Woodstock CT Café

This is a work in progress Please see additions and corrections at the bottom of this article

“Why are we raising the Town operating budget – padded with unnecessary items and pet projects – in a time when the electorate has asked for a reduction in their taxation? “

There were very few people at the Board of Finance’s Public Hearing last night (May 02) at the Middle School. From what I understand, there probably weren’t more than fifty people and most of them were town hall employees or members of various boards. The actual head count of the public attending probably wouldn’t have used up all of one’s fingers and toes.

In a general and quick perusal of the stack of handouts available at the back table of the meeting left me with lots of questions.

The first is confusing: Why are there TWO capital improvement schedules? One was on white paper (accompanied by a power point presentation) and the other on yellow paper. The white papered plan is titled the “CIP Management Plan – May 2006�. The yellow-papered plan is titled “Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan�, dated 05/02/06 Public Hearing. Everything on the ‘bond list’ of the white-papered plan is also on the yellow-papered plan. Ironically there are in the neighborhood of $1.8 Million dollars of items on the yellow-papered list that are not included on the formal presentation of the white-papered plan. What’s up with that??? There is no explanation accompanying these two items that would rectify the differences.

By the way, there is $350K for a Park and Recreation Soccer Field. On the white-papered plan it doesn’t note that this figure is only an estimate, as it does on the yellow-papered plan… which is where it is noted that this field is to be built at the Hawkins Road site. This site needs remediation, as determined three or four years ago by the previous Recreation Fields Committee. The $350K is not a real estimate, it’s a fantasy. Does anybody remember what remediation cost was quoted to us by the old committee? Read the rest of this entry »

This website has devolved into alot of whining losers. I thought this website was supposed to be blind and yet when I write under “interested” someone has to say that I am “the Swami”. The Town of Woodstock has had dirty politics for years, everyone in the area outside knows this. Anyone who gets involved with you morons has to be out of their mind. I know from personal experience how deceptive, lying and miserable you people truly are.

Education in Woodstock has been a joke for a long time and rather expensive for such poor results. The Citizens are divided between those who question Education and those who worship at the Education altar and only believe spending unlimited amounts of money is the answer. This last group usually has children in the system or a job on the school’s payroll. Woodstock is a middle class town with alot of Seniors and low/middle income families with children. You seem to think that Woodstockers are stupid, uninformed, manipulated masses who don’t know what they are doing. Fortunately, they are none of the above and don’t buy into the Special Interest group that is represented on this website. You people should be ashamed of yourselves and start taking responsibility by questioning your own school system. Every time I question Education, it results in personal attacks and changing the subject by going after the Town side of the Budget. The First Selectmans’ income did not jump by alot as one of you has said, it has been going up the same amount as other Town Hall positions. All you want is to get your way. You seem to think that a Town Charter with one of your hired stooge, called a Town Manager, will solve your problems and get you what you want. It won’t. Read the rest of this entry »