Wallingford Gardeners Market

The Wallingford Gardeners Market begins this Saturday and will be open from 9AM to noon each Saturday until Sept. 17

What: Wallingford Gardeners Market.
When: Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon.
Where: Railroad station green.
Who: Farmers, artisans, merchants, music and more.

FROM WALLINGFORD - Speaks volumes for Wallingford

This FROM WALLINGFORD column was written by my counterpart on the column – Stephen Knight.

It was originally published in the Record Journal on Sunday July 10, 2011

Topics for this column can be elusive during the summer, but not this week. There is no way that I was not going to write about an article in the July 1st Record-Journal about the Town of Wallingford having attained the highest possible bond rating with Moody’s Investor Services.

The Mayor and the Comptroller may play this achievement down with characteristic modesty, but I am under no such compunction. This is a big deal, and it speaks volumes, and not only about how well the two aforementioned executives have managed the town’s finances. This is not just about money and how we stack up after being extruded through the Wall Street statistics machine.

If a person is known by the company he/she keeps, take a look at whom some of the other 17 Connecticut towns are that share the distinction of this Aaa credit rating: Greenwich, Darien, Westport, New Canaan, West Hartford, Simsbury, Madison and Woodbridge. How did li’l ol’ Wallingford find itself in company with these towns, some of whose residents are the most affluent in the entire nation?

So how did we find ourselves in such company? Apparently it is a complicated mix of factors that are compared, but three mentioned in the Moody’s Investors Service review are 1) a “sound financial position bolstered by non-General Fund reserves”; 2) “low debt position” (our debt per capita is a very low $930); and 3) the policy of funding pension liabilities at the actuarially recommended levels.

1) Our non-allocated cash balances have been the topic of considerable discussion and debate for years. The Town’s financial position has borne fruit yet again, and the rating agency also noted our “ongoing pay-as-you-go capital spending.” Significant reserves allow us to do that.

2) Debt per capita. How much of a town’s annual budget is spent paying interest and principal on the debt it has accumulated? Ours is at 3.7 percent, a level that the rating agency is very comfortable with despite the fact that we are just above the state median household income level. If we should suffer the loss of a large taxpayer, does our debt obligation endanger our fiscal stability? We can’t hammer our residential taxpayers like Greenwich could in such a case, so over-borrowing could put pressure on the town’s ability to provide services. Moody’s answer: we see no problem because you are a long, long way from maxing out your credit cards.

3) After acknowledging the investment losses suffered in recent years, Moody’s goes on to describe our pension funding as adequate, and added this sentence: “However, the town continues to contribute its full actuarially recommended contribution, which was $3.6 million for fiscal 2010, which Moody’s views favorably ” (emphasis mine).

If your eyes are starting to glaze over reading this financial stuff, trust me, I feel your pain. So let me just explain my exhilaration about our new credit status this way.

First, this has to be recognized as an achievement for Mayor Dickinson, Comptroller Jim Bowes and his predecessor Tom Myers, for the Town Council and the municipal government in general. With the school roofs replacement program looming, and the state economy in the tank, ratings like we have now will not likely last into perpetuity, but we should be proud that we enjoy them now.

But this acknowledgement by the financial experts is also a reflection on the whole town. It is a result of having a mature electorate that understands that municipal government is about making tough choices, about not allowing our reach to exceed our grasp, about preparing for the unexpected, about asking for what we need rather than what we want. We do not look to government to provide everything to everybody, and we support the many non-profit organizations that fill that gap. In other words, it is about knowing who we are as a community, and then going about being that community.

Town debt loads vary widely - Wallingford stands out locally for low debt, high credit rating

As published in the Record Journal Tuesday July 12, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

When it comes to municipal finances, debt can be deceiving. It’s not always an indication of the fiscal health of a city or town, although it’s certainly a contributing factor.

Meriden is larger and less affluent than Cheshire, but Cheshire has a higher debt load. It also has a higher bond rating.

“There’s a whole series of considerations that go into how a city is rated,” said Meriden Finance Director Michael Lupkas.

Beyond debt, rating agencies look at a city or town’s demographic makeup, ability to pay, fund balance as a percentage of expenditures, and leadership, Lupkas said.

Managing debt is a matter of ongoing payments and keeping up with growth by maintaining buildings and infrastructure, according to several local municipal officials.

Meriden’s debt of $77,888,000 is the accumulation of every project that has been borrowed for over the past two decades, Lupkas said. The city is slated to pay off $11,930,000 of principal and interest in the budget year that began July 1.

The city paid down $12.4 million in debt last year, he said. Moody’s Investor Service, the credit rating agency that assesses the economic health of communities based on debt and fiscal management, gave Meriden an A1 rating, the fifth-highest mark.

“We do feel that over the past several years Meriden’s financial position has changed dramatically for the better,” Lupkas said. “We do think that an upgrade of one to two notches is fully within our reach.”

Recent large bond issues in Meriden include a $2 million project to replace police radio equipment, $975,000 to finally close out financing for the new Lincoln Middle School, which opened in 2005, and $1.8 million for the closure of a landfill, Lupkas said. Money has also been borrowed for road work, replacement of dump trucks, property purchases and park upgrades.

The city is also in the planning stages of a $216.7 million project to renovate the two high schools.

Only one area community has garnered the highest bond rating, Aaa. Wallingford was ranked highest by Moody’s recently after the sale of three bonds totaling $4.8 million.
 
Higher ratings equal more favorable interest rates when towns issue bonds.

Wallingford’s $42 million debt is shared by 44,881 residents, amounting to $935 per person, said Comptroller James Bowes. About two thirds of the debt — 67 percent, or $28.2 million — was generated by school projects.

“You have to figure the more kids you have, the more schools need expansion, and the more people you have, the more roads you need,” he said. “In terms of debt per capita, we’re pretty good — in the bottom half of communities in the state.”

Wallingford paid $3,351,000 on its debt last year and is scheduled to pay $3,340,000 from this year’s $141 million budget, he said.

Southington Finance Director Emilia Portelinha said the town paid $7,014,225 on its $73,148,000 debt last year and will pay $8,373,436 this year. The amount of debt for each of the town’s 42,534 residents is about $1,719.

Larger projects that created debt include school renovations, some more than 10 years old, totaling $18 million in work at three elementary schools. The town also recently borrowed $11 million for upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant, she said.

As with Meriden, Southington is also planning an expensive school renovation and expansion project — if approved by voters in November, the town will spend $85 million on its two middle schools.

Cheshire Finance Director Patti-Lynn Ryan said the town’s $79,818,731 debt is mostly for school projects more than a decade old, and does not include the $30 million that will need to be raised to complete a total overhaul of the wastewater treatment plant.

“We’ll probably have to start financing that shortly,” she said.

Debt for school projects, some completed almost 20 years ago, totals $14.5 million, she said. The town paid $9,996,609 against its debt last year; this year $9,824,610 is marked for that purpose. Divided by Cheshire’s 29,142 people, each person holds $2,738 of town debt, she said.

Q-poll: On Economy, Medicare, Americans Don’t Trust GOP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 14, 2011
CONTACT: Jaclyn Falkowski
(860)560-1775 / (860)712-7413 cell

Q-poll: On Economy, Medicare, Americans Don’t Trust GOP

Place blame on former Pres. Bush, congressional Republicans

This morning’s national Quinnipiac University poll showed that a majority of Americans have little faith in the ability of congressional Republicans to handle the country’s economic problems and would blame Republicans should the debt limit not be raised.

Forty-five percent of respondents said that they trust President Barack Obama more than congressional Republicans to handle our nation’s economy. And they trust President Obama to do a better job than Republicans in Congress in handling Medicare by 50 percent, compared to 37 percent.

“From Washington to Hartford, the GOP remains squarely out-of-touch with the majority of Americans,” said Connecticut Democratic State Party Chair Nancy DiNardo. “Just yesterday, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that he refused to help get President Obama reelected by putting the GOP in a position where they co-own a bad economy. That’s not leadership; that’s putting the country at risk in order to score political points, and the American public isn’t buying it.”

Continued DiNardo, “All of their rhetoric simply does not resonate with the public. Connecticut’s congressional delegation has stood firmly against the game the GOP is playing with our future. We need more people like John Larson, Jim Himes, Rosa DeLauro, Chris Murphy and Joe Courtney to stand up for the people and do what’s best for the country, instead of what might be best for winning a presidential election.”

Despite GOP efforts to pin the entire economic crisis on President Obama, the American public doesn’t agree. A majority of voters—54 percent compared to 27 percent—say that they blame former President George W. Bush more than President Obama for the continuing effects of the recession.

While President Obama’s approval rating—47 percent approve to 46 percent disapprove—remained unchanged from the June 9 Q-poll, 65 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the way congressional Republicans are doing their job, compared with 26 percent who approve. Nearly half—48 percent—said it would be the GOP’s fault if an agreement to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the country from defaulting was not reached.

Voters also say that President Obama’s proposals to raise revenues are “closing loopholes,” not “tax hikes;” 67 percent favor increasing taxes on wealthy corporations and individuals as part of an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. Sixty two percent said it’s more important to reduce unemployment rates than to reduce the federal budget deficit.

--END--

Jaclyn M. Falkowski
Communications Director
Connecticut Democratic Party
860-560-1775 / 860-712-7413 cell
jfalkowski@ctdems.org
Visit us today at CTDems.org!
Find us on Facebook and Twitter!

Wallingford GOP picks Laffin for council opening

As published in the Record Journal Thursday July 14, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

WALLINGFORD — Two-term Board of Education member Thomas Laffin won the Republican Town Committee’s nomination Wednesday night to run for a seat on the Town Council that will be left open by the departure of longtime councilor and council Vice Chairman Jerry Farrell Jr.

Laffin, a 31-year-old father of two, graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., with a degree in political science. He is the North American construction manager for Edible Arrangements.

Laffin, who ran unsuccessfully for office two years ago, said he learned a lot from his campaign and vowed to work harder this time and to raise $5,000.

“I’ll hit more doors, I’ll raise more money and attend more events,” he said. “I don’t like what the Democrats are saying about the mayor and I want to sit at that table and say something.”

Laffin attended his first town committee meeting fresh out of college at age 22, he said, and found himself sitting at a table with the men who would later become the council’s Republicans.

“I knew I wanted to get involved with a group of people that wanted to limit spending, limit government,” he said.

The other hopeful for the nomination, Christine Mansfield, a graduate of Villanova University and a mother of three, owns Discovery Training Services and has been active in volunteer work in the area for many years, she said. Her campaign would have focused on creating a “brand” for her party and her council running mates, using T-shirts, volunteer drives and other activities.

Councilor Craig Fishbein spoke in favor of Mansfield and said she was the better candidate based on her solid relationships in the community through her business and charity work.

“It’s hard to stand up here as a member of the Town Council, but I have to look at who the better candidate is,” he said. “I speak from the heart on this one.”

Mansfield is no stranger to dealing with politicians. She told lawmakers in February that the state suffers from an image problem that is being spread nationwide, and if it doesn’t start operating like a business, it risks losing more people and companies.

“Trying to safeguard this community without mortgaging our children is crucial,” she said. “If I do one thing well, I know how to rally people.”
Board of Education Chairman Thomas Hennessey told Mansfield she would be a perfect fit for a vacancy on his board, and ultimately voted for Laffin for a council run.

“Tom is a very staunch team player and he has innovative ideas,” Hennessey said. “He’s supportive of where the town wants to go in the next decade.”

Farrell, 43, said either candidate could have filled his shoes. The former state commissioner of consumer protection announced earlier this year that he would end his 16 years on the council to spend more time with his family.

Connecticut Executive Branch Layoff Notices

Not necessarily having to do with Wallingford directly but I thought it would be of some interest.

Reported to the Office of Policy and Management as of 10:00 a.m., July 13, 2011

The list below shows the Agency at the top of each subsection, the bargaining unit affected and the number of layoffs for that unit


Department of Construction Services
Managerial 1
Administrative Clerical 4
Engineering, Scientific, Technical 8
Admin and Residual 1
Total 14

Department of Correction
Administrative Clerical 6
Correctional Officers 191
Health Professional 3
Education B 9
Correctional Supervisor 13
Total 222

Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
Managerial 1

Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Managerial 5
Service/Maintenance 10
Administrative Clerical 6
Protective Services 2
Health Nonprofessional 33
Health Professional 33
Total 89

Office of Policy and Management
Managerial 2

Grand Total 328


Recap by bargaining unit:
Managerial 9
Service/Maintenance 10
Administrative Clerical 16
Correctional Officers 191
Protective Services 2
Health Nonprofessional 33
Health Professional 36
Education B 9
Engineering, Scientific, Technical 8
Admin and Residual 1
Correctional Supervisor 13
Total 328

Notes:
1.) Does not include layoffs or separations prior to June 1, 2011.
2.) Noticed employees may have legal and contractual rights such as bumping rights or may choose to retire in lieu of layoff.
3.) Position counts are unduplicated.
4.) Does not include Legislative or Judicial branches or constituent units of higher education.

Declaration of Independence - Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776

As cross posted from http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/doi/text.html

Here is the complete text of the Declaration of Independence.
The original spelling and capitalization have been retained.
(Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776)

The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776

Wallingford fireworks show goes on

As published in the Record Journal Sunday July 3, 2011

By Dan Brechlin
Record-Journal staff
dbrechlin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2266

Photos online by Sarah Nathan

WALLINGFORD - Mirin Scassellati had an expensive birthday party Saturday night. Her family had to pay for the cupcakes and presents, but luckily various organizations, businesses and residents pitched in the $24,150 for a fireworks celebration.

The fireworks were not just for her, but the 9-year-old and her family enjoyed the early Independence Day show. She blew out a candle, unwrapped presents and bit into a red, white and blue frosted cupcake.

"I like having fireworks on my birthday," Mirin, a Cheshire resident, said.

As for the $24,150 tab for the fireworks and police and other emergency services overtime, for the second consecutive year the town was not able to pay. And for the second straight year, Jason Zandri stepped up to organize the fundraising efforts.

"They said the money was not there," Zandri said. "Nobody said they were going to step up and do anything or fundraise, so I felt I had to."

And raise money he did. Last year, the money came in faster, Zandri said, with a big help from Choate Rosemary Hall, which pitched in $5,000.

The same check did not come this year, which Zandri had no problem with. But when his May 27 deadline, handed down from Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., was quickly approaching, Zandri got a big bonus. A check worth $2,500 came from New Life Church, helping to save the day and show.

Thousands gathered at Sheehan High School, Moran Middle School, Highland School, nearby businesses and parking lots, and even from their front lawns to watch the fireworks.

"It's important people come out," Zandri said. "This is their show. They're watching a show they helped create."

Sarah Park, a Wallingford resident, said she felt proud to have helped out with the fundraising efforts and put the show on.

"I gave a few dollars the other day," Park said, noting that Zandri had been standing outside a local Dunkin' Donuts collecting anything he could get. "They should have this every year no matter what. The kids love it and deserve to see some fireworks."

Zandri has already gotten a jumpstart on next year's collections, as he walked around asking for help in putting on the show next year.

Before the fireworks could begin, children were running around, playing games, waving glow sticks and using sparklers. Miniature hot air balloons ascended into the sky, with the crowd cheering and clapping in approval.

As the clock reached 9:30 p.m., the first few fireworks shot off into the sky, provoking "oohs" and "aahs" from the crowd.

"I'm sure people will want something similar next year," Zandri said.

Fourth of July: just a ‘3-day weekend’?

By Llewellyn King - executive producer and host of “White House Chronicle” on PBS.

WASHINGTON — A lightness of countenance has fallen on Washington. I kid you not.

Strangers were talking to each other in elevators, smiles in the street made walking a pleasure.

Even President Obama lightened up. At his midweek press conference, the president seemed in an unusually good mood: helping NBC’s Chuck Todd sort out his questions, referring cheerfully to the work ethic of his daughters (and his own), and lampooning the corporate jet set.

Had peace broken out somewhere? On Capitol Hill, in Libya or Afghanistan, between Los Angeles Superior Court judge Stephanie Sautner and Lindsay Lohan — her honor dropping by for a few belts?
No. It all comes down to the prospect of a four-day weekend. It should be three days, but many are able to stretch it to four. Heapings of happiness!

By the joy this little perturbation in routine has wrought, it’s clear that Americans are overstretched, overworked, overstressed and badly in need of R&R — even just a syllable of it — over the Fourth of July weekend.

Also it’s a birthday bash. Uncle Sam has made it through another year and the dollar is still worth having; the barbecue worth lighting; and the hamburger, America’s great contribution to cuisine, worth eating. Even though Budweiser — like so much else nowadays — belongs to a foreign company, millions of us still find it worth drinking.

Hooray! Happy Birthday! For he’s a jolly good fellow! (Uncle Sam, that is.) Unlike many others of the British persuasion, as I once was, I agree with my colleague Martin Walker that Brits shouldn’t feel loss on the Fourth of July, but should be leading the celebration.

Walker, who knows a thing or two about celebrating, says: “I’m not downcast by the victory of honest British colonial farmers over a German king and his German mercenaries.”

That’s right, Americans love the Brits. Otherwise, why would a country that threw off the imperial yoke on July 4, 1776, go bats for the wedding of Prince Harry, heir to the despised throne once occupied by George III?

There’s one thing the Brits do have over us: their vacations. A UK worker averages about a month a year of vacation.

Of course, it would never work here — especially not in Washington. Think of the anxiety. Oh the fear of being left out, losing your job or just being bored. Americans on long vacations get surly, marriages creak and desperate couples hunch over lunch in faraway places, trying to decide where to have dinner.

No. No. No. Our special genius has been the creation of the long weekend.

We have more of them than most countries; they are envied even by the French who talk about le long weekend.

We have something here. Instead of pining for more vacation, we should build on the Fourth of July, Labor Day and Memorial Day by working only a four-day week.

I don’t like to point fingers, but there are those in the bureaucracy who are pioneering the new order for us. Around Washington, in the aisles of the supermarket and the sporting- goods emporium, you can hear it every Friday: Some person of impeccable rectitude about other things, declaring, “I’m working from my home office today.”

At the commuter rail station I use, parking is a big problem every day of the week except Fridays, when more than half the spaces are open. Well, not casting aspersions, I have to advise that 80 percent of the riders are government employees. Ah the lure of the “home office” on Friday.

Here’s my proposal: Increase the workday to 10 hours and have three-day weekends every week. Once again America will be the envy of the world, even if we have to prohibit home-office work by civil servants on Thursdays. This way we’ll be a happier people. We’ll have given ourselves a present that keeps on giving.

Happy Birthday, America. And spare a kind thought for the Brits, who lost the best piece of real estate on Earth. Poor dears.

FROM WALLINGFORD - Our future leaders

As published in the Record Journal Sunday July 3, 2011

As I sit to write my second-to-last From Wallingford piece, I’ve decided to write regarding some of the future leaders of Wallingford and beyond.

I am, of course, talking about the K-Kids from Highland Elementary School.

The Kiwanis Club-sponsored K-Kids is a service organization for elementary students worldwide for grades 1 through 5.

Highland is a K-2 school and has a group of about 60 first- and second graders that meet once a month under the supervision of Principal Victoria Reed and teachers Angela Buccheri, Kristina Kiely, Sarah Reynolds and Lisa Rodgers.

The K-Kids have taken on projects that directly help their school such as when they took the time to clean the school grounds and promoted recycling. They reached out beyond the school when they made and collected valentines for Veterans as well as taking on a hat and mitten collection for Master Manna. When the tsunami hit in Japan, their efforts went worldwide when they collected coins for the tsunami relief efforts.

Back here in Wallingford they had an ice-pop sale to raise funds for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund. The students decided that a local initiative like the fireworks, a show basically shown in their own backyards, would be something they could contribute to and they would be able to see the end result of their effort that their hard work helped made happen. As part of the final effort, the K-Kids made and hung posters around the school and wrote and read messages during the morning announcements. On the day of the sale they collected money from the classroom teachers and counted out and delivered the orders.

This was not the standard “bring home the fundraiser pack and pawn it off on Mom and / or Dad.” These kids dug in and did the work themselves, many times, before and after school. The students were involved in every step of the process and with direction and assistance, executed everything on their own.

They raised $500, which exceeded their own expectations and was gratefully appreciated by us. In the day and age of “kids today are spoiled” commentary on the whole (without considering the individual) we see an entire group of students learning the true meaning of teamwork, responsibility and civic minded efforts that give back to the community as a whole – right here at home and abroad.

What a wonderful example they set for their peers and at such an early age; one could only hope that it flourishes and grows rather than fades away over time. I hope they inspire their friends in other Wallingford schools to lead, as well.

Not follow – lead. We have plenty of followers; we need more leaders.

Duty and responsibility are a part of life and that is something these kids are already learning.

Life is not a spectator sport and they are learning this lesson, too.
As I am fond of saying here, “get informed and get involved” — and these kids are already involved. As they grow and learn they will “get informed.”

Perhaps a little of this might rub off on some the adults in the community that have gotten hard skinned over the years about engaging as part of the community. One could always hope. I would be satisfied enough if this next generation simply goes on setting its example without being tainted by the prior one.

So to the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023: I tip my hat to you – you’re off to a great start. Show us all up and become the citizens we all should be; continue to make us proud. Someday, when you’re grown up and are asked “how did you ever become so civic minded and such a diverse leader?” you can respond, “I grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, where I learned from great examples and had some of the best teachers in the world.”

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Brighter forecast eases fireworks anxiety

As published in the Record Journal, Friday July 1, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The weather forecast has improved for the town’s Fourth of July fireworks celebration Saturday, but should it rain, organizer Jason Zandri says the event is unlikely to be rescheduled.

Zandri said he was told this week by Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. that rescheduling the fireworks on such short notice would be impossible, but Zandri believes it can be done.

“You pick another date, you work it out with the vendor and publicize the new date,” Zandri said. The logistics are difficult, but not impossible.”

Dickinson said Thursday that the trouble with rescheduling the event has to do with scheduling overtime for the police officers needed to safely run it.

“I think it’s primarily because of difficulties in scheduling the kind of manpower that is needed,” Dickinson said. “People are called in for service who would normally be off in order to have enough people to provide the public safety.”

The town had long funded the annual fireworks show, but budget cuts threatened to cancel it last year. Zandri, Town Councilor Craig Fishbein and other volunteers managed to raise enough money to save it and have since set up a nonprofit fireworks fund. This year, they needed to raise $24,150 by May 27.

Dickinson said the money for the display had to be collected well in advance so the Police Department would have enough time to find officers to work the event.

“The Police Department needed to know by the beginning of June to get the word out,” Dickinson said. Scheduling the same number of officers for another day would be difficult.

“It becomes impossible to do that over multiple days,” Dickinson said.
Another part of the concern over potential cancellation of the event is the overtime that could still have to be paid. If the event is called due to weather after police, fire and public works employees report for duty at the site — 5 p.m. — Zandri said $12,000 worth of overtime would still have to be paid.

“There’s the possibility we have the show with a chance of thunderstorms, it starts pouring at 6 p.m. and we call the show when they’re already out there,” Zandri said. “That’d be the perfect storm.”

He added that the fund has $1,000 lined up for next year, but not enough money to cover a second day’s worth of overtime.

If the event is canceled earlier in the day, the overtime won’t have to be paid, but it’s up to the town to set a new date and find available personnel. If the town doesn’t have to spend the money for the overtime, Dickinson said, it would be returned to the fund.

Zandri said he remembered fireworks being rescheduled when he was younger, but said he can’t remember a rain date being used recently. Dickinson said to his knowledge the town has never needed to shoot off its Independence Day fireworks on a rain date. Since the Wallingford Fireworks Fund delivered the check to the town, Zandri said that the town has been handling the planning of the event. Dickinson said that the decision of whether to call the event due to weather would be up to the police, fire marshal and parks and recreation.

The fireworks begin at 9 p.m. Saturday, with viewing available on the grounds of Sheehan High School, Moran Middle School and Highland School. Weather forecasts on Thursday were predicting a very low chance of rain Saturday, compared to forecasts earlier this week of intermittent thunderstorms.

Wallingford Fireworks Celebration – Saturday July 2, 2011 after 9PM on Hope Hill Road

Looks like we’ve lucked out on the weather again this year. What was looking a little shaky earlier in the week on the long range forecast has now turned out about as perfect as we could have hoped for.

The Wallingford Fireworks celebration takes place this year after 9PM on Hope Hill Road. The best view is from the Highland Elementary and Sheehan High School lawns.

Parking is available at both of the schools as well as over at Moran Middle School. After that, there is parking on public streets unless otherwise posted.

Please remember as well to take care as you park in the neighborhoods around the schools and walk over to the school grounds. The neighbors there, especially the ones that are indifferent to the show, have to put up with a lot of cars, people and inconvenience for that night.

Please be mindful of all of this as you are a guest in their neighborhood. Take care as you would in your own neighborhood and take away with you anything you brought to the show.

We will take up a collection for the 2012 event on the grounds before the show starts and on the way out after the show ends; if you can support us early for 2012 please consider donating a few dollars.

Thank you again for all the support and we’ll see you at the show!

Menzo counts benefits of K-5 revamp

As published in the Record Journal, Monday June 27, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — The debate leading up to the decision last year to reconfigure the town’s elementary schools was often heated and contentious. But once the plan passed, school officials said the first year of reconfiguration went smoothly.

The change has brought about the advertised results: smaller class sizes, budget savings and an increased focus on literacy education for students in the K-2 schools, but there have been other benefits, too.

And while there were some bumps along the way, and logistical challenges the district had to tackle, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo called reconfiguration “a community success.” Reconfiguration creates two smaller groups of elementary schools and makes it easier to offer uniform instruction to the district’s students, said Assistant Superintendent for Personnel Jan Guarino. She said it has been easier to hold meetings with staff and administrators from the four K-2 or the four grade 3-5 schools, rather than getting people from all eight elementary schools together.

Two of the big strategic plan items the district purchased for next year — the Treasures reading program and hundreds of tablet computers to create literacy stations — should help bolster the reading and writing skills of the district’s youngest students. The reconfiguration allows for better resource allocation, Menzo said, and the opportunity for technology and personnel to be divided in a more consistent manner.

An unintended side effect of reconfiguration has been a greater balance in enrollment across the district’s elementary schools. Menzo said that, at times, Parker Farms and Moses Y. Beach were at risk of being considered “racially imbalanced” by the state, but reconfiguration has offered more equity across the district. Menzo said another unintended benefit has been the opportunity for him to get more involved in the community. The plan, created in Menzo’s first year as superintendent, “helped me get out in the community,” he said. Reconfiguration required input not only from parents, teachers and the Board of Education, but community organiza­tions and the police and fire departments. “I would have made those connections, but it happened faster,” Menzo said. “We had a real reason for working together; it wasn’t just a meet and greet. You can’t measure the value of those relationships.”

Financially, reconfiguration has been a gain for the district. Menzo said the move saved $1.14 million, much of it coming because the district no longer had to pay for rental properties. Menzo said the school district could not have dealt with the slight (0.42 percent) increase in its budget recommended by the mayor without the savings. The alternative, he said, would have been more teacher layoffs and elementary school classes that would be nearing 30 students.
The plan passed the school board by a 7-2 vote in May 2010, with the two “nay” votes not necessarily against the idea of reconfiguration, but rather the pace with which the district seemed to be pushing it forward. Jay Cei, a board Democrat who voted against the proposal, said at the time that the district should take at least the next year to work out the kinks. Reached Friday, Cei said he felt the plan had worked well in its first year.

The district “believed having only half the grades in each school would provide better focus and more resources at each grade level. It appears they were correct,” Cei said. “Although it will likely take another year to fully implement the programs associated with this new structure, we are already seeing some educational benefits. I think we will see many more in one more year.”

Michael Brooder, a Republican, was the other board member to vote against the plan. At the time, Brooder, like Cei, said he wasn’t against reconfiguration, but felt it would be better to wait a year. But Friday, Brooder also said he felt the first year had gone well.

“With anything you change, there’s going to be hiccups in the beginning,” Brooder said. “But I think what’s most important is that they have the same good teachers. I think it went OK.” Brooder had a daughter in second grade when the reconfiguration passed, but she avoided the transition because Rock Hill became a grade 3-5 school. “I haven’t heard anything that leads me to believe it didn’t go well,” Brooder said.

Guarino said it took the cooperation of the entire community for the plan to work, and once it was set into motion, everything went smoothly. “We were moving 10 schools and we had less than $1,000 worth of damage or items we had to replace,” she said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without everyone working together.” The difficulties with buses that some parents experienced at the start of the year would have happened regardless of reconfiguration, Guarino said, because the district had planned to redraw the bus routes anyway.

Menzo felt the district was responsive and honest. “We listened to parents’ concerns,” he said.

But not all parents agreed that the plan had been well thought out. Erin Labbe, who has twin sons at Rock Hill, said she felt there was a lack of communication between her family and the school. “I feel like it was a big mess all year,” she said. “They didn’t have it together.”

Labbe said she felt that the district had to spend so much time selling the program to parents and dealing with angry feedback that it didn’t have time to properly plan for reconfiguration. Labbe, who has an older daughter at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School, said she had good experiences with the middle school and only had trouble with her twins after they moved from Moses Y. Beach to Rock Hill.

Administrators, however, say they have gotten many more positive responses than negative. Menzo said he has been receiving phone calls from parents who have seen improvement in their children’s learning. He added that for most of the parents who were against the change, once it was made, they were onboard with doing what was best for the kids. Many of the parents who lobbied hardest against reconfiguration have helped lead the charge to implement it in the town’s schools. “The loudest voices against have become our best problem solvers,” Guarino said.

The impact on student test scores likely won’t be seen for three to five years, Menzo said. But even then, it may be impossible to ever draw a direct correlation between any test score increases and the reconfiguration.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be able to pinpoint what leads to higher scores,” he said. “We don’t want to ignore the hard work of others.”

Bill to Limit Use of Credit Reports in Hiring Passes Legislature

For Immediate Release
June 14, 2011

Bill to Limit Use of Credit Reports in Hiring Passes Legislature

State Representative Matt Lesser (D-Durham, Middlefield and Middletown) announced passage during the final hours of this year’s legislative session of a bill (SB361) he sponsored to protect the privacy of job applicants' credit reports.

"In this economy, people can have bad credit for all kinds of reasons - there is no necessary link between your credit score and your job performance," said Lesser, who has been fighting for similar consumer protection legislation for the past three years.

Lesser cited stories from constituents, like David Greaves of Middletown who found employers turning him away because of his credit.

"You can get caught in a credit catch-22," said Lesser. "Laid off from your job, you max out your credit cards and then find you can't get a job because your credit is shot. The credit industry is telling employers that people with bad credit are lousy employees - but there is zero evidence of this."

Specifically, the bill prohibits employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to consent to a credit inquiry as a condition of employment. Certain businesses, like financial institutions, could use credit checks when the credit history of the applicant is substantially job related, when it is otherwise required by law or when an employer has specific reason to believe an employee may have violated the law.

Over half of employers examine the credit histories of employees and job applicants.

“Connecticut has taken a powerful step to stop the inequitable practice of screening employees and potential employees based on their credit histories. Research shows that there is no credible evidence that negative credit reports correlate to job performance. I congratulate Connecticut on increasing job opportunities for workers that had been unfairly shut out of employment,” said Miles Rapoport, President of Demos and former Connecticut Secretary of the State. “

Lesser attributed this year’s passage of the bill to the strong leadership on the issue from Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney and House Speaker Christopher Donovan.

State Representative Matt Lesser is serving his second term representing the 100th Assembly District of Durham, Middlefield, Rockfall and Middletown. He is Vice Chair of the state legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee.

FROM WALLINGFORD - The show will indeed go on

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday June 12, 2011

This week’s “FROM WALLINGFORD” is written by my counterpart on the column – Stephen Knight

“ I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.” — James Madison, 1788

The tradition of a fireworks show in the Town Of Wallingford will continue this year due to the efforts of Jason Zandri, Craig Fishbein and others who solicited donations from hundreds of residents. And the only obstacle all along that had to be overcome was financial. Never was there any other reason not to continue the tradition. The money having been raised, we now take for granted that the show will indeed go on. After all, who doesn’t love a fireworks display?

With this as a backdrop, I would like to take you to San Diego, California, where I was last weekend attending a family event. As I am wont to do when traveling, I picked up the local newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune. In it was an article about their fireworks event, and it is a cautionary tale that I think you will find alarming.

For the past twenty-seven years, San Diego has had a fireworks display put on by the La Jolla Community Fireworks Foundation. But this year, an envirokook outfit named the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation took the group to court, contending the display was a violation of the 1970 California Environmental Quality Act. On May 27th, a superior court judge agreed, ruling that any function that required a permit from the city had to undergo an extensive environmental review — a review that takes up to a year and can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The ruling was so sweeping that it would have applied not just to fireworks displays, but block parties, birthday parties and weddings held in city parks, charity runs and thousands of other events. Last weekend, after an incredible public outcry and nationwide ridicule, the judge stayed implementation of her order for 90 days in order that the fireworks show could be held. But after ninety days, unless the ruling is appealed, this ludicrous judicial overreach will be in force.

It has been observed by many that, in the United States, cultural, political and legal changes very often begin in California and then move east. Californians pride themselves on being the leading edge of societal change. If that is indeed so, then what now appears to be just an odd ruling pertaining to one city three thousand miles from here may eventually become the prevailing groupthink everywhere, certainly including the People’s Republic of Connecticut.

The vast and ever-expanding web of environmental laws, rulings and regulations being formulated and carried out by myriad bureaus, commissions and agencies on every level of government used to have a narrow purpose of actually improving the environment. No longer. Those in power still claim this to be the goal, but it is becoming increasingly obvious to even a casual observer that the real purpose is an exponential expansion of the nanny state.

Everyone knows the anecdote about the frog and boiling water, wherein a frog placed in a pot of boiling water will jump out, but one placed in cool water that is then heated to boiling will sit in it and die. For the most part, we live our daily lives, too busy to notice that government is intruding in our existence more and more. But once in a while, we are handed a warning of that encroachment. By sheer accident, Judge Linda Quinn of the Superior Court of California has done just that. It was John Adams, writing to his wife, that suggested we Americans celebrate our independence from an oppressive British government with fireworks every 4th of July. And so we do. What a terrible irony it is, then, that our own government seeks to extinguish such celebrations through the oppression of a crushing, burdensome and intrusive regulatory regime.

Spanish Community of Wallingford (SCOW) to mark Flag Day on June 14

The Spanish Community of Wallingford has invited the public to its first Flag Day celebration at 5 p.m. on Tuesday June 14 at the Council Chambers in Town Hall.

The event will feature the Mariachi Academy of Connecticut and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Edson Division, in a program of patriotic music and prose.

Children and adults are welcome to attend. For information, call Maria Harlow or Evangeline Mendoza at (203) 265-5866.

The next 'Citizen Mike' to address Mantzaris resignation, Wallingford Housing Authority and the American Legion Building

Former Wallingford Town Councilor Mike Brodinsky next "Citizen Mike" public access show discusses the recent resignation of Town Attorney Adam Mantzaris.

Additional topics include a discussion on whether Town Councilor Gerald Farrell Jr. will succeed Mantzaris, given his recent announcement of not planning to seek re-election to the Wallingford Town Council where he is currently Vice-Chair.

There is also a segment on the recent departure of Wallingford Housing Authority commissioner William Fischer as well as some discussion regarding the proposals to renovate the American Legion Building.

The show airs on cable Channel 18 at 9 p.m. every night, except Sunday and it is also available online on demand via http://www.wpaa.videoalive.com/#

Memorial Day 2011

Thank you to all our U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service of this great country of ours.

Freedom is not free; it has been paid for by the ultimate sacrifice of many.

I know this, I will not forget this, I will teach my kids this and make sure they understand it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

FROM WALLINGFORD - Memorial Day and legacy

As published in the Record Journal Sunday May 29, 2011

This week’s FROM WALLINGFORD is written by my counterpart on the column – Stephen Knight

Tomorrow is one of our nation’s most important days: Memorial Day — a day of remembrance of and thanks to those who have laid down their lives in service to us, to their country and to the very concept of freedom. It has also become an opportunity to thank those who have served and are still here to hear a grateful nation say it.

But as wonderful as are the speeches and the parades, what makes me even prouder of America are the day-to-day activities that so many Americans are involved in to support our military men and women.

One of those efforts is Holy Joe’s Café, a group within the First Congregational Church of Wallingford supplying donated coffee to military chaplains in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait. I hope you have read one of the recent Record-Journal articles about it, because space does not allow me to give you much detail.

Suffice it to say that Tom Jastermsky, who is heading up the effort, and Carol Wallace, whose company has donated thousands and thousands of dollars packaging and shipping the coffee, are the primary two people who have made this program work.

But there have been others, and I want to use them as examples of some of the support you might never see, support that is given instantly, enthusiastically and with no questions asked other than “when do we start.” CCI Logistics in Wallingford has donated warehouse space for two years now – thousands of dollars worth.

T.R. Brysh, an owner-operator freight hauler; RKZ Trucking; Bailey’s Express of Middletown; Old Dominion Freight Lines and Andreucci Trucking all provided transportation. It costs a lot of money to operate a truck or warehouse, but if it was “for the troops,” they were just grateful to have been asked.

These acts of love and respect for our military are found all over this country. Go to troopsupport.com and you will see an index of ninety-four volunteer groups dedicated to support our military in some way, and that list doesn’t even include large ones such as Fisher House Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project or Soldier’s Angels. Scroll through this list and see if it doesn’t put a lump in your throat and pride in your heart about what America is all about. And think of the thousands of local efforts by school students and others involved in all manner of activities aimed at making sure that members of the United States military know in what high esteem they are held.

There are two reasons for all this effort. The first is obvious. The people in the military service of the United States of America are the best in the world at what they do. The best trained, the most disciplined, the most compassionate and, at the same time, the most humble. Why wouldn’t we support such professionalism?

But the second reason is this: there was a period in our history when we civilians did not conduct ourselves properly when it came to supporting our military personnel. They do not call the Korean War “The Forgotten War” for nothing. And the Viet Nam War? Many, many of us will spend the rest of our lives trying to make right what we did – or more accurately – did not do when soldiers returned from that awful conflict. And we most certainly did not support their efforts when they were in theater as we should have.

So I would like to conclude this piece by speaking directly to those of you who served in these two conflicts: When you see soldiers being cheered as they walk though airports; if you see a stranger walk up to a soldier and say thanks; if you read of efforts such as Holy Joe’s Cafe and thousands of similar projects, know that this is part of your legacy. Some of that love, some of that respect, some of that admiration that you see is for you. It is late, but it is real.

WALLINGFORD FIREWORKS FUND - Charity saves the day

Fireworks show must go on in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal, Saturday, May 28, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD — For the second year in a row, private donations will fund Wallingford’s Fourth of July weekend fireworks display after the town dropped the celebration from its budget.

Jason Zandri, who successfully led the fundraising charge last year, came up with the $24,150 needed only hours before Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s Friday afternoon deadline.

Zandri said the group was about $6,000 short of its goal at the beginning of the week, but made the final push thanks in part to a $2,500 donation from the New Life Church in Meriden (http://www.InNewLife.com).

“It’s very gratifying to know that we made the deadline,” said Republican Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, who helped Zandri on the fundraising effort.

Fishbein said he had some doubts about a month ago that the money could be raised in time, but Zandri was confident the money would come.

“I wasn’t able to help as much as I did last year,” Fishbein said. “For Jason, this is a labor of love. His confidence and work ethic should be heralded.”

As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Zandri had posted on his blog that the group still needed $1,288.

Zandri took off from work Friday and started collecting money at the Dunkin’ Donuts on North Colony Road at 7 a.m. while his father collected at the Dunkin’ Donuts on South Colony Road. Jason Zandri said that he was able to raise nearly $200 Friday morning before he collected the $2,500 check from the Rev. Will Marotti. Zandri said additional donations were collected at the Stop & Shop in town.

Dickinson said it was good that Zandri raised the money in time and applauded the successful effort. Dickinson said the town would begin to appropriate the money and plan for the show. He said the check was delivered to Town Hall about 2:30 p.m. Friday.

While Zandri has made the deadline each of the last two years, it hasn’t been easy. In 2010, Choate’s $5,000 donation pushed the fund past its $30,000 goal. This year, the money wasn’t raised until the eleventh hour. Even though fundraising efforts started earlier this year — and the group earned 501(c)(3) status, making its donations tax deductible — Zandri said it wasn’t until the last few weeks that the checks started rolling in.

Zandri said he hopes to get more volunteers next year, and that the current group of himself, his father and Fishbein “isn’t sustainable.” He said he hopes to form a committee next year to help better coordinate the effort.

Fishbein said that the group’s three fundraisers — a dinner, a concert and a movie matinee — didn’t draw many people from the community. Fishbein attributed the success to a number of small donations and “grassroots fundraising and going door to door.”

Fishbein said he doesn’t foresee the town providing taxpayer dollars for the event in the near future, and that residents should get used to chipping in for the fireworks.

“I’ve said all along, this event is for the people, by the people,” Fishbein said. “If the residents of the town want this event, then they should volunteer.”

The fireworks are scheduled for July 2 at 9 p.m.