes the ap­pointment, but Thompson said Thursday that the council had already told her the salary would be the same as the last time she served — $60,900 a year.

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,Town Clerk,Charter,Charter revision

MY TAKE - Mayor: Wallingford’s finances are ‘solid’

I have an article from the Record Journal posted on my other blog that was published on Friday January 1st regarding the state of Wallingford and the Comprehen­sive Annual Financial Report from fiscal year 2008-09.

The full article can be found at http://bit.ly/4r2fic

The summary points are:

• The town released its Comprehen­sive Annual Financial Report on Thursday December 31, 2009
• It was an audit of the 2008-09 fiscal year
• It showed an increase in overall revenue of more than $300,000 when compared to expenditures
• It showed a decrease in the town’s debt by more than $7 million.
• Our revenue exceeded our expenditures by $335,000
• Wallingford’s reserve accounts or the “budget balance” decreased this fiscal year from $5,880,000 to $5,801,000
• That $80,000 difference was used and not transferred back into the various reserve accounts at the end of the budget year.
• $500,000 was col­lected in delinquent taxes.
• The town’s net assets increased from $322,156,000 to $344,196,000.
• Wallingford’s debt / other financial obligations decreased from $70.71 million in the 2007-08 fiscal year to $63.28 million in 2008-09 because the town paid off sev­eral of its long-term bonds.

As usual, Wallingford is in a great place to start the budget process for 2009-10 and that kudos has to go to the Mayor for keeping a tight lid on increases and the Town departments for doing what they can to keep the costs down.

Where I am personally concerned this upcoming year is the tax collection part.

If the recession has hampered the ability for businesses and homeowners to pay their taxes then this might be a very tricky budget year.

Additionally, with costs rising despite the recession, I would expect to see some increase in taxes in the neighborhood of 2 to 3 percent.

The only way that can be avoided is by cutting services.

But what are your thoughts?

Do you think it will be more difficult this upcoming year for people to pay their tax bills or do you think it will be no worse than any other year?

Do you think the upcoming revaluation is going to cause your taxes to go up more than the increase of the costs of running the town?

Let the readers know – the comment section is open.

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,budget,finances,Annual Financial Report,revenue,expense,taxes

NOTICE OF CAUCUS TO ENDORSE CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION TO THE DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE OF WALLINGFORD, CON­NECTICUT

To: Enrolled Mem­bers of the Democra­tic Party of the Town of Wallingford, Con­necticut:

Pursuant to the Rules of the Democratic Party and the state election laws, you are hereby notified that District caucuses will be held on January 6, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at

Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, 106 Pond Hill Road, (Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 & 9) and

James Moran Middle School, 141 Hope Hill Road, (Districts 5, 6 & 7)

to endorse candidates for election to the Democratic Town Committee and to transact such other busi­ness as may be proper to come before said caucus.

Any resident of this Vot­ing District whose name appears on the last com­pleted Democratic Enroll­ment list may have his or her name placed on the bal­lot at this caucus by filing with the Democratic Regis­trar of Voters not less than five days prior to the cau­cus a signed statement that he or she desires to have his or her name appear on the ballot. Any such resi­dent may also have his or her name placed in nomina­tion from the floor at the caucus itself.

Article III Section 3. Calcula­tion of Membership:
Each voting district shall have one (1) member for every seventy-five (75) reg­istered Democrats residing in the district as of the last printed list in the month of December prior to the Town Committee caucus for the election of a new Town Committee.

Number of Members for Each Voting District

District 1:  5 Members

District 2: 14 Members

District 3: 12 Members

District 4: 14 Members

District 5: 14 Members

District 6: 12 Members

District 7: 13 Members

District 8: 8 Members

District 9: 8 Members

NOTE: It is recommended that those interested in running for a seat on the Democratic Town Committee contact their District Leader prior to the caucus to express their intent.

Agenda For Nominating Caucus

1. Call Convention to Order by Temporary Chair

2. Temporary Char Appoints Temporary Secretary

3. Temporary Secretary Reads Call of Caucus Notice

4. Temporary Secretary Makes Credential Report

5. Election of a Permanent Chair

6. Election of a Permanent Secretary

7. Nominations

8. Updated Report on Credentials / Attendance

9. Election

10. Announcement of Winners

11. Other Business

12. Adjourn

Rules and Guidelines on Town Committee Caucus Procedures

The below rules and guidelines are in response to frequently asked questions regarding the Town Committee Caucus Elections. Additional questions or clarification may be obtained by calling Democratic Town Committee Chairman Vincent Avallone at (203) 605-2716.

1. Caucuses for Town Committee are required by state law and are open to all town registered Democrats in accordance with local Registrar of Voters’ records.

2. Caucuses must be advertised in a local newspaper at least five full days before the caucus. Five full days does not include the date of the actual caucus. The time, date, location, and purpose of the meeting must be stated within the advertisement.

3. Caucuses must be held between January 5^th and 12^th 2010. Results of the caucus must be certified by the Town Clerk by January 13, 2010 at 4:00pm

4. Any registered Democrat may observe, vote, speak, or participate in the caucus.

5. According to state party rules, nominations the night of the caucus shall be taken by slate and by individual nominations from the floor.

6. After all nominations have been closed (slate and individual), voting may proceed.

7. Since the caucus is a local election, paper ballots and/or secret ballots are permitted. It is recommended that ballots be kept on file for at least sixty days after the election.

8. It is permissible on a paper ballot to identify “Town Committee Endorsed Candidates” if local Town Committee By-Laws allow for such a process.

9. Voters may not vote for more Town Committee members than slots available. If a voter votes for more members than available, the ballot should not be counted.

10. Voters may vote for as many or as few Town Committee members as desired in accordance with the slots available. For example, a voter may vote for only one Town Committee member on their ballot even if twenty are running.

11. DTC members must be elected by a majority of those present and voting. For example, if there are more people nominated than there are slots available, and there are fifty people voting at the caucus, only those who receive twenty-six votes or more are elected on any given ballot. If the full slate of party-endorsed candidates is not chosen on the first ballot, then the names of those who did not receive at least twenty-six votes should be voted on a second ballot, and so on until a full slate is chosen.

12. If a slate wishes to file for a primary, petitions and information on the number of signatures required on the petition may be obtained from the Registrar of Voters.

13. To obtain primary petitions, the challenge slate must consist of at least 25% of the total number of DTC members permitted on a Town Committee. For example, X town has twenty Town Committee members on its Town Committee. A primary slate must have at least five candidates on its petition. These candidates need not be members of the caucus-endorsed Town Committee or of the existing Town Committee.

14. New DTC members take office on the day after the day scheduled for the primary. Town Committee Primaries are scheduled for March 2, 2010. Even in towns where no primary is being held, members do not take office until March 2, 2010. Town Committee Officers are elected after the March primary date.

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,Democrat,Town Committee

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MP3 AUDIO – Wallingford Town Council Meeting – December 15, 2009 is now online

The regular meeting of the Wallingford Town Council from December 15, 2009 is now online and available in MP3 audio format.

You can now download the MP3 files and listen to the council meeting in your car on the way to work or while going for a walk or whenever you have the free time to listen in.

There is no need to be a slave to the schedule of the actual meetings every 2nd and 4th Tuesday or the broadcast schedule on Government Access TV (if you get it), nor do you need to sit in front of the computer and stare at the screen for 3+ hours Click the links and let the file download and SAVE AS to put it on any MP3 device.

If you decide to open it directly and begin streaming (or if your audio player does this by default) it may need to wait for one to two minutes for the download to reach a point where it will begin to play on its own.

It’s your town – get informed and get involved.

Wallingford Town Council from December 15, 2009 – PART 1

Wallingford Town Council from December 15, 2009 – PART 2

Technorati Tags: MP3,AUDIO,Wallingford,Council,Meeting

POLL RESULTS - Should Wallingford fund the remainder of the work ($756,000) to build the walking loop that would connect the senior center to the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail

17 people responded to the poll over the week that it ran.

41% felt that Wallingford should fund the remainder of the work at a cost of $756,000 to build the walking loop that would connect the senior center to the Quinnipiac River Linear Trail.

23% felt that we should not.

23% felt that we should but after 2011 when the economy recovers.

11% felt that what we have already is nice enough and no further additions should be done to the trail.

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,Quinnipiac River Linear Trail

Final Date for SullivanOneOnOne Blog

Hello everyone.

I wanted to let all the followers of the SullivanOneOnOne Blog know that the lights will go out effective Friday December 18th.

It's been a great run the past three years the majority of which was delivered by John Sullivan personally and in the recent months since the June timeframe by myself.

John and I have had a couple of discussions on the possible direction of the blog since he won his seat on the council and it just wasn’t going to be possible for him to pick the effort back up and be able to balance work, family life, and his new role as Town Councilor for Wallingford.

That decision ends this effort here.

Wanting there to still be a place for an open discussion and vetting of issues centric to the operation and support of the political process in Wallingford I opted to create another blog – Wallingford Politico -which has been up and running for the past couple of months.

I hope you will join me there as you have here and we can keep the discussions productive and lively going into the next year and potentially decade regarding our town.

Technorati Tags: Blog,Town Council,Wallingford

Thoughts on “State funding for Wallingford zoning plan may be in jeopardy”

I have a cross post over on my other blog with respect to an article that ran in the Record Journal Wednesday December 9, 2009 regarding Wallingford Incentive Hous­ing Zone and how the state funding for it is now at risk.

The full story is cross posted at State funding for Wallingford zoning plan may be in jeopardy if you want to read all the details.

The summary of the information as reported is:

• The HOMEConnecticut Program is a state program run through the Office of Policy and Management
• It pays towns up to $4,000 for every housing unit in high-density housing zones
• Un­der the program, municipalities are eligible to receive $2,000 for every housing unit approved within the zones and another $2,000 for each unit that is actually built.
• Wallingford’s proposed Incentive Housing Zone is about 23.3 acres
• It includes some of the sections of Hall Avenue, Quinnipiac Street and the intersection of North Colony and Center streets
• It is an overlay of the town’s current zoning regulations for these areas
• The area as outlined would allow for a maxi­mum of 361 housing units.
• This high-density, mixed-use re­tail and housing is similar to West Hart­ford’s Blue Back Square
• If it is fully developed the town could be receiving $1.44 million in incen­tive payments
• Governor Rell wants to use the money from the program to cut the state’s budget deficit.

So with these highlights of information – should Wallingford move ahead with the plans despite, perhaps, not getting the money from the HOMEConnecticut Program if Governor Rell does in fact pull the funding to try to cut the state’s budget deficit?

My thoughts are we should still go forward with our plans. We should still try to pursue the funds if they are available but we should plan on moving ahead without them.

There is much to be gained in trying to bring forward some uniformity of the buildings downtown as part of encouraging some additional investment and development of our downtown.

The old Knights of Columbus land now has new housing on it and I think that is a nice little gem that could be added to if we continue to pursue the entire plan.

If I remember correctly, all of these townhouse units are sold and there is another small set being planned for a little further down the street.

Available housing to purchase downtown (not rent as we have with all the apartments there currently) may bring more demand to the existing businesses there and due to the increased demand of occupied homes it may allow for more businesses to establish themselves.

It will certainly bring more foot traffic from those residents that currently and will call those new places yet to be built, home.

Add all that with the potential of (someday) having a Metro North type commuter rail from New Haven to Springfield Mass and you just amplify the possibilities.

There are always other sides to the story – what are your thoughts?

Technorati Tags: HOMEConnecticut Program,Incentive Housing Zone,State funding,Wallingford,zoning

VIDEO – Wallingford Town Council Meeting - November 24, 2009

The regular meeting of the Wallingford Town Council November 24, 2009 meeting is now available.

Since the mayor has given the order to stop providing the council meetings online I have decided that, in light of fact that other towns coming online to do this and due to the fact that the election season is upon us, that I will provide the meetings as I am able to.

It’s your town – get informed and get involved.

Wallingford Town Council Meeting – November 24, 2009 – PART 1

Wallingford Town Council Meeting – November 24, 2009 – PART 2

Wallingford Town Council Meeting – November 24, 2009 – PART 3

Technorati Tags: meeting,Town Council,video,Wallingford

Additional Thoughts on the Wallingford Charter Revision

There was an article in the Record Journal this morning written by Dave Moran titled Dickinson had big financial role in PAC opposing charter change which is cross posted over on my other blog.

After reading this some thoughts come to mind regarding the recent election in addition to some others that I have shared before:

• I supported some of the proposals - I voted YES on those
• Others I didn’t and I voted NO
• There was plenty of information available regarding the proposed changes
• There was ample time and opportunity to get the facts
• Some of the people that turned out to vote made choices based based on their knowledge of the subject matter (whatever level that may be)
• Some voted the way they were told to vote
• Some were scared into voting a certain way
• The majority of registered voters - 64.4% - simply didn’t show up
• The majority of the 35.6% of the voters that showed up wanted no changes made.

So I make a lot of different things of these facts but the bottom line is – the people that wanted to have a say had their say and they said “let’s keep things the way they are.”

There is no arguing around that and there is no point – that is why the process is set up the way that it is. It is set up this way so that everyone has an equal say in their vote – all they need to do is exercise that right.

There has been some additional discussion around who donated what, where, and how much. There is a reason all of this information is recorded and why the paperwork is filed locally and with the state. It gets a review and some additional scrutiny when someone questions something but generally things that are in plain sight are on the up and up which is why I am such a proponent of making sure that what is public information gets put out more broadly and openly.

It would seem to me that Mayor Dickinson is well within his rights to contribute to a PAC.

At the same time, it seems that it is within legal boundaries for PACs to donate up to $2,000 a year to other PACs so when the Com­munity Initiative PAC made the donation to the Save Our Charter PAC it was above board.

Additionally when the Mayor’s campaign committees paid their surpluses into the Com­munity Initiative PAC, it is also allowed under Connecticut election laws.

So these are my thoughts – tell us, what are yours?

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,PAC,Election

FROM WALLINGFORD - Ordinances and outrage

As published online at MyRecordJournal.com for print publication in the Record Journal on Sunday December 6, 2009

The Wallingford Ordinance Committee is tasked at their meetings to review the ordinances in place and to discuss new ones. The next meeting is Tuesday, December 8, 6:30 PM at Town Hall, Room 315.

I understand the need for local ordinances - not everyone will govern themselves near what most would consider baseline behavior of a citizen on their own; you need to have rules that set and explain what those baseline expectations are.

Some people will not break rules while others do whatever they please because they assume they won't get caught (or they simply do not care).

The recent parking enforcement issue at the Carini Bowl is one example. I'm not happy people got ticketed that day, but I am gratified that the rules are getting enforced as it vindicates those of us that follow them when the rule-breakers get pinched.

Many people that got ticketed, even after being told to move, said, "Well, I saw the sign - was told to move, but I just didn't think I'd get a ticket."

And that is actually the crux of the issue; generally the ordinances are not enforced. When we start everyone is up in arms because they are caught off guard that we're "suddenly" doing something we should be enforcing unilaterally and consistently.

Take the sidewalk obstruction ordinance that requires residents to clear sidewalks around their homes or businesses within 18 hours after a snowstorm . . . I see many sidewalks that NEVER get cleared by anyone - so all this talk about how the ordinance works is interesting, but do we use it in practice? I am not asking: have we ever used it? I am asking: do we enforce it regularly as the infractions are reported? When was the last $25 ticket issued for not clearing the sidewalk? When was the last time a resident had their walked cleared by Public Works and then billed for it?

So what's the answer to all this? That is a tough question.

The ordinance committee will tell you they create and review the ordinances but they are not in charge of enforcement. Those that are responsible for enforcement (often different groups; it is not always the police department) will often tell you why they are not successful - no real enforcement power (no ability to fine or take action), not enough manpower, etc.

My thoughts are we should put all the ordinances up on the town website.

If someone breaks a specific ordinance in a 12-month rolling period from the time of the infraction, they should get a written warning, a printed copy of the specific ordinance and it should be cataloged. If the infraction occurs a second time, they should be fined.

Fines should be dramatically increased - a huge deterrent. If I park illegally 50 times and pay just $15 once, I can justify the cost. Not that I want to throw away $15, but it can cost more to park in a New Haven garage. Fines have to grow to the cost of the times, and then some - they need to be a burdensome expense to stop causal infraction of the law by people who don't care in the first place.

If responsible enforcement divisions are understaffed, then contract out the position to enforce the ordinances; with heavier fines, we can justify the cost against that revenue. If there isn't enough work, then allow the departments to take the work back on and end the contract position.

We should be enforcing ordinances unilaterally and consistently. If the argument is that we do not need to have that kind of iron fist mentality, then I suggest that ordinance doesn't need to exist and we should take it off the books.

Technorati Tags: FROM WALLINGFORD,Opinion,Wallingford,Ordinance

MP3 AUDIO – Wallingford Town Council Meeting – November 24, 2009 is now online

The regular meeting of the Wallingford Town Council from November 24, 2009 is now online and available in MP3 audio format.

You can now download the MP3 files and listen to the council meeting in your car on the way to work or while going for a walk or whenever you have the free time to listen in.

There is no need to be a slave to the schedule of the actual meetings every 2nd and 4th Tuesday or the broadcast schedule on Government Access TV (if you get it), nor do you need to sit in front of the computer and stare at the screen for 3+ hours Click the links and let the file download and SAVE AS to put it on any MP3 device.

If you decide to open it directly and begin streaming (or if your audio player does this by default) it may need to wait for one to two minutes for the download to reach a point where it will begin to play on its own.

It’s your town – get informed and get involved.

Wallingford Town Council from November 24, 2009 – PART 1

Wallingford Town Council from November 24, 2009 – PART 2

Wallingford Town Council from November 24, 2009 – PART 3

Technorati Tags: MP3,AUDIO,Wallingford,Council,Meeting

POLL CLOSED - How should the Wallingford Town Council move on the Police Station

Make a decision to move forward with the new construction on the Wooding-Caplan parcel but delay until after 2011

Make a decision to move forward with the construction of a satellite station or a precinct on the Wooding-Caplan parcel but delay until after 2011

Make a decision to move forward with the new construction on the Wooding-Caplan parcel in the next year to take advantage of cost savings

Make a decision to move forward with the construction of a satellite station or a precinct on the Wooding-Caplan parcel in the next year to take advantage of cost savings

Make a decision to revisit in three years to reassess the needs again

While this is no where near a scientific poll with just 11 respondents we can see that the majority of the people (10 of the 11 voters) chose “Make a decision to revisit in three years to reassess the needs again”

Only one person chose “Make a decision to move forward with the construction of a satellite station or a precinct on the Wooding-Caplan parcel but delay until after 2011”

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,Police Station,Wooding-Caplan,taxes

Ordinance Committee Special Meeting

Tuesday, December 8 @ 6:30 PM

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Town Hall, Room 315
45 South Main Street 
Wallingford, CT 06492

Wallingford Town Council SPECIAL MEETING Ordinance Committee December 8, 2009 at 6:30 P.M. Room #315 -- Town Hall 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492

AGENDA

1. Brief review of issues regarding the "dog ordinance" and report from the Law Department on construction of pertinent statutes.

2. Continued discussions of an ordinance that would give the Planning & Zoning Commission/Zoning Enforcement Officer the power to levy fines for certain violations of the Zoning Regulations under certain conditions, including a report from the Law Department regarding as to when an appeal might be taken, and to what authority, under various concepts under discussion.

_______________________ Mike Brodinsky, Chairman

Technorati Tags: Wallingford,Ordinance,Committee,Meeting

Hearings tonight on liberalizing signage regulations

There is a special Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting tonight, Monday, November 30, 2009 starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Robert Earley Auditorium / Town Hall – 45 South Main Street (the agenda can be found here).

There will be a public hearing at 7PM regarding two proposed amendments:

1) Zoning Amendment/PZC/Temporary Signs #909-09
2) Zoning Amendment/PZC/Downtown Signs #912-09

There is some summary information regarding the topics in a Record Journal article in this morning’s paper (Monday November 30th) – I have cross posted it at http://bit.ly/4OE3FN

I am going to try to get to the meeting tonight to hear all of the details but it sounds promising mainly because it sounds like the PZC is willing to listen to the concerns of the businesses and come to a consensus about how to both provide a means for allowing additional signage that will hopefully be tactful for a given business and at the same time more clearly define what is not permissible.

I don’t know if they are going to address giving any type of bite to the ordinance enforcement side (and let’s be frank – without teeth there are very few that will comply) but we’ll have to see how it all unfolds.

So bloggers – what are your thoughts ahead of the meeting?

Is this a positive step in the right direction? I think so but I am sure there are others out there with deferring opinions.

Let’s hear them.

Technorati Tags: ordinance,Planning and Zoning Commission,public hearing,regulation,signs

POLICE STATION FEASIBILITY STUDY NOVEMBER 2009

Report Prepared by Jacunski Humes Architects – DOWNLOAD PDF (8.71 MB file – please allow some time for the download).

Wallingford Police Department Request for Proposal (RFP without appendix) – DOWNLOAD PDF

Police Chief's Report to Mayor April 2007 – DOWNLOAD PDF

Technorati Tags: Police Station,Wooding-Caplan,Town Council

Connecticut's Senate Republicans Present a Citizen's Guide to Energy Assistance and Tax Breaks

http://bit.ly/6oIC3o - A comprehensive web site detailing assistance programs and tax incentives available in Connecticut that may help residents lower their energy bills this winter.

Technorati Tags: Senate,Energy,Assistance,Connecticut