Middletown Charter Revisions: Public Hearing to Night & What You Should Know!

The Common Council will vote tonight on revisions to Middletown's Charter. The public is encouraged to speak at the public hearing tonight at 7 pm at City Hall. The Charter Revision Commission, after a series of public meetings, narrowed down 29 possible changes, to 14 changes to the existing Charter. The draft report can be read here: The final report can be read here:
Bottom line folks, its your money, its your right to know & to decide how its spent! NOW is the time to speak up!

In the final report items to be voted on this evening are:

 1.Mayor’s Term to 4 years

 2.Council’s Term to 4 years

 3.Removing Sheriffs from City Officials

 4..Changing the name of City Attorney to General Counsel

 5 .Changing the name of Mayor’s Administrative Assistant to Chief of Staff

6. Permanent Vacancy in the Office of the Mayor to account for a four-year term

 7.Four year terms for the elected officials of Board of Assessment Appeals and Registrars
of Voters.

 8.Maintaining staggered terms of Board of Education and Planning and Zoning
 Amending Biennial Election where appropriate

 9.Amending the Board of Tax Review name to Board of Assessment Appeals

 10 .Adding language for the odd-year elections to reduce Municipal Polling places as stated

The Council asked the Charter Revision Commission to reconsider the following items:
CHARTER REVISION

1. Leave the Treasurer as an elected position with no changes to Chapter II, Section 2 and
Chapter IV, Section 4.

 2.Mayor’s Compensation to start at $100,000 and remove all language regarding CPI and
tax shelter annuity of $15,000 with language that the Council will have the responsibility
to budget salary increases annually, Chapter VI, Section 1.

 3.Council’s stipend to start at $8,400 and remove all language regarding CPI with
language that the Council will have the responsibility to budget salary increases
annually, Chapter III, Section 1 and Chapter III, Section 4.

 4.Leave Chapter III, Section 7B, the way it is except top change the title City Attorney to
General Counsel.

 5.Authority of the Common Council to set salaries and stipends for elected officials to
remain the same, with wording to effect the changes of 3 and 5.

 6.Reconsider Chapter VIII, Section 1 Planning and Zoning to reduce the affirmative votes
needed to reflect the State Statute of requiring a simple majority of affirmative votes.

The Council choose to place the first two items as referendum items for the public to decide.
Tonight, the wording of referendum items is up for a vote:

“Shall the Charter be amended to provide for a term of four years for the following elected officials of the City of Middletown: the Mayor, Common Council, Treasurer, Board of Assessment Appeals and Registrars of Voters?
YES NO"

“Shall the Charter be amended to raise the bond limit for which the Common Council can approve spending without going to referendum to $1,000,000?
YES NO”

“Shall all other amendments to the Charter as stated in the Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission and adopted by the Council at its September 2, 2014 meeting be approved?
YES NO”

Guest blog: Spittoons On the Downtown Middletown Sidewalk's A Necessity, Not a Luxury - Also a Revenue Generator?

Guest blog by one of our favorites Fred Carrol.
Guest blog pieces do not necessarily reflect those of the Middletown Inside and are published as a courtesy for readers.
 Although this guest blog was written before the Middletown Patch article by Cassandra Day having to do with Mayor Drew asking City personnel on ways the City could make more money in revenue,  Carrol has thought up some create ways the City that could not only clean up the streets downtown, something he feels very passionate about, but  coincidentally also fill City coffer's.
 Probably not Carroll's original intent, but we think ticketing spitter's is as splendid an idea as any combat depleting municipal funds.

Scary thing is, it is only February, and with the additions to the BOE budget that call for a 2.4 mil tax hike, just about monthly requests for appropriations from City Departments for various items not included in the Mayor's  budget, the City budget that would raise taxes at least another 1 mils, the grand list decreasing by $11 million, the Serracrat's Spendacratic tendencies,  and Mayor Drew's unsuccessful trip to China to sell the Aetna property (no one saw that coming, year right)
Mayor Drew is already apparently is looking for more ways to squeeze money out of tax payers! 

Read the article from  Middletown Patch here where Mayor Drew asks personnel for ideas on ways to increase City Revenue! That's money from your pocket!: http://middletown-ct.patch.com/articles/get-creative-middletown-how-can-city-fill-its-coffers

In Carroll's own words:

Spittoons On The Downtown Middletown Sidewalk's-A necessity, Not A Luxury

    It was brought to my attention once that an upturned soda bottle cap is "more dangerous than a banana peel", well, how stupid would you feel if your foot went out from under you consequent to stepping in a glomn of some inconsiderate dopes "lung butter"? Pardon me, but exactly what are we talking about here? Look, and you'll see it, listen, and you'll hear it....the sound of expectoration......especially the dopes you see standing around all day who eat some hydro oily, high fructosey, dairy rich diets, but most folks if I'm not mistaken, eat a highly "mucus forming" diet, and while not everyone expectorates recklessly on the ground, a hell of a lot of people do. Meanwhile, back at the Center For Disease Control.......don't even think about going barefoot, but what seems to not be apprehended is that one will surely track this expectorant everywhere, the precious car, the house, or "dwelling place"...so why is it a. tolerated and not ticketed, and b. not accommodated for by pertinent parties. Health Department tells Police "Ticket sidewalk spitters", right? Something.......but first install spittoons.
      
Dr. Freddy H. Carroll

January 3 2007! Read and Think

An Alternate History Lesson by: Robbie Sipangelo

A history lesson you will not find in the news, weather TV or

Print. You won’t find it in our schools  either.

         Do YOU REMEMBER JANUARY 3, 2007?

This is NOT a political message, but rather a clarification to remind us all of the correct facts.

Remember that on October 9, 2007, 11 months before our “economic crisis” occurred

(that was actually created), the Dow hit its highest point ever, closing at 14,164.53 and reaching 14,198.10 intra-day level 2 days later.  Unemployment was steady at 4.7%.  But things were already being put in place to create the havoc we’ve all been experiencing since then.  And it all started, as this email explains, on January 3, 2007.  --LFL

This tells the  story, why Bush was so “bad” at the end of his term. Don't just skim over this, it's not very long, read it slowly and let it sink in. If in doubt, check it out!!!

The day the Democrats took over was not January 22nd 2009; it was actually January 3rd 2007, which was the day the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate, at the very start of the 110th Congress.

The Democrat Party controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since

the end of the 103rd Congress in 1995.

For those who are listening to the liberals propagating the fallacy that everything is

"Bush's Fault", think about this: January 3rd, 2007 was the day the Democrats took over the Senate and the Congress.

At the time:

The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77 The GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5% The Unemployment rate was 4.6% George Bush's Economic policies SET A RECORD of 52 STRAIGHT MONTHS of JOB GROWTH

Remember the day...

January 3rd, 2007was the day that Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.  The economic meltdown that happened 15 months later was in what part of the economy?  BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES!

Unemployment... to this CRISIS by (among MANY other things) dumping 5-6 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from YOUR Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac FIASCOES!

Bush asked Congress 17 TIMES to stop Fannie & Freddie - starting in 2001 because it was financially risky for the US economy.

And who took the THIRD highest pay-off from Fannie Mae AND Freddie Mac? OBAMA

And who fought against reform of Fannie and Freddie? OBAMA and the Democrat Congress.

So when someone  tries to blame Bush.  REMEMBER JANUARY 3rd,

 2007....

Letter to the Editor: A Call for Action to Middletown Citizens!

Hi,

Can you please post on your blog, e-mail,. etc to have Middletown taxpayers call or e-mail the mayors office to protest the 3.5% property tax increase?
Please Email the mayor ask why he raised taxes when he said he would not
http://www.cityofmiddletown.com/content/81/809.aspx
Mayor@MiddletownCT.gov
He needs to lower the mill rate below what is was last year!


Thanks,
T. M.

Make less than $120,000 a year? You might pay for 75% of Obama's news health care law.

Originally published in the 7/3/2012 edition of the Desert News

Read more: Opponents of health care overhaul highlight taxes in law, supporters push benefits

Americans making less than $120,000 a year will cover 75 percent of Obama's new health care law's costs, according to Stephen Moore, a senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal, via theblaze.com.

How much of a tax can families expect to pay if they don't have health insurance? In 2014, families would have to pay $285 and single individuals would have to pay $95, according to the article. But those numbers are scheduled to rise a considerable amount. By 2016, the tax for a single adult who doesn't purchase health insurance will be $695. A family would have to pay $2,085.

"I'll tell you this, for Americans who are going to have to pay these fines, penalties, taxes, whatever you want to call them … what we found is it's going to be pretty darn expensive," Moore told Fox News' Alisyn Camerota, according to the article. "The taxes phase in over time so next year they might be pretty modest, by about 2015 or '16, for families that choose not to buy health insurance, you're talking about a fine, Alisyn, that could be over $2,000 a year."

Democrat's Budget: Likely 2 mil Tax Increase for Middletown

He ran on a campaign of lowering taxes & cutting spending.
Is Mayor Drew performing up to your standards?
What does Rep. Joe Serra have to say?

The Insider can't find anyone who
will admit on record they
voted for the Democrats on Council or the Mayor!

The budget written by Mayor Dan Drew and the Democratic Council members calls for nearly a 2 mil increase in taxes, without any increases for Education.

How are Democratic heavy hitters like State Rep. Joe Serra and others who campaigned for Drew feeling as his popularity fades? How do  the senior Councilmen feel  now that their protege is not turning out as malleable as planned?

It seems that the senior Councilmen who felt that they could control Drew once in office have found they have a renegade on their hands.
As a way of off setting the $1 Million dollars overspent by the Board of Education that Mayor Drew says "was just a difference in accounting principles", the Insider  has decided to sell these tee shirts as a way to create 

revenue.

Checks can be made out to Nancy Haynes, business manager at the BOE, or Barbara Senges, or just light the check on fire because that's pretty much where the money will end up anyway. The Insider does not advocate cutting education, however, citizens have not learned and want to increase funding to the BOE since management of such funds has gone so well in the past. Thirty four citizens spoke at the budget hearing held in the Council Chambers April 26, 2012 in favor of increased BOE funding without the BOE providing a line item budget or any additional transparency (see our previous article which explains why by law the BOE administration doesn't have to do this).  Insider is wondering- since a person's tax bill is only representative of the minimum a household is required to pay for property tax- if those who feel this budget is justified why cannot they pay more if they want to so badly? The Insider checked with the Tax Office, and discovered if people wanted to pay more in taxes to Middletown they may, the government will gladly accept donations! So s since taxes are likely only going up 2 mils, anyone wishing to pay 3 mils may do so! It's for the kids people! Monies will be spent on more international trips to Asia and Europe for Mayor Drew in the name of job creation for Middletown, additional aides to the 3 extra he has requested in his budget, and ipads for all Democrats on the Common Council, ( the mayor already has $3,000.00 set aside in his proposed budget for his personal communication devices, so why not share the love and get some for everyone on our dime?)  The Insider tried to find people who voted for Drew and the Democrats to add insight to this article, but no one we talked to would admit they supported these politicians.