Woodstock CT Café

Sherri Vogt and ‘Disillusioned� both rightly questioned the level of visitation to the Café after seeing the low number of responses to the polls that we have set up. This is a reasonable question to ask. In fact we ask this question everyday. All blogs have a stat counter that reports the number of unique visitors based on the recognition of “internet protocol� or IP address (four sets of numbers separated by dots that are assigned by the host server). If you activate the ‘headers’ in your email box you can see these IP codes. For the most part these are anonymous IP codes but we have noticed that they rarely change for users of certain types of servers. There’s a whole science to understanding this phenomenon that is not the point of this article. The fact is that blog sites record the numbers of clicks for page turns and the number of unique visitors based upon unique IP addresses as a measure of activity. This is how these polls limit voting to one time over a certain time range.

At this minute our poll on how many visitors attend Town meetings has a measly 36 votes but the poll has only been up for a week. I took a look at CT Local Politics (see link in the right column of links), a statewide blog that has been heavily promoted by the Hartford Courant and WTIC. At the same time the Villager doesn’t acknowledge the Café, even though they visit us a lot, and Woodstock citizens only whisper about us in Town meetings. Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Chuckles (referring to Comments 11 & 12 between Chuckles and Kiddinunot made on February 12th under this article, Admin),
You said, “Frank Baran and his staff counts crayonsâ€?… You said, “You obviously have never looked at the school budget”…
So, I ask you… How many “crayons” does the school system have? If you don’t know, you’ve obviously never LOOKED at the school budget much less attended any BOE meetings.
Now, this post is not going to address numerous line items in the proposed 07-08 budget. I think I’ll shoot for something a bit simpler…just so you can keep up.
I’d like to address something that has to do with the actual “spending” that is done. What, you say? Yep, good old run of the mill stuff. You know… the stuff that just falls beneath a “broad” headliner like, say, TECHNOLOGY.
As well versed as you claim to be in the “crayon counting”, I’d still like to offer up some food for thought and, hopefully, an invigorating discussion.
Before I do, I just want anyone else who is reading this to know that I am not bashing our schools. To the contrary, I am one of its biggest supporters. However, with all the mud-slinging that goes on (one side of the fence to the other) I feel that in the interest of parity, one must visit both sides of the fence. For me, that means that there is no “blind eye” turned to the details for benefit of whatever soapbox I might be perched upon.
If we, blindly, follow those who lead or support our cause without question… can we honestly say that we’re “rightâ€?? Just because THEY SAID SO? Read the rest of this entry »

Interesting debate about whether to convert from a City Council/City Manager system to a Mayor in New London. There will be a referendum on this switch in two weeks.

Dr. Andrews does make at least one good point and I’ll deal with that later in the post. I do however have several problems with the essay:

- Most of his evidence is anecdotal in nature. He finds a few individuals such as Dr. Tannenbaum who noticed some “quid pro quos� in her experience and and he then uses her comment to make a sweeping generalization about all school districts. He runs into a similar problem with his corruption charge on “many� suburban schools. How many is many? We don’t know because his stated evidence only consists of one concrete example and some people with suspicions.

- I’m not sure the current real estate slump will produce the gloom and doom scenario for property taxes that he paints. The market tends to be cyclical. The fact that we are in a downturn is predictable but when it comes to smaller rural towns like Woodstock they are unlikely to drop into a huge slump when they never shot through the roof in the first place. Other community’s mileage may vary. Of course like all cyclical events it will reverse.

- He includes parochial schools in the mix to state that the per pupil cost for private schools is lower. Given that those schools are usually subsidised by their parent churches there will be a problem if everyone starts sending their kids to parochial schools. That is they will have to expand their facilities and staff and so the level of donation for the respective churches will need to go up to meet the increased demand. The point being that when you add in parochial schools you are not counting the donation based subsidies and thus not doing an apples to apples comparison. Additionally sending your child to parochial school is also most likely only a valid option if there is one in your area that matches your religious beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »

I was reviewing information from last year’s budget season when I ran across a copy of an article from the Yankee Institute for Public Policy. I was reminded that I had intended to check out their site on the web, but never had. Having access to information on the internet is a great way to explore an issue and the ability to examine so many different facets and perspectives is an advantage in intellectual process.

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy http://www.yankeeinstitute.com/main/ states its motto as “Creating New Ideas for Better Government and Lower Taxes in Connecticut�.

As for any information source, I tend to peruse, process and then try to analyze. The newest publication on their main page seemed intriguing, “Free College for High School Students� http://www.yankeeinstitute.org/files/pdf/72461%20Free%20College%20Complete2.pdf. Essentially, it poses that a savings could be seen by encouraging high school students to complete their graduation requirements in three years to then go on to a community college with a $5,000 scholarship from the district. Given that our high school tuition is approximately $10K a year, if just ten students took advantage of this opportunity, the district could save $50,000.

I don’t think this is an idea that would work if it were applied on a grand scale because there just wouldn’t be enough slots at the community colleges for such an increase in population. However, on a smaller scale it might be able to bring some relief for individual communities. At first blush it does seem a reasonable idea. Read the rest of this entry »

Quoting Colin McEnroe in the Hartford Courant today “Blogging does not always show its best face, but when it does, I think it closely resembles the vision Thomas Jefferson had of America – an informed and spirited people who would care for one another and act decisively to safeguard their own liberties.

â€?The best way to make this happen, (Jefferson) said, would be to ‘illuminate, as far as practicable, the minds of the people at large, and more especially to give them knowledge of those facts which history exhibits, that possessed thereby of the experience of other ages and countries, they may be enabled to know ambition under all its shapes, and prompt to exert their natural powers to defeat its purposes.’ ”

There were three articles published in the Hartford Courant today (Feb. 25th, 2007) on the current state of blogging and its value, by Colin McEnroe, Melissa Ryan (aka “Caffeinated Geek Girl�) and Chris Bigelow (aka “Genghis Conn�). The Café administrators encourage Café readers to read these three articles by Ryan, McEnroe, and Bigelow in that order. Links to these articles are as follows:

Melissa Ryan’s article
Colin McEnrow’s article
Chris Bigelow’s article

Both McEnroe and Genghis Conn have visited the Café Read the rest of this entry »

See the Cafe Polls Section Above

I have never attended a Town meeting and after reading the transcript of Tuesday’s Special Town meeting I realized why. There is little leadership and virtually no organization or order in these assemblies. As I read the article below I was able to conclude that the First Selectman was the facilitator of chaos. As far as I could tell, the meeting was never properly called to order, nor was the meeting officially concluded. Throughout the meeting, there was a complete lack of decorum.
Decorum could be obtained, maintained and sustained in Town meetings if the First Selectman, backed up by the remaining Selectman and Town Clerk, adhered strictly to “Rules of Orderâ€? such as “Robert’s Rules of Orderâ€?. The Table of Contents to the full text of Robert’s Rules of Order, and its full text, can be found at the following link: http://www.robertsrules.org/rror–00.htm .
I suggest that Woodstock adopt such rules of order and demand that if these rules are broken that the Town Constable or the State Police should be asked to remove the unruly participants. I believe it was last year the Selectman Eaffy proposed that Woodstock hire a Resident Town Trooper. The justification for having a resident trooper was not persuasive. I now see more than enough justification for having a Resident Town Trooper. Role #1 for the Resident Town Trooper would be to help maintain decorum in Town meetings under the guidance of “Robert’s Rules of Order�.
Woodstock will continue to wallow in management & leadership mediocrity if order cannot be reinstated in Town meetings… and continue to maintain its image as the laughing stock of the State. More than anything, this lack of rules of order and their enforcement in Town meetings is responsible for the disinterest and poor attendance by Town taxpayers, and the rise of the CPS cadre of shouters.
How to call the meeting to order:When the hour appointed Read the rest of this entry »

Special Town Meeting
of February 20th, 2007
Woodstock Town Hall – 7:30 pm

Also see the outcome of last night’s town meeting as described in the Norwich Bull.

There was no official call to order of the meeting. The meeting was started a few minutes late when the First Selectman (MW) read a letter from the town’s attorneys, Updike, Kelly and Spellacy in regards to the Special Town Meetings Questions.

The letter is as follows:

Dear Margaret:

You have asked that I review the two questions that have been submitted to the Special Town Meeting of February 20, 2007. They are:

1. All Town expenditures of $100,000 or more, upon being submitted to a Town Meeting shall be submitted to a referendum.

2. All Town bonding or borrowing of any kind must be submitted to a referendum.

Although a board of selectmen is required to warn a town meeting on petition of twenty inhabitants qualified to vote; General Statutes § 7-1; there is no duty to warn a meeting pursuant to such a petition unless the board is reasonably certain that the object of the petition is lawful and proper. Lyon v. Rice, 41 Conn. 245,248-49 and 251 (1847); State ex rel. Feiglv Raacke, 32 Conn. Supp. 237, 240-241 (Conn. Super. Ct. 1975). Thus, the legality of the proposed questions is an important threshold issue.

Our research has raised substantial questions regarding whether the proposals set forth in the petition are lawful and proper. It is well established that “a municipality, as a creation of the state, has no inherent powers of its own, and has only those powers expressly granted to it by the state or that are necessary for it to discharge its duties and carry out its purposes.� Ganin v. Smith & Wesson Corp., 258 Conn.313,367 (2001); Windham Taxpayers Assn. v. Board of Selectmen, 234 Conn. 513, 529, 662 A.2d 1281 (1995).

Towns operating under the General Statutes may, but are not required to, establish a board of finance pursuant to § 7-340. Once such a board is established under § 7-340, the statutory process to approve appropriations and expend public funds applies and must be followed. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-340 and § 7-344.

Woodstock, as you know, has established a board of finance. The proposed referendum questions, if adopted, may intrude on the statutory powers and functions of the Woodstock Board of Finance in ways that are not authorized by the General Statutes. Therefore, we cannot offer our opinion at this time that the proposed referendum questions, if adopted, are permissible.

In our view, it would not be prudent to proceed until such questions have been answered. We therefore suggest that the Woodstock Special Town Meeting adjourn to a date certain to permit us to resolve the issue of the legality of the proposals.

Very truly yours, Robert M. DeCrescenzo, Esq. Town Attorney

MW: There are two issues about expenditures and about borrowing of any kind. Read the rest of this entry »

Your preference for the use of pseudonyms – Take the Cafe Poll

Several weeks ago I listened to Mike Alberts respond to an anonymous caller on WINY who asked about the prospects for repeal or modification of Proposition 46. Mike’s answer was abrupt and succinct. Mike responded emphatically “The people have spoken!� I’m sure Mike was referring to the two referendums to repeal or modify Proposition 46.

My immediate reaction to Mike’s response was that he just wasn’t going to touch the subject. It was as though he did not want to over-complicate his life and his future candidacy by having that discussion. I concluded that the purpose of Mike’s now routine interviews on WINY are to cement his relationship with the District 50 voters who narrowly elected him in the previous two elections. Thus he wanted only to speak the language of the perceived majority without jeopardizing or complicating his role and candidacy as a State Representative. Therefore, there was no elaboration on issues surrounding the implementation of Prop 46. For example, there could have been discussion about ‘interpretation’ (used loosely here) of Prop 46 by the Board of Finance. Furthermore our First Selectman, Ms. Wholean, also expressed the concept “It’s the will of the people!â€? in her response in the Villager to a chastising letter of the Democratic Town Committee. She clearly had decided not to jeopardize her future candidacy for First Selectman by discussing this controversial subject openly and intelligently. Read the rest of this entry »

So now how to pay for what the town needs? I really don’t know, nor do I have any great answers. What I do know is everyside that has a dog in this fight, will fight, with everything they have. Has anyone really stepped back and said, “What is in the best interest of the town?”

My observations are: Gov. Jodi Rell’s new budget, if enacted, will take some towns budgets by surprise. Proposing to eliminate the motor vechicle tax takes the “local” taxable revenues. It lets the state determine what’s in the towns best interest by the state money grants sent back to the towns in the form of education grants and to shore up the teachers pension fund. Then up goes the income tax to finance all the state budgets. (You listening, Mike Alberts and all the others?) This is one items that needs to be addressed pronto. I personally am against a state income tax to begin with. Read the rest of this entry »

We have found a way to poll our readers. We’d like to run a ‘test’. Please ‘vote’ on the poll below. You can choose one answer and will only be able to vote once. We are still working out the frequency that we will be using this feature. We do have the option of multiple answer selections and up to 20 answers. Feel free to comment on this poll, the idea of polls in general, and MAKE SUGGESTIONS for future polls. Please go to the hot link below to participate. VOTING IS COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS. Thanks – Admin Troix

Your town meeting attendence habits:Take the Cafe Poll

Agenda for last night’s town meeting

“Pursuant to a certified Petition filed by electors of the Town of Woodstock, the Woodstock Board of Selectmen hereby give notice that a special town meeting of the electors and citizens qualified to vote in town meetings of the Town of Woodstock, Connecticut will be held at Woodstock Town Hall, 415 Route 169, Woodstock, Connecticut on February 20, 2007 at 7:30 p.m.

The Special Town Meeting will be held to consider the following actions and to vote on the following resolutions:

1.) To choose a Moderator; and

2.) To discuss and vote upon a resolution adopting an ordinance to require that all Town expenditures of $100,000 or more, upon being submitted to a Town Meeting shall be submitted to a referendum; and

3.) To discuss and vote upon a resolution adopting an ordinance requiring that all Town bonding or borrowing of any kind must be submitted to a referendum; and

4.) To adjourn.

Dated at Woodstock, Connecticut, this 6th day of February 2007.

BOARD OF SELECTMEN /s/Margaret A. Wholean, First Selectman, /s/Delpha M. Very, Selectman

Attest: Judy W. Alberts, Town Clerk”

Town Meetings Are Not Enough

Plenty of people have offered their opinions on the benefits/drawbacks of Town Meetings. I would like to add mine. There are obvious benefits to multi-party discussions, and the give & take of debate… but without some expansion of communication & voting via technology…those of us who are operating either nationally (or internationally)…are excluded from the process. I am not available to participate in this upcoming meeting. The town does not get the benefit from our input, nor is the town taking into account a significant portion of Woodstock’s population. I would like to see a “town hall” debate via a website similar to www. woodstockctcafe.com…with the selectmen, board of finance, etc. and other individuals communicating electronically…with a moderator (again….selected by the participants)…and believe we could even tally a legitimate “vote”. If this virtual “town hall” meeting ran for a week…it would provide sufficient bandwidth to allow anyone in town to participate. “Electronic” voting could then be implemented- via the internet. Obviously…this system would not be used to sentence people to death…or be a substitue for regulated elections…but for the majority of “special town meeting” issues…it would definitely serve the public much better. As it stands now…town meetings tend to attract only those that are linked to special interests groups in the town, or have close economic interests in the town….which includes both the democrats & republicans. Every community needs to address these issues….or we will never even begin to solve our problems. Ken Rapoport

Jeff fights back. See his comment below.

Congratulations to Academy wrestlers, Zack Wetzel and Zeb Levine, for taking 3rd place in their respective weight classes at the state championships this last weekend. In the 135 lb. weight class Zeb Levine of Woodstock defeated Dan Oquendo of Windham 10-3. Then in the 140 lb. Zach Wetzel of Woodstock defeated Jared Marshall of Avon 4-3. Also see Current WA Student’s comment under “Why do I have to Talk to My Kid About This?”

Joe’s Comment

Many of you folks wonder why a majority of our taxpayers cling to prop 46. I agree that many do not quite understand it, but what they do understand is that it helps keep the BOE and Dr. Baran in check. Once again this man has come forward with another 10%+ increase in the school budget. One item sought is a tutor for “English as a second Language�!!! COME ON!

Perhaps Mr. Baran and the BOE know that this budget will be beaten for sure so that they end up with what they really need. Hopefully it won’t be anywhere near a 10% increase. I can assure you all that 10% won’t fly.

Spoilin’s Response

Mr. Klusek, in stating that “10% won’t flyâ€? as an increase in the Board of Education’s budget, are you speaking for yourself, for some group of individuals or a political party for whom you are the authorized spokesman, or are you portending to speak for all registered voters in Woodstock? If it’s the latter, let’s be clear. YOU DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME. And while you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, it’s simply that – your opinion. Finally, if you’re speaking as the designated spokesman for a group or a political party, then put the reference out there.

It’s almost as bad as an individual (E S.J) at the selectman meeting two weeks ago making reference to “the peopleâ€? every time he spoke about a proposed referendum on requiring referendum votes for purchases over $100,000. Such arrogance. Who are these people of whom he spoke? Was it 2 people, or a thousand? Do they have names? Are they willing to step forward and be included in his mob? Are they real or imaginary? I certainly know I wasn’t one of them – but I digress.

Personally, I can’t say that I’ve already made up my mind, as I haven’t yet seen and reviewed the details of the budget. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think the Board of Finance approaches our budgeting procedure from a responsible position. Let me be perfectly clear, I am making no allegations of malicious intent. I believe that their approach to the budget has become an accepted practice due to repetition, not because it is an industry standardized operating procedure.

I am disappointed that the BOF continues to fail to address the ‘will of the people’ in developing the budget each year, in affect either trying to pretend to adhere to the spending restrictions of Prop 46 or disingenuously trying to increase programs and services to the cost of state mandated requirements.

Perhaps, the BOF doesn’t understand the gravity of their fiduciary responsibility, or they mistakenly believe the true intent of Prop 46 is only to keep taxes low, or they are not able to properly prioritize between the different obligations, needs and wants of Woodstock. I can only hope that we are witnessing nothing darker than how easy it is to let precedent rule the process without reason. Read the rest of this entry »

Board of Selectmen
Working Budget Meetings
Selectmen’s Conference Room

February 20th

5:00 pm – Highway Department/Transfer Station/Fuel Depot – Dwight Ryniewicz
6:00 pm – Camp Nahaco – Mike Bartlett & Mike Bernardi
6:30 pm – Woodstock Fire Protection Association – Michael Dougherty

February 21st

5:00 pm – Planning & Zoning – Gail Dickenson
6:00 pm – Northeast District Dept. of Health – Pat Beckenhauph & Pat McManus
6:30 pm – IWWA – Charlie Snow
7:00 pm – Libraries – Pat Pelloth, Priscilla Cady & Mary Weaver
8:00 pm – Quassett School Committee – George Looby

February 23, 2007

10:30 am – Town Planner – Delia Fey
11:00 am – Northeast Commission Against Substance Abuse – Robert Brex
11:20 am – Constable – Joe McGrady
12:30 pm – Insurance/Employee Benefits, Town Hall, Data Processing – Donna Stefanik
Town Beach, Town Counsel/Benzene Cleanup Project & BOS – Margaret Wholean Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday, 2/12/07, the Cafe had 263 visitors and 667 page turns.

Jodi Rell surprised Republicans and Democrats by announcing her tax plan for the coming fiscal year 2007/2008. She proposed to increase the state income tax by 10% for the coming year followed by similar increases over the next 5 years. As this affects Woodstock taxpayers, the plan is intended to increase state funding of our education system and provide property tax relief. In theory, if this plan is implemented, our property taxes should be held in check while our state income tax should rise. In presenting this plan, Rell restated her belief that our education system is an investment in not only our children, but also in the future economic well-being of our state (I could not agree more). Her plan also provides funding for healthcare coverage for low income families through the Charter Oak healthcare plan that provides medical coverage for state employees. To implement her entire plan, Rell will have to raise the funding cap that currently limits increases in state spending.

‘a taxpayer’ has a very good point below. Property tax money stays in town; some or most income tax money may go elsewhere. Also, see Lucida’s comment about the impact of eliminating the car tax.

The political response to this plan was perhaps predictable. Joe De Stefano’s office (Rell’s Democratic opposition for governor in the recent election) stated succinctly that Rell “deserves an A.â€? The office further stated something to the effect that they did not know that Rell had the courage to do this. Senate minority leader, DeLuca (Republican from Woodbury) said that he doubted that a single Republican would support this proposal. The Democrats (the majority) were surprised, perplexed, and perhaps jealous of Rell’s plan. Read the rest of this entry »