A Reflective Look at the BOE Superintendent's Recommended Budget from You Know Who.

Okay - I've looked at the Superintendent's Recommended Budget by Major Object Categories and have several comments and questions.  I would like to have further information or perhaps the amounts changed prior to the adoption of the budget.

My first problem is with the salaries; there is one line item for all positions under each category that does not indicate the number of bodies.  As a long time union officer, in the past it was difficult to determine the actual number of "legally" hired employees and "temporary" employees.  The line item for Adult Ed Classified salaries shows only $43,760 however there are at least 4 positions listed in the literature from the Adult Ed department so from line item are the positions being paid from?

The line item for Purchased Services has been increased from $893,910 to $3,238,591, an increase of $2,344,681, and according to the Patch article this is for Sodexo for food services management, waste removal and other services.  In the past, I believe that the cafeteria services were under a separate budget and not included in the general BOE budget?? Also, unless these are NEW services, one would expect to see reductions in other lines to offset this increase which I do.  However, the reductions that I see only total $1,647,515 which is $697,166 less than the increase??

I realize that this is the initial request for the coming year but I believe that the BOE needs to do a better job of substantiating their request.  More detail would only reduce the questions and go a long way in gaining support.

Corruption, Ellen, St. Francis and other Rublings or Who Got Paid for Midnight on Main.

Rumblings Part II

Holy Smokes! Joe forgot to back in the 'ole' boy.

Corruption in the Public Sector-  Are we talking about the famous Community Health Center run by Ernst Starvo Blofeld  or in this case Mark “I love my bowtie” Masselli.  This man  banks a lot of capital on your dime folks?

That’s right the taxpayaers of this fine city are paying for Mark’s  trips to the Olympics and other festivals all in the name of  WHAT?  Why did he have to go to TIBET or the Olympics? Let’s get real.  Perhaps he was finding medical supplies for the CHC in the mountains of TIBET or getting hockey puck samples at the winter Olympics.  

The spin has already started, in the commentary section of The Insider and  other fine (biased) blogs in town a few folks wrote to say:

  “Mark started a company many years ago to help those  in need that need health care.” 

Really?  Did he use his own money to do that or did he create a non-profit company that allowed him to be tax exempt and award himself a huge salary of his own.?  You know the answer to that one folks.  BIG BUCKS

The only way to expose this type of corruption is from the outside or to utilize people who are not involved in the magical circle of public sector corruption. Translation: bring in The Untouchables.

The problem with public sector corruption is that everyone who is in a position to clean it up has to get his or her own hands dirty to get there. That's the "dirty little secret". Everyone is dirty, so nobody can blow the whistle without being implicated themselves. Which is why the light has to be shined from the outside, i.e. The Insider.

SAFER GRANT- Remember how Dan Drew was all overthe Italian mayor about hiring cops when he debated Giuliano a few years back? Drew in fact railed against Giuliano for not taking the SAFER grant!  One reason Giuliano did not pursue SAFER was because the City would then have to cover the total sum of the salaries of the new law enforcement hired under the grantonce the grant ran out after two years. Well, it seems Drew is doing the old cop shuffle himself.  The boy king who backs into his stall, has opted out of keeping on the SAFER grants, a program that will allow Middletown to hire a few extra Police and Firemen.  If one goes back and views the three debates, Dan mentioned numerous times that our city needed more cops and emergency management personnel and he would be the 'man' to deliver those folks to Middletown.  On April 4, 2013 the tides have changed and Drew is quietly letting the SAFER grant go without hiring anybody new in fire and police.   I can see the comments now, “A SAFER grant only pays for an employee for two years and then the town is on its own and has to come with said employee's salary.” So what! Dan Drew promised to bring in more cops and said he would get the job done.  I think not.  He also promised to lower taxes.  Spin that one, High Street doorknockers!

Random Thoughts-  Perhaps the people that are suing the city after the double whammy denial at the Planning and Zoning Committee should focus on a few important issues that are plaguing the town:

A)   Villagers, please help the food pantry- Those people really need help, but yet, most of  you like the MK-Ultra Zombies that you are want to please your master and help Blue House LLC make money.  Think about it, why couldn’t the master pay for the anti-Middletown lawyer himself?  He has the money, but  he wants you, the MK-ULTRA followers to pay the money for his Kurtz like journey into madness.   

B)  Perhaps the village district can get together and send Ellen DeGeneres a letter and request that she stop dancing on the program. Enough is enough.

C)   Question of the day:  What notable (rich) members of the  Middletown elite were paid for their services on New Year’s Eve at the Middnight on Main event?   The town elders were yapping about “giving it up for the community” or stating that , “being a volunteer is a great thing,” while taking city money for the event. The liberal rich get richer:  I love the smell of fresh MOOLA in the morning! Money that is! There' a lot of money in liberalism. Don't deny it ED4ED or MM.

D)   Token Republican- The roster of the Riverfront Task Force has been announced  and according to the April 2, 2013 published committee  brief, only one member of the Republican Party is allowed in the room.  Former Deputy Mayor and Suzanne Vega fan (R) Joseph Bibsi (the Garrett Morris of the group) will join Richard Pellitier, Mike Gaudino, Dan Russo and others on this important commission, er I mean Task Force, in order to complete important tasks.

E)    Drunk Driving is a bad thing, please don’t do it.

F)   The Middletown Board of Education has voted to privatize their cafeterias. Perhaps now, we can get the kids to eat some fruit! Ketchup doesn’t count.

G)  Development Design Review- Bob Landino ‘s case is coming up and it seems that 3 of  the 6 members will not be voting for a variety or reasons. Conflict of interest baby! The number one overused excuse not to show up. Let's  take a stance on the Landino issue.  I still love how the mayor of the town is 100% in support of Landino, but yet the village people district zombies continue to ignore this.  He's the enemy folks! Wake up.

H)   Did Dan Drew really compare himself to King Solmon and St Francis of Assisi in the recent budget address?  Rumor has it that Drew had Joe Somolis, his designated car parker to taste his food thrice daily.  The other day the Mayor's CD player broke and Joe had to ride shotgun and rap the entire side 1 of Dr. Dre's The Chronic while helmet head dove the MN1 car around Wesleyan Hills.  "Everything going to be alright, yep, yeah, protect the gov, yeah, f- th 2nd amendment."

I)    Earl V. Roberts still wants to run for something in the fall.

J)    What happened to NEAT?  Did their funding really dry up? Mark, come on can you spare them some loose change? Stupid Question.

K)  Coleman’s Carnival showed up and it didn’t rain.  Is that a pig flying?  Rumor has it hell recently froze over as well.

L)   Who does more for the community Fred Carroll or Mark Masselli? Answer: Fred, hands down!
M) Hats off to BOE member Ryan Kennedy: Board member Ryan Kenney objected to the redistricting of Macdonough on the grounds that the board would have to revisit the issue again in the fall. "This is a very temporary fix to a very permanent problem." said Kennedy. 

N) Wesleyan’s new (lack of) ethnicity policy- This is true folks! The Wesleyan Security Officers are not allowed to use color to describe anybody doing anything remotely suspicious on campus. If someone is carjacking you in the Usdan lot, the cops can’t say, “All units be on the look of a white male, 5 feet 7 inches with glasses.”  The Wes security will have to say: “All units be on the look out for a male 5 feet 7 inches with glasses.”  What's next leaving gender and hair color out of physical descriptions too? This is the stupidest thing I have heard of in town.
o) Complete Streets Report only has 3 out of 56 pages that aren't common sense fluff  that actually talk about pedestrian/bike issues in Middletown specifically. Oh yeah and a color coded map that the city pz department probably could have done in an afternoon. Good theories, but no real plans! Yup, taxpayers paid the professional consultants $20,000 for this 6th grade level book report that took a year to complete!
P)  Margaret Thatcher said "There is no public money, only taxpayer money." And on that note another wise person once said: "Grants are the institutional equivalent of prostitution. The "John" (ie the institution paying the grant) offers payment to any "hooker" (eg. a city, a school district, a non profit) who will perform specific act or acts. And we all know how well that ends. R.I.P Iron Lady.

Q)  Where the hell is the streaming for municipal meetings that was supposed to be finalized a few months back?  Now, that may be the stupidest thing I have heard of in town. Imagine expecting the town to fulfill any objective on time, that’s like ED4ED actually making a difference on the board or education.

Apple, Oranges & BOE Budget Hikes

 While the proposed Board of Education budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year makes some budget cuts to try and balance the books, areas when increases spending is called for is presented in  misleading ways. The proposed budget has an increase of 7.8% which is sure to raise the mil rate significantly for tax payers when coupled  Mayor Drew's budget calling for City increases in spending.  A link to the BOE budget is below, which was NOT available before the BOE's meeting on Tuesday. Unlike the Frechette budgets of legend, this budget is somewhat broken down, but still not a transparent  detailed line by line item budget many tax payers have called for.

 BOE Budget can be read here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1OYjxtLEgUwaGNXN1JMckk5RVE/edit
Why is this budget so high & why will taxes go up?Apples & Oranges Logic: Dr. Charles told various media  that the increase is partly caused by "technology". Note that technology acquisitions are normally considered capital acquisitions. The law makes a distinction between a school district's operating funds, over which it has virtually unlimited discretion and control, and capital purchases, which are subject to local (i.e., the Common Council) control.

With all due respect to the Superintendent, you're being snookered here - even if it's unintentional. A capital expenditure is one that happens intermittently, not annually. It's the difference between buying a computer, which will have an extended life expectancy, and paying a teacher's salary, which is an ongoing, operational obligation. Giving the BOE money to buy computer equipment will unnecessarily raise the City's MBR obligation, so don't fall for it!
 
A better solution will be for the City to purchase the equipment, optimally through the City's IT Department which, coincidentally, is proposed by the Mayor (déjà vu to when Mayor Giuliano who FIRST proposed this which was shot down by the Democratic controlled council) to assume BOE operations.

Good Question: "Why doesn't the BOE just show us the books?" Answer: THEY DON'T HAVE TO.

A much loved reader The Blue Cat asked an intelligent question in our comments section the Insider would like to address. " Why doesn't the BOE Administration just show the public the accounting books?" We don't mean to pick on you kitty cat, its a really good question; good for you for taking an interest in where your tax money goes. Many have asked this over and over in various letters to the media and statements given and its a fair question answered below. 

"Rumor Disney to make movie about Nancy Haynes & Middletown BOE!"

2 Comments - Show Original PostCollapse comments

 The Blue Cat said...

It is clear that the BOE had over-spent their special education budget. They did it two years in a row.

Thing is.. thats the norm. And normally there is a grant check that covers a lot of that expenditure. Problem is.. the City used that money without BOE permission. Should the City have done that. No. Did the BOE overspend their budget? Yeah. Thats what happened.

But in the end the city has to fund the BOE no less then the year before. And all of this is over two institutions sharing money. For a few years they have been getting less from the state and the spat between Guiliano and "Evil BOE Empire" didn't help the sharing process.

Now I do have my doubts about some of the accounting practices at the BOE. It appears that some things are left in the dark. Why cant we get a "completely detailed receipt" from the BOE? Isn't that a fair request?

Either way we all have to pay for it.

March 4, 2012 10:22 PM

 Middletown Insider said...

Thank you thank you for the question Blue Cat! in a nutshell here is the answer...

I have to correct you a a few points Blue Cat- the City did not spend the BOE's money. The City told Haynes it was not going to receive the grant money from the State and she and the administration played dumb and kept spending anyway. Mind you, she and all the admins got raises, not a single teacher did. In fact students have been sent home with supply "wish lists." SO the City never had the money. Chalking this up to Giuliano having a spat is inaccurate and unfair and a rumor perpetuated by some of the local Democrats. Again not all, newly elected are doing a fine job asking the right questions. Frechette actively campaigned for Tom Serra and Dan Drew so you have to see that connection. This set the stage for any questioning of Frechette by anyone in public office from either party to have the preconceived connotation of being strictly politically motivated.The crew enlisted  the help of Wesleyan student Dem presidents Ben Florsheim and Gabriela D'Golia who  accused Giuliano supporters of felony voter intimidation. Employees employed by the City working as aids, janitors, secretaries etc have filed numerous grievances citing real mistreatment, discrimination, and unlawful practices by the BOE administration that has gone unnoticed for years. The then Mayor trying to remedy this only to find no communication on the part of the BOE admin namely Frechette is anything but a spat. (So Giuliano took the BOE Administration to court, which the public  grossly misunderstood. Dan Drew ran his campaign on the premise "end the lawsuits save money", and badda bing badda boom, gets elected, no more lawsuits basically giving Frechette carte blanche to continue the madness of the BOE acting like a soverign nation and he the big Chief.)  The only instance of this gross mistreatment of workers, out of dozens, that made the Press was when cafe workers and janitors were not paid for 2 months for the hours they worked at the storm shelter. The only person to blame for this is Michael Frechette. How would you feel if your boss told you he was not going to pay you money you were owed for 2 months? Wrong and illegal but it happened!

By law, which no one seems to understand is the BOE Administration does not have to show line items or be transparent. THATS THE LAW. So if they don't have to all the cries of transparency, talking, hugging, sharing "fair request" will continue to fall on deaf ears. It is not or never was a matter of the BOE and Mayor Giuliano being stubborn, its a matter of the fact Frechette and Haynes by law do not have to show the public the books, and therefore won't. By standing up Blue Cat, we as tax payers do not have to pay for it. Some people have jobs illegally (Haynes) and some people got huge raises (Frechette & Senges) and and mileage- that certainly will cover a lot of the million deficit. Also did you forget Frechette gifted Datco a magic bio-diesel or something school bus a year ago? He spent what he called a $100,000.00 overage!

The Insider pulled the contracts of Frechette and Haynes, and there is not exit clause. Frechette's 3 year contract auto-renews in its second year. Therefore he is always in his second year of three, employed for life. However, contrary to rumors there is no buy out. A vote of no confidence on the part of the elected BOE board would give Frechette, the Insider feels, the much deserved boot. (hint hint) Frechette was the highest paid public employee of Middletown the past two years; his salary is comparable with other superintendents around the state, however, they do their jobs without making headlines- they do not have scream rooms or deficits of a million dollars. Haynes was hired last spring, however, did not sign her contract until August. Why? And, remind you, she was hired illegally as the State has since ruled. Now, the position will be filled again, and taxpayers will be paying for Haynes's salary and that of a person duplicating her duties. Have you ever seen "The Shining" where the twins come down the hall ? Yeah....double the pleasure, double the fun.

One would think if there was nothing to hide the books would be public, however, so far it hasn't happened, and I wouldn't hold my breath. The Insider says if we had a dollar for everytime Mayor Drew says "communication" or "transparency" the million dollar deficit would have been long paid by now. By law, the BOE does not have to give the public a "detailed receipt", which everyone and their mother has asked for over and over, therefore it will never happen.

Blue Cat you are right in the fact by our charter herein known as "Our Stupid Charter," taxpayers must fund the BOE no less than the previous year, therefore the deficit is in fact compounded. This is possibly how DEAL and Special Education got shafted. Oh Our Stupid Charter.

**Correction: according to State Law- the BOE  must provide no less funding than the year before.** Apologies for the misinformation. Also a better choice of words is that our Charter is confusing rather than stupid.

Anyone else who would like to submit a question please do! The Insider is here to answer!