PRESS RELEASE
The East Hartford Taxpayers
Association (EHTA)
March 29, 2005
The East Hartford Taxpayers
Association wants to take this opportunity to thank all who participated in the
petition drive to put East Hartford’s 2005-2006 budget on the ballot, before the voters, to reduce property
taxes for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
It was heartwarming to see so many participate in signing
the petition, volunteering to support our goal to reduce property taxes, and
sharing their concerns with us.
Although we had failed to collect the 4000 signatures
required to put the 2005-2006 Budget on the ballot, as we encouraged no tax
increase, we are pleased with our success in our initial campaign to persuade
the Town Council to reduce the Mayor’s 2005-2006 budget. We are also delighted that through our
petition drive, we have significantly increased
our membership as we continue to promote honesty, accountability and efficiency
in East Hartford’s government.
Obstacles we were confronted with during the petition
campaign included:
- A 15 day time frame in which to
collect signatures which encompassed a holiday and snow days.
- Educating the public regarding….
- The distinction between the two
petition drives; i.e. the petition initiated by the EHTA in 2004 to
change the Charter and the 2005 petition to put the budget on the
ballot. Many assumed that if they
had signed the first petition, they did not need to sign the current
one.
- The error within an East Hartford
Gazette editorial which stated that, if the referendum to reduce the
budget passed, the Mayor could
then veto the Town Council’s reduction of the budget.
The EHTA is very concerned as we approach Revaluation and
the impact current and future tax increases will have on our quality of life as
more of our money is taken from us and we are left with less to support our
families.
We would respond to Town Council Chairman Kehoe who urged
taxpayers not to support our cause. We
would concur with the taxpayer who stated during the public hearing on the
budget that Mr. Kehoe, who earns in excess of $100,000 a year as a state
employee cannot possibly feel the pain of the average taxpayer burdened with an
increase in taxes. Further, we were
surprised to see Mr. Kehoe’s concern for the minimal cost of a budget
referendum intended to save taxpayers millions of dollars. Especially when considering Mr. Kehoe, as
Chairman of the Town Council, has endorsed all bond referendums which have cost
the taxpayers millions of dollars; i.e. Main Street Redevelopment, Magnet
School, etc. while refusing to audit the millions of tax dollars spent.
In summary, the East Hartford Taxpayers
Association is working to protect East Hartford residents from
unreasonable taxation. We are challenging the lucrative salaries, pensions and
healthcare benefits of some town employees which consume 85% of our budget,
while private sector employees are losing their jobs and health benefits. We
are calling for a wage freeze for town employees, as is customary in the
private sector. We are attempting to establish a system of checks and balances
to protect our money through independent financial and procedural audits. We
are challenging the lack of economic development and the destruction of tax
generating property thereby affecting our grand list on which our taxes are
based. And more importantly, we are concerned that only 2% of our budget is
spent on books and supplies for our children, while 85% of the Board of
Education budget pays for lucrative salaries and benefits.
We ask other concerned taxpayers to join with us and to protect themselves
and their families from unreasonable
taxation.
For further information on joining the EHTA, contact Susan Kniep
524-6501, John Bezzini 895-9005, Sandy and Scott
Bertrand 568-3942, John Ryan 289-9097.
Email fctopresident@aol.com
for questions or comments.