From Susan Kniep, President
The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations,
Inc.
Website: http://ctact.org/
email: fctopresident@ctact.org
860-524-6501
March 23, 2006
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies,
but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Sent to us by Kathleen Mitchell of New London. Thank you Kathleen)
WELCOME TO THE 69th EDITION OF
TAX TALK
*********
A
special thank you again to Donna McCalla of Hebron for forwarding her
Education Budget Analysis for FY 2006-07
which is highlighted
below, is formatted in excel, and is attached!
*********
It is apparent that we have an avid readership
by the number of news articles I have been receiving to post in Tax Talk. Keep them coming. So that I don’t overwhelm, however, if your
news article is not contained within one edition of Tax Talk, look for it in
the next. Also, for
those looking for news outside the main stream turn to the following… http://ctnewsjunkie.com.
*********
CONGRATULATIONS
TO DANA EVANS AND KAREN EMERICK
WHO
YESTERDAY FILED TWO LAWSUITS AGAINST THE TOWN OF
GLASTONBURY’S ETHICS COMMISSION. REFER TO FCTO’S
WEBSITE
FOR THE FULL COVERAGE ON THIS ISSUE. http://ctact.org/
*********
THE
FOLLOWING BILL, IF APPROVED, WILL HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT
ON THE RECORDING OF MINUTES IN THE 169 TOWN IN CONNECTICUT
RAISED BILL 5576
AN ACT CONCERNING THE CONTENT
OF MINUTES OF A MEETING
UNDER THE FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT AND
THE COPYING OF PUBLIC RECORDS
Through the tireless efforts of Rocky Hill
resident Scott Coleman, who keeps his pulse on municipal government activities
in his town, Connecticut residents could be a little closer to having their
participation in setting policy by municipal government agencies preserved for future generations. Scott has worked tirelessly to have a State
statute formulated and approved which would require all municipalities to
preserve within their Minutes the comments of those who spoke before their
local legislative bodies and subcommittees. The matter will be heard by the GAE
Committee tomorrow and Scott has made one last effort to convince the GAE that
this Bill should be approved. The
following are Scott’s recent comments, a news article which offers further
insight, and my presentation before the State’s GAE Committee at their Public
Hearing. Susan Kniep
From Scott Coleman to the GAE committee members on March 23,
2006:
I hope that you will choose to support Bill 5576 concerning
a modest update to our current FOI statute. This Bill simply addresses
three areas:
1) “Minutes”: Closes a statute loophole by defining the word
“minutes”. The current statute, while it requires minutes, fails to define
same. Most agencies now produce documentation conforming to this simple
definition. Some municipalities are abusing this omission in the statute in
order to avoid/evade compliance.
“Minutes” will now be defined as (paraphrasing) a list of
speakers and their comments adequate to understand what transpired.
2) Copy Cost: Statute now permits agencies to overcharge up
to 8 times market rates for essentially a non-differentiable copy. (Staples - four to six cents). This is price-gouging at its
finest. Additionally, this price is used to deter FOI requests. If an
agency has to charge 8 times market rate, it should be sending copies out to
lower cost suppliers. This Bill will reduce copy cost to a more reasonable ten
cents. This section has also been reorganized to make it more comprehensible.
3) Copy Technology: The current statute only permits
individuals to use hand held battery scanners (very scarce today) to make their
copies. This Bill would update the statute to permit use of future
technologies. It would permit individuals to use any type of personal portable
equipment to produce copies i.e. digital cameras, cell phones, portable
copiers, etc or any other future technology
I will be in attendance tomorrow at your meeting should
further clarification be required. Thanking for your consideration,Scott Coleman
*********
Wethersfield Post, By: G. C. Gould, Staff Writer, March 9,
2006: Rocky
Hill's meeting minutes may not be up to snuff if a bill introduced recently in
the state assembly gets passed. Bill would set new guidelines for minutes
The state assembly's committee on Government Administration
and Elections (GAE) held a public hearing Monday on a bill which would set
further requirements for the presentation of board and committee minutes,
including a summary of each speaker's comments at the meetings. …… "This serves to provide a history of
logic and understanding for future generations to help clarify the ultimate
intent of a decision made on a public policy matter," said Susan Kniep in her written testimony. Kniep
was mayor of East Hartford from 1989 to 1993 and is currently the president of
the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc. Article continued at
the following website: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16273792&BRD=1662&PAG=461&dept_id=11233&rfi=6
*********
Susan Kniep’s Comments at the
March 6, 2006 Public Hearing of the Government Administration and Elections
Committee on Raised Bill 5576
My name is Susan Kniep. I had served as the Mayor of East Hartford from 1989 to 1993. I had also served for several years on East Hartford’s Town Council. I am currently the President of The
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc. Our democracy is based on a government of,
for and by the people. We are the
people. We, the
citizens, voters and taxpayers of Connecticut. Our democracy is predicated on a
participatory government by the people.
That participation should be fully documented as public record for the
benefit of generations which follow.
Government officials who cast their votes on public policy matters
should concurrently have their comments established as public record. In summary, we, the people, through our
participatory government are the creators of our public records. We are now attempting to have the public
records we have created through our participation fully and formally
documented. We are also attempting to
establish by public record, discussions which ensued on public policy matters
as votes were cast by our elected officials at public meetings. This serves to provide a history of logic and
understanding for future generations to help clarify the ultimate intent of a
decision made on a public policy matter.
An example would be a town ordinance which was approved and subsequently
questioned as it relates to the ordinance’s intent. The ability to look back at fully documented
public records would help to provide a greater understanding of the intent of the
decision makers.
Further, public records should be made not only readily
available to the public, but the public should have reasonable expectations in
obtaining copies for their use. I was
prohibited by the East Hartford’s Corporation Counsel from using either my
computer or my scanner which necessitated an electric outlet. I was thereby forced to spend $200 on a hand
held battery operated scanner when there were several outlets within the office
which I could have used. The
Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc. encourages Connecticut residents to
be active participants in their government.
We need the assurance that their participation is depicted accurately
and completely in public records which are preserved for future generations. The bill as proposed provides that
assurance.
*********
Donna McCalla, ctjodi@sbcglobal.net
hebrondollarsandsense.com
Education Budget Analysis for FY
2006-07 (See Attached)
March 22, 2005
Hi, all. The attached
is the last Education Budget Analysis spreadsheet I will be sending out this
fiscal year. With so much municipal data
now coming in, I will start compiling the CT Budget Increase Comparisons for FY
2006-07. This year, I will be including
municipal spending increase, education spending increase, CIP spending increase
(where available), and mill rate (or total tax increase). Not much has radically changed from the
original Education Budget Analysis I sent out about a month ago. Even with the extraordinarily large increases
coming in from Superintendents and Boards of Education in some towns such as
Oxford, Sterling, Cromwell, Ellington, Canton and Thompson, some very small
increase came in from such towns as New London, Sprague, Andover and
Greenwich. The average proposed
Superintendent budget increase is 7.65%, which is
consistent with the five highest and lowest proposed budget increases regressed
out. Additionally, the average proposed
Board of Education approved budget increase is 7.02%, also consistent with
hi/low regression. Not surprisingly,
proposed budget increases by funding authorities is slightly less than 5%. This is less than last year’s average
approved/recommended budget increase of 5.23% by a funding authority. That only makes sense with the current
economic pressures the state as a whole (and residents in particular) are
feeling… If you can help fill in some of
the blanks, please let me know. It will
be included in the CT Budget Increase Comparisons spreadsheet. Thanks, Donna
*********
Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social
Issues, Federal Programs Direct At Least $157 Million By
Thomas
B. Edsall, Washington
Post Staff Writer, Mar 22, 06
For years, conservatives have complained about what they saw
as the liberal tilt of federal grant money. Taxpayer funds went to abortion
rights groups such as Planned Parenthood to promote birth control, and groups
closely aligned with the AFL-CIO got Labor Department grants to run
worker-training programs.
In the Bush administration, conservatives are discovering
that turnabout is fair play: Millions of dollars in taxpayer funds have flowed
to groups that support President Bush's agenda on abortion and other social
issues Continued atg
the following website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101723.html?nav=E8
*********
Governor Rell:
State Surplus Tops $586 Million
Governor M. Jodi Rell announced
today that the 2005-2006 General Fund budget surplus
now stands at $586.3 million, up about $9 million from last month’s
estimate. The Governor has stated
previously that any surplus should be used for two purposes – paying down state
debt and being deposited in the Budget Reserve, or Rainy Day, Fund. The 2005-2006 budget year ends June 30.
*********
Mayor Perez' socialistic plan
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
The people of Hartford should be grateful that Mayor Eddie
Perez' socialistic strategy for turning his city's property tax into an income
tax has no chance of passing legislative or judicial muster. But his plan
reveals, even to the uninitiated and uninterested, the warped fiscal thinking
of contemporary politicians. Continued
at the following website: http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=4330
*********