Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

A sincere thank you to Donna McCalla of Hebron Dollars and Sense for updating the comparisons of tax increases throughout Connecticut.� Please read Donna�s comments below.� The attached worksheet is in Excel.� Susan Kniep��

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WASHINGTON, DC

Websites to Help you Research Congressional Information

Senators of the 109th Congress http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Learn All About Congress and What they have done and are doing in Washington ��http://thomas.loc.gov/

Research Congressional Happenings by Day� http://clerk.house.gov/floorsummary/floor.html

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FCTO CONGRATULATES GOVERNOR RELL!

Governor Rell is to be congratulated in her endeavor to curb the corruption in our State government through implementing the following procedures for securing state and municipal contracts.��

State�s Contract Portal Continues to Grow

State Agencies, Towns and Schools Are Posting Bids Online;

Process is Saving Money and Time

Governor Rell announced today that all of Connecticut�s state agencies, along with 77 municipalities, 27 non-profit agencies, and 34 public schools and Boards of Education have enrolled to post bid information on the state�s Internet site for public contracts. The move to online posting of contract information is expected to save taxpayers at least $300,000 a year through reduced costs for copying, mailing and legal notices. The state�s contract portal, located on the Department of Administrative Services� (DAS) website at http://www.das.state.ct.us/, was created in December by Governor Rell�s Executive Order No. 3.� �We are making steady, solid progress toward transparency and fairness,� Governor Rell said. �Having contract details out in the open is critical if we truly want universal availability and accessibility. What we are striving for is an even playing field for everyone. The bottom line: More bidders mean more competition and that means better prices for Connecticut taxpayers.� �The purpose of my Executive Order was to eliminate corruption and favoritism in the awarding of state contracts, and I am pleased to see state agencies posting their contract information for everyone to see,� Governor Rell said. �Over 200,000 e-mail notices are sent monthly to the 17,000 suppliers registered to receive bid notifications. The previous process, which could take up to two weeks, is now accomplished in a mere 30 minutes.�� To date, DAS has trained employees at all state agencies to post contract information on-line, including employees of the Department of Transportation, Department of Labor, Department of Public Health and the Department of Social Services. �� We now automatically send e-alerts to registered bidders as soon as bid opportunities are posted,� Governor Rell said. �Bids remain accessible on the site from the day they are posted until the bids open � typically three to four weeks � resulting in a completely open and public procurement process. This compares to the previous method of publishing a legal notice in newspapers for each contract for just one day.�� Another feature, believed to be unique to Connecticut, is the promotion of the state�s Supplier Diversity Program to newly registered bidders. �As new Connecticut-based firms register, they receive an on-line message describing the Supplier Diversity Program and inviting them to certify,� Governor Rell said. �Since the Supplier Diversity Program feature was introduced in January 2005, more than 275 suppliers have requested application materials and many are in the process of becoming certified.�� More than 200 entities, including state government agencies, municipalities, schools and not-for-profits, are currently using the portal for bid posting and notification.�� We in the Department of Environmental Protection have been using the DAS bid portal from its inception and have found it to be an invaluable tool,� state employee Vic Massi said. �We are able to post bids immediately, it is very user-friendly and we are receiving a greater response than using other forms of advertising. In the future, we anticipate using this portal for all contracts and personal service agreements in the agency rather than just for procurements as we do now.�� Interested bidders can view all open contracts and contact DAS� Procurement Office with questions on how to bid on state contracts.

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Ed Stedman, Steddot@aol.com

Monroe Taxpayers and Voters Association
Re:� Budget Defeated

April 26, 2005

Hi Susan,� We had a referendum vote on our budget on Tuesday, April 26, 2005 and it was defeated by a vote of 2336 NO, l664 YES. The voter turnout was 31% which was the usual. The high costs of the Bd. of Ed along with lack of control and complete autonomy is responsible for the defeat. We will be going for a third referendum.� Ed Stedman

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From:� Pgagnon01@aol.com

Keep up the fantastic effort!

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John Durand,�� JohnD@leed-himmel.com

Tolland Taxpayers Association

RE: Tolland Budget and Donna McCalla�s Valuable List of Tax Increases

April 27, 2005

Tolland Taxpayers Assoc. is grateful for all the hard work and the very

valuable data. FYI, we've taken a slightly different approach this year. Because

it's a reval year, we told the council that we will be looking at Spending $ change and Tax Levy change. Mil rate change is going to be ignored due to the fact that they did not produce a mil rate adjusted for reval only in time. The proposed budget going to referendum Tues. May 3rd is a 6.4% spending increase and 8.3% Tax Levy increase. 1997 to 2005, ( eight years ) Tolland has had a population growth of 24.7% and a Tax Levy growth of 100.8%. We are starting to look hard at grand list, population and Levy growth rates as indicators of spending reasonableness or excess.� John Durand

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webmaster@hebrondollarsandsense.com

Subject:� RHAM and Hebron Budget Referendum Results

May 3, 2005

The Hebron town budget has failed by 376 votes. 520 residents voted Yes; 896 voted No. This does not include absentee ballots, which were not yet available at the time we left the polling station.� The Hebron CIP budget has failed by 247 votes. 579 residents voted Yes; 826 voted No. This does not include absentee ballots, which were not yet available at the time we left the polling station.
The RHAM budget has failed by 622 votes.
The final vote tally, by town, was as follows:
Hebron ��Yes = 483 No = 969 ** does not include absentee ballots
Andover Yes = 111 No = 290
Marlborough Yes = 358 No = 315
Total �� Yes = 952 No = 1,574

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Donna McCalla, CTJodi146@aol.com

Hebron Dollars and Sense

Another Update: CT Tax Increase Comparison Spreadsheet

May 4, 2005 �

Again, a �sincere thank you to Donna McCalla for updating the attached worksheet.� I have heard from many this is a very valuable document and relied upon for comparison.� ��The attached worksheet is in Excel.� Susan Kniep��

A Message from Donna McCalla

Hi, all.� After yesterday�s numerous budget votes, I have compiled all the results based on the information received.� Based on that information, to date, we have 28 passed budgets in Connecticut, and we have 15 defeated budgets.� Two of those defeated budgets are facing Round Three (Plainville and Monroe.)� Of the 17 regional school districts, we have 6 defeated budgets, and 8 passed budgets.� As you will see from the various views of the data, a few things have changed.� The average of all proposed budgets (including those on the second or third round) is now at 5.08%.� The average of all budgets (both passed, defeated and still on the table) with the five highest and five lowest factored out is 4.97%; and the average of those same budget numbers with the 10 highest and 10 lowest factored out is 5% on the nose.� Interestingly, if I factor out the defeated budget numbers, the average proposed tax increase in Connecticut is now at 4.92%.� Please keep in mind that the data is based on tax increases (which factors in revenue changes, including the use of fund balance to offset tax increases, etc.) rather than spending increases.� Of the 28 passed budgets, the average tax increase is 4.35%, but the vast majority of those passed budgets is correlated directly to the �method of voting�, which at this point is being strongly influenced by towns in which the funding authority is a Town Council, a BET, a BAT, or an RTM.� Of the 15 failed budgets, the average failed budget is 6.37% increase.� The failed budgets are likewise primarily in those towns that have referendums as the charter-designated method of voting.�� It appears that the magic number this year is 5%, slightly lower than the original prediction a month ago, although even that is not completely guaranteed as some falling slightly below that number are failing, and some over that number are passing.� That�s to be expected, and in those situations, the second tier of consideration is tax increase history, followed by revaluations.� Per capita income seems to hold no significant consideration in outcome, as �wealthier� towns (as defined by per capita income) are voting down budgets equally to �less affluent� towns (as defined by per capita income.) ��

In next year�s data, I want to provide a mill rate history tab, and have just received the final [missing] piece of the puzzle today from the state; otherwise, I would have included this year.� I have yet to figure out an efficient way to present the Yes Vote/No Vote data history (which is in the "Notes" column). The margins are acutally quite important, and are used in an algorithm to predict success or failure of subsequent budget votes once a budget has been defeated. I will also be tracking the "VNTL" ("Vote No Too Low") campaigns as I've done in the past two years, but expect no significant difference from previous results. Bethel and Plainville (and perhaps to a small extent Hebron and Region 8) have VNTL campaigns going on now.� Any questions or corrections to the figures, please let me know.� Thanks, Donna

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Dowd Muska, dowdmuska@cox.net

Yankee Institute for Public Policy
Philip Gressel Center for Tax and Budget Policy
May 2, 2005

Subject: Tax Freedom Day Arrives -- Finally
Think Tank Comments on State's Immense Tax Burden, Issues New Guide to Connecticut Taxation

Hartford, May 2, 2005 -- On the eve of Connecticut's Tax Freedom Day -- the date on which the Tax Foundation estimates state residents stop working for government at the federal, state, and local levels -- D. Dowd Muska, the Yankee Institute's Philip Gressel Fellow for Tax and Budget Policy, offered the following statement:� When the Nutmeg State's taxpayers head off to work tomorrow, they'll finally start earning income that they can keep for themselves. Over 120 days into 2005, Connecticut's Tax Freedom Day has finally arrived -- later than it did in the other 49 states.� Our state's tax burden is a bipartisan scandal. For decades, elected officials from both major political parties have raised taxes and fees to the point where the Nutmeg State faces the heaviest tax burden in the nation. Politicians in Washington, Hartford, and your home town have consistently chosen to make government bigger and broader, and then passed the bill on to you.� The lateness of Tax Freedom Day in Connecticut is not due merely to the confiscatory federal income taxes assessed on Connecticut's high-income earners. The combined state-local tax burden for Connecticut is now the 12th highest in the nation. ��It's outrageous that Connecticut, a wealthy state where problems such as poverty, crime, and lack of health insurance are all well below national averages, taxes its citizens to support a state budget that in inflation-adjusted, per capita terms has grown by more than 440 percent since 1970. ��But let's not forget the local level. Connecticut's property taxpayers are burdened by both unfunded state mandates that drive up the cost of municipal government and local officials who constantly search for new ways to boost their towns' budgets.�� Unjustified school spending, absurd bonding commitments, generous compensation packages to government employees, massive corporate welfare, and outrageous subsidies to the arts are rampant at the state and local level. Until unnecessary spending is curbed -- and unneeded programs and agencies eliminated -- tax freedom in Connecticut will continue to arrive far too late in the year.�� If Connecticut's economy were booming, our heavy tax burden might be easier to bear. Unfortunately, Connecticut suffers from the worst of both worlds: an unfair tax burden and a sluggish economy.� That should come as no surprise. Research consistently shows that high taxes retard economic growth and drive companies and residents into other jurisdictions. ��onnecticut's tax burden is not the result of evil people, but bad policies based on misguided ideas and assumptions. Happily, there are alternatives to the Nutmeg State's high taxes and stagnant economy.� Free-market, pro-growth policies have proven their effectiveness in other states and around the world. It is possible to lower taxes and reduce government spending, while maintaining the necessary and legitimate functions of the public sector. The Yankee Institute exists to document these ideas and reforms, and apply them to the Nutmeg State.�� Connecticut's hardworking taxpayers deserve fundamental reform of the way governments at the local, state, and federal levels fund their activities. It's a disgrace that our state faces the heaviest tax burden in the nation.�� Today the Yankee Institute announces the release of its first "Fiscal Focus," a new and easy-to-use tool for taxpayers, elected officials, and members of the media. "Fiscal Focus" is designed to describe, in simple language and numbers, the tax and spending policies that damage economic freedom in Connecticut.� To download a copy of the Fiscal Focus "Connecticut's Tax Burden: An Overview," visit the Yankee Institute's website at www.yankeeinstitute.org. D. Dowd Muska can be contacted at (860) 729-1262 and dowd@yankeeinstitute.org.

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TODAY�S NEWS: A brief summary is offered below.� Understanding that our lives are influenced by world events, FCTO provides interesting news articles on global and national issues.�� Is there an interesting article you would like us to include in our next Tax Talk publication?� Send it to fctopresident@ctact.org.

Report slams cities, towns for poor ethics codes

April 27, 2005, Associated Press

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/state/hc-26172820.apds.m0705.bc-ct-xgr--apr26,0,7917020.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

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For those who follow Ralph Nader,

�the following website will be of interest

http://www.citizen.org/about/

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2 Bills To Close Ethics Loopholes Advance

Adjustments Required Before Full House Acts
April 30, 2005
By BILL LEUKHARDT, Courant Staff Writer

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-judic0430.artapr30,0,7748224.story

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Horror Of Depleted Uranium Not Limited To Iraq
By James DenverMARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS
(415)868-1600 - (415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924� April, 2005

http://www.coastalpost.com/05/04/09.htm

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U.S. agents seize files at city offices
�More than a year after federal officials began investigating Chicago's scandal-ridden Hired Truck Program, the probe has reached the office of Mayor Richard Daley.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0505010303may01,1,413625.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

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