From:
Susan Kniep, President
The
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Website: ctact.org
860-528-0323
October 27, 2003
WELCOME TO THE THIRTEENTH
EDITION OF
TAX TALK
Your
weekly update on what others are thinking, doing, and planning
Send your comments or questions to me, and
I will include in next week's publication.
Please note that TAX TALK is now on our Website!!!!
Bob Young,ryoung0@snet.net
Wethersfield Taxpayer's Association
Subject: Eminent Domain Ruling
October 15, 2003
LAND GROUP SET BACK BY RULING
By Lynne Tuohy
Courant Staff Writer
October 15 2003
The Fort Trumbull Conservancy, a coalition of New London taxpayers and
residents seeking to limit development of the 90-acre peninsula on which the
historic fort sits, was dealt a setback by the state Supreme Court Tuesday. The
court ruled unanimously that coastal site plan reviews, required by state law
for any construction planned within 1,000 feet of Long Island Sound, may not be
appealed if they are part of a larger review performed in connection with a
municipal or state project. The court also ruled that the granting of
intervenor status to the conservancy for the purpose of challenging the
environmental effect of proposed roads and a river walkway on the pennisula,
did not confer on the nonprofit agency the right to appeal. The coastal
site plan review of the roads and walkway the city of New London proposed in
2001 was prepared for the planning and zoning commission, which then
recommended approval of the projects to the city council. "Coastal
site plan review does not result in a separate approval or decision," Justice
Christine S. Vertefeuille wrote. The court noted that the planning and zoning
commission's approval of both projects - the roadways and the river walkway -
were nonbinding recommendations to the city council and "not appealable
final decisions." The Supreme Court has yet to decide the more
publicized and controversial issue of whether the city of New London can take,
by eminent domain, a few homes on the peninsula in the name of economic
development. That case was argued last December. Development plans for the peninsula,
anchored at one end by a research and development center recently opened by
pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Inc., include a hotel, condominiums and a
marina. The constitutional battle pits the rights of homeowners against the
emphasis the legislature has placed on economic development, particularly in
financially distressed cities such as New London. Attorney Scott Sawyer,
who argued the environmental challenge on behalf of the Fort Trumbull
Conservancy, said the development in general "isn't necessarily all
bad." "The goal is not to halt the development, but to cause the
people in charge of the development to be more environmentally
responsible," Sawyer said. "The development they're proposing is
cutting off just about all future water-dependent uses." The environmental
concerns focus largely on marine and wildlife ecosystems. Attorney Thomas
Londregan, who represents the city, said a ruling in favor of the Fort Trumbull
Conservancy would have stymied road construction and other municipal improvements
throughout the state's coastal communities. "This is one of the most
fundamental things municipalities do - they build roads, they build
sidewalks," Londregan said. "If [the conservancy members] were
correct, every municipality along the coast that wanted to build a road or a
sidewalk would be subjected to some neighborhood or environmental group taking
an appeal to the Superior Court."
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Maury Johnson, Mauryj1923
Taxpayer Group: QUEST, Stratford
Question: How do you obtain town retiree salaries and benefits
Date: October 20, 2003
Hi Sue, One of the major factors in our town budgets is the cost of the
pensions and health benefits being paid to our former town employees.
(Same thing is true at the state level probably.) Have you heard whether
information can be obtained without a lot of problems in getting a listing of
retired town employees and the amount they are being paid in pensions?
Who in town government would have access to such a list? Do you know if
any of our towns have developed this kind of listing? Has it been
helpful? Thanks for any suggestions, comments. And good luck on
your campaign. Maury Johnson, QUEST Stratford.
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Peter Arcidiacono, PJArcidiacono@aol.com
Taxpayer Group: East Hampton
Subject: A Good Quote
Date: Oct 20, 2003
At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution in
1787, a Scottish history professor by the name of Professor Alexander Tyler had
this to say about "The Fall of the Athenian Republic" over 2,000
years previous to that date."A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form
of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote
themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury. From that moment
on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits
from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses
over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been two
hundred years. These nations have progressed through this sequence. From
bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage
to liberty; from liberty to abundance, from abundance to complacency; from
complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back into
bondage."
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Susan Kniep, katzrus50e@aol.com
East Hartford Taxpayers Association
Subject: Interesting Websites
October 20, 2003
AARP Website
http://www.aarp.org
State of Connecticut Website
http://www.ct.gov
List of Mayors, Town Managers, First Selectman in Connecticut
http://www.sots.state.ct.us/RegisterManual/Mayors.htm
Magazine Focusing on State and Federal Issues
http://www.governing.com