From: Susan Kniep, President
The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations, Inc. (FCTO)
Website: http://ctact.org/
email: fctopresident@aol.com
860-524-6501
January 28, 2007
Welcome to Tax Talk 95
Are you a concerned
taxpayer?
Let us hear your concerns or suggestions.
Write to fctopresident@aol.com
Please include your name and telephone number
in the subject line of your email.
********
This Issue Includes:
- Legislative Calendar and Agendas
- Eminent Domain: Institute for Justice
succeeds in Ohio
- Learn About the Castle Coalition
- Note of Appreciation to FCTO
- Roy Duncan speaks out on MDC Salaries
- Education issues raised by Judy Arons and Robert Young
- Mike Guarco’s
statement before the Governor’s Commission on Unfunded Mandates
State Legislative Calendar
********
CONGRATULATIONS
to the
Institute for Justice
The
Institute for Justice continues their crusade
throughout our country to protect
the property
rights of all Americans.
The United States Supreme Court ruling in the Kelo vs New London case placed an emphasis on the
importance of carrying the battle for property rights to individual towns and states. One
by one victories are being realized due to the efforts
of the Institute for Justice. In 2006,
their victory included a ruling by the Ohio
Supreme Court in favor of Norwood
home-owners fighting the Rookwood Exchange retail
project. The Norwood
case was cited more recently in another Ohio
property rights appeals case in Hamilton
County which was
ultimately reversed to the benefit of property owners.
The Ohio
rulings are significant because they reject the policy of incorrectly labeling
property as “blight” in order to take possession of it under Eminent
Domain. The Institute
of Justice not only successfully
litigated the Norwood
case but will be justifiably financially compensated.
The
Ohio case is
an example where taxpayers and property owners must hold their public officials
accountable in the voting booth. Public
officials must understand that by failing to protect the property rights of
their constituents through effective legislation there will be financial
penalties as more cases are won through the successful efforts of the Institute
for Justice.
The following news article indicates that “If Judge Myers' ruling stands,
attorneys for Rookwood Partners have said that Rookwood Partners, not Norwood, would have to pay the institute.”
Money awarded to the Institute of Justice in cases such
as the Ohio case will allow them to continue to challenge Eminent Domain abuse
in States throughout this country until Eminent Domain for private gain is
eradicate and all Americans can feel safe and secure in their homes and small
businesses are not put at risk.
Click on the following for more insight into this
matter….
- Norwood,
Ohio, property owners are fighting to
keep their homes and businesses from a wealthy developer who teamed up
with the City of Norwood
to take their private properties away for the developer’s private use. http://www.ij.org/private_property/norwood/index.html
- The Ohio
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Norwood
property owners who were challenging the confiscation of their land
through eminent domain. (Norwood is a
suburb surrounded by Cincinnati.)
It marked the first eminent-domain ruling by a state supreme court since Kelo,
and will surely set a precedent for other states wrangling over this
issue. "It gives guidance to courts for the future," says Dana
Berliner, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, which litigated
the case in behalf of the appellants. http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/499gidav.asp
·
City
loses Clifton Heights eminent domain case See all stories on this topic
·
DC
eminent domain lawyers awarded fees in Norwood case
The Castle
Coalition is the Institute for Justice’s nationwide grassroots property rights activism
project. Be a frequent visitor to the following website to learn what is
happening on Eminent Domain issues throughout the country. http://www.castlecoalition.org/
The Federation extends its sincere thank you to all who
have lobbied their state legislators to put Eminent Domain at the top of Connecticut’s
Legislative Agenda in the 2007 session.
Click the following to learn more on what you can do to join this
effort. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=PropOwners.htm%20%20%20&location=Home&buttonname=Home
*********
Murray Renshaw, murraytheeye@snet.net
New London
Jan 6, 2006
Susan, As usual, the information you provide is invaluable
and should be read by all Ct. taxpayers. Thanks
for all you guys do- murray renshaw
*************
Roy L . Duncan, royldunc@aol.com
Bloomfield, CT
Subject: MDC
Salaries
December 25, 2006
The following letter to the editor by Roy
Duncan appeared in the Hartford
Courant
A Merry Christmas to the MDC’s
senior executives and a bah, humbug to the public they
serve! The MDC’s
board of commissioners’ decision to raise their salary limit (Hartford Courant, 12/24) by 19% is a truly
inspirational Christmas story.
It is heartening to know that having just received the
public blessing by referendum to spend $800 million (just the first installment
of $1.6 billion) on a major sewer project, the first order of business is the
board’s vote to pilfer the public purse.
I love the explanation that “the increases are critical to make sure the
MDC has top-notch people on board…” Do
the readers really believe that any of those senior execs were about to leave
for lack of a decent pay package? Here,
I think, is a more credible explanation.
They saw an opportunity to feed at the public trough and they seized it
just as millions of new public dollars are about to start flowing through their
front door.
Too bad the MDC doesn’t fall under the purview of the state
department of Public Utility Control.
Oh, wait. I take that back. Those are the same folks who have recently
approved astronomical electricity rate hikes for us all. I guess I don’t really want them protecting
my interests if that is any example of their best work. Happy New Year, Connecticut.
Isn’t life grand in the land of stupid, oops, I mean steady,
habits? Roy Duncan
*********
IS THE
FOLLOWING OCCURING IN YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT?
Robert Young, ryoung0@snet.net
Wethersfield Taxpayers
Association
January 26, 2007
Subject: Students Push Past Limits In
`Freaking'
Sue: I sent this to you for publication and
distribution to FCTO members just to point out what actually goes on
in our "expensive" schools. I asked Tom Moore,
principal of Wethersfield High School, during a recent PTSA meeting, to their deny or validate that the actions described in the
article "are not going on in Wethersfield
High". He confirmed that the article describes
exactly, how our students dance at school dances. I would
like you to distribute this and see if other communities are experiencing
the same activities. This should not occur on public property! The woman's movement of the
60's and 70's have lost a lot of ground. I wonder how Gloria Steimen feels now as she reads how her younger generation of woman are acting.
Students Push Past Limits In `Freaking'
Schools Take On The
New Challenge Of Dancing That Goes Beyond Dirty
January 13, 2007, By MARK SPENCER, Courant Staff Writer SIMSBURY -- With each successive generation,
it's getting harder for kids to one-up their predecessors when it comes to
outrageous behavior. There is just less
and less room to raise the bar - or lower it, depending on your perspective.
But some students at Simsbury
High School and across
the country are giving it their best shot.
Principal Neil Sullivan said the school has been trying to rid its
dances of a style that has come to be called "grinding,"
"freaking" or "booty dancing," which aghast
educators and parent chaperones have described as simulated sex with clothes
on. Continued at the following
website: http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-simfreaking0113.artjan13,0,2856207.story?coll=hc-headlines-home
*************
Preschool in CT - Time to empty your pockets!
Again, our appreciation
to Judy Aron for keeping us current on this issue. On
average, 85% of property taxes and more pay for local boards of education. That percentage is guaranteed to increase
once our State legislators force taxpayers to fund the cost of educating
children in preschool. Some outstanding
questions include: what will happen to
the privately funded daycare facilities throughout the State; will this help to
increase membership in the teachers union, etc? Susan Kniep
Judy Aron, imjfaron@sbcglobal.net
West Hartford
State Panel Seeks Hike In Preschool Spending
By ROBERT A. FRAHM, Courant Staff Writer, December
7 2006
Connecticut should spend as much as $100 million over the next two years to
expand children's services, including preschool classes, to make the state
"a national model for early childhood education," a state committee
said Wednesday. The ambitious
recommendation is the first stage of a five-year proposal to more than double
the number of low-income children in preschool classes, to train more preschool
teachers and aides, and to bolster the quality of preschool programs statewide. The Early Childhood Research and Policy
Council, which is scheduled to give its proposal to Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Friday, provided state education officials with a
preview of its recommendations, including a pledge to make preschool available
to all 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families across the state. The goal is to make sure "all kids come
to the kindergarten door with the knowledge, skills and behaviors they need to
be successful in kindergarten today," Janice Gruendel,
the governor's senior adviser on early childhood, told the State Board of
Education. Rell
has made preschool a priority and has supported expansions of early childhood
programs in the past, but a spokeswoman for her budget office said the latest
recommendations must be weighed against other needs before the governor
presents her budget proposal in February.
"We try to look at all the individual recommendations independently
as part of the overall budget discussion," said Susan Hamilton of the
state Office of Policy and Management. "There is a host of competing
priorities." About 77 percent of
the state's kindergartners have attended some type of preschool, but the figure
is considerably lower in school systems such as Hartford,
New Britain and
other high poverty cities and towns.
Educators and politicians, including Rell,
have said that high quality preschool classes could significantly improve
academic achievement in the state's poorest cities, where schools have had high
dropout rates and low test scores.
"We need to raise the bar for student performance throughout the
system. ... We have to be economically competitive, and that begins with the
workforce," said John Rathgeber, president of
the Connecticut
Business and Industry Association and co-chairman of the Early Childhood
Research and Policy Council. The
council's proposal would add about $31 million next year and nearly $72 million
in 2008 to a range of programs covering education, social services and health
programs now estimated to cost the state about $539 million annually, according
to a report issued earlier this year by the Connecticut Early Childhood
Education Cabinet. Earlier this year, Rell created the research and policy council to develop
cost estimates and strategies to meet goals established by the early childhood
cabinet. The council Wednesday outlined several key recommendations,
including: The addition of nearly $14
million next year and $37 million in 2008 to begin adding preschool slots and
creating additional classrooms for 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families.
The state currently supports about 8,600 slots at a cost of about $61 million a
year, but would add nearly 13,000 slots over the next five years under the
council's plan.
Making some of those slots available to eligible families in
the form of grants allowing them to enroll children in programs of their
choice. $1.3 million next year
and $3.3 million in 2008 to expand programs, create
scholarships and provide incentives to attract and train more teachers and
other staff to work in preschool classrooms.
The creation of a rating scale to monitor and evaluate
child care and preschool programs, including procedures for monitoring
credentials of preschool teachers and staff members. Although the governor, educators and others
have expressed support for the expansion of preschool programs, the price tag
is expected to stir a lively debate.
"I'm a bit of a skeptic," Donald J. Coolican,
a member of the state education board, told members of the early childhood
council. "We only have so much money, and I think that money would be
better spent on year-round schools in [needy] districts." The preschool proposal will compete with
other budget demands, including an anticipated recommendation from another
study commission later this month for a major expansion of state aid to public
schools. "I think there is support
for expanding early childhood slots ... but when you mix that with all the
other interests in the budget and layer that on top of a constitutional spending
cap, it's difficult to make that kind of expansion," said state Sen. Toni
Harp, D-New Haven, co-chairman of the legislature's Appropriations Committee.
"It really becomes a question of whether the people of the state of Connecticut are ready to
pony up for this issue and raise taxes."
Contact Robert A. Frahm at rfrahm@courant.com.
*************
Kudos to Mike Guarco and his group, the Connecticut Municipal Consortium for
Fiscal Responsibility, which is comprised of several elected and appointed town
officials seeking reform in the State Legislature of unfunded mandates which
are driving up local property taxes. To
date, Mike has 180 boards representing 106 towns and cities on board with his
organization which are depicted on the attached map. The latest is the Enfield Town
Council. Mike also testified before the Governor’s Commission on Unfunded
Mandates on December 20, 2006. His
testimony follows….
TESTIMONY BEFORE THE COMMISSION ON UNFUNDED MANDATES
LOB – ROOM 410 – DEC 20, 2006
MICHAEL
GUARCO – CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF
FINANCE – TOWN OF GRANBY
ON BEHALF OF THE
CONNECTICUT MUNICIPAL
CONSORTIUM FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
- A BIPARTISAN GRASSROOTS ALLIANCE OF 180 BOARDS REPRESENTING 106 TOWNS
AND CITIES THROUGHOUT OUR STATE….. AND COUNTING
GOOD MORNING, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
YOU ARE ALL TO BE
THANKED FOR TAKING A LOOK AT THIS SORE
SUBJECT WITH BOTH THE
MUNICIPALITIES…………………AND TAXPAYERS
ALIKE…………… GIVEN
THE OFTEN NEGATIVE IMPLICATIONS OF UNFUNDED
MANDATES ON
EXISTING PROGRAMS…………… ON
LOCAL BUDGETS YEAR TO YEAR…
AND ON PROPERTY TAXES THROUGHOUT THE STATE.
ALL TOO OFTEN WE
SEE GOOD AND DESIRABLE PROGRAMS SQUEEZED
FROM LOCAL BUDGETS
IN ORDER TO FUND A NEW SET OF RULES THAT
MAY WELL BE WORTHY
ON THEIR OWN PERHAPS……….. BUT IN AGGREGATE
CAN BE JUST
ENOUGH TO MEAN THAT THERE ISN’T ENOUGH
FUNDING IN A LOCAL
BUDGET TO KEEP AN EQUALLY WORTHY PROGRAM IN PLACE FOR
NEXT YEAR…. EVEN WITH AN INCREASE IN THE
LOCAL TAX RATE. AS CCM
HAS REPORTED….. FOR THE PAST FEW
YEARS……..THE AVERAGE
PROPERTY TAX RATE CHANGE HAS BEEN RUNNING
BETWEEN 4 AND 5 %
ANNUALLY….
WELL AHEAD OF INFLATION AND STATEWIDE CHANGES IN
TYPICAL PAYCHECKS……….WHILE AT THE SAME
TIME, OVERALL
MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT HAS REMAINED FLAT
AND/OR DECLINED….
GOOD PROGRAM HAS FALLEN FROM THE BUDGETS…
AND THE RATE OF
REJECTION OF LOCAL BUDGETS HAS DOUBLED AND
TRIPLED FROM A
DECADE AGO…………..WITH 81 DEFEATED IN 2006
ALONE. IT CAN COME AS
NO SURPRISE THEN THAT A GROWING NUMBER OF
US AT THE LOCAL
LEVEL ARE UNDER NO ILLUSIONS….. AS WE
PRESIDE OVER THE SLOW
DEMISE OF OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT
SERVICES…..SEEMINGLY
ABANDONED BY WHAT SHOULD BE OUR ERSTWHILE
PARTNER – THE
STATE - IN MEETING THE NEEDS OF ALL OF OUR
CITIZENRY – NOT JUST
SOME OF THEM WHO CAST LONG SHADOWS IN THESE
VERY HALLWAYS.
NO
DEBATE ON PROPERTY TAX REFORM IS COMPLETE WITHOUT
LOOKING AT BOTH SIDES OF THE BUDGETARY
FORMULA……… AND WE
FEEL THAT ALL TOO OFTEN THE EXPENDITURE
SIDE IS NEGLECTED…..
AND THAT IS WRONG..
CT IS ALREADY PAYING THE PRICE FOR THIS HEAD
IN THE SAND APPROACH………. FOR WHILE WE MAY
RANK AS THE
HIGHEST IN PER CAPITA INCOME THROUGHOUT THE
NATION………..WE
HERE IN THE CONSTITUTION STATE
ALSO HOLD THE DUBIOUS HONORS OF
RANKING HIGHEST PER CAPITA NATIONWIDE IN
TOTAL TAX BURDEN….
IN PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COUNT…
AND IN STATE INDEBTEDNESS. THIS LACK
OF FISCAL DISCIPLINE CARRIES OVER INTO THE
STATE-MUNICIPAL
RELATIONSHIP……AS MANDATES NEW AND OLD DRIVE UP THE
COST OF
DOING BUSINESS FOR THE TOWNS AND
CITIES…………..WHILE THE
REVENUE COMMITMENTS MADE TO US GO UNMET……..
WITH THE
TAXPAYERS ……………AND ULTIMATELY THE MOST IN
NEED – WHETHER
IT BE THE SCHOOLS OR THE ELDERLY – BEARING
THE BRUNT OF LESS
THAN RESTRAINABLE EXPENDITURES COMBINED
WITH UNMET FUNDING
FORMULAS FROM THE STATE.
CONNECTICUT
CAN DO BETTER. THE WORK OF THIS COMMISSION
WILL HOPEFULLY LEAD TO SOME REDRESS OF
THESE WRONGS……… AND
A REASONED RE-BALANCING OF THE
STATE-MUNCIPAL RELATIONSHIP. AS
ONE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS TWO YEARS AGO
OF THE CT MUNICIPAL
CONSORTIUM FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY – A
BIPARTISAN GRASSROOTS
ALLIANCE
OF TOWNS AND CITY COUNCILS AS WELL AS BOARDS OF
ALDERMEN AND SELECTMEN ,
AND EDUCATION AND FINANCE – OUR
SOME 177 BOARDS REPRESENTING 105 TOWNS AND
CITIES THROUGHOUT
THE STATE FEEL THAT MANDATE REFORM IS KEY
TO THE FISCAL HEALTH
OF OUR TOWNS AND CITIES….OF OUR STATE…. AND
OF OUR SHARED
TAXBASE – THE CT TAXPAYER.
YES….ASSUREDLY WE LOOK FOR THE
STATE TO MEET ITS FUNDING COMMITMENTS TO
THE MUNICIPALITIES….. BUT PART AND PARCEL OF FISCAL STABILITY AT BOTH LEVELS IS
THE
DIRE NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE TOWNS’ ABILITY
TO EFFECTIVELY AND
EFFICIENTLY MANAGE OUR OWN EXPENSES AT THE
LOCAL LEVEL.
RESOURCES ARE FAR TOO SCARCE TO KEEP IN PLACE
PROTECTIONIST
REGULATIONS – READ THAT MANDATES - THAT
DRIVE UP EXPENSES AND
PROPERTY TAXES WHILE DRIVING OUT GOOD
PROGRAM AS WELL AS
OVERWHELMED TAXPAYERS, ESPECIALLY OUR
ELDERLY. ONE HAS TO
ASK WHO REALLY SPEAKS FOR THE LITTLE GUY IN
THIS INSTANCE?
HAVING SERVED ON THE BOARD OF FINANCE IN
THE TOWN OF
GRANBY
FOR OVER HALF MY LIFE NOW – SINCE 1982 – AND SINCE ’89 AS
CHAIRMAN – TODAY’S ENVIRONMENT IS A FAR CRY
FROM THE DAYS
WHEN WE COULD HANDLE OPERATING AND CAPITAL
YEAR AFTER YEAR
WITH A MILL RATE CHANGE OF 2-3% PER YEAR. NOW…. AS CCM HAS
SAID…. IT’S RUNNING NEARLY DOUBLE THAT JUST
TO STAY EVEN….WELL
AHEAD OF INFLATION AND OVERALL PAY AS
ENCOUNTERED BY OUR
TYPICAL CT TAXPAYER…. FAMILY……VOTER.
SOMETHING IS WRONG
WITH THIS PICTURE….AS THE SAYING GOES…. BUT
WHILE MANY BLAME
GROWTH…. IT’S THE INTERNAL RATE OF GROWTH
THAT NEEDS THE
ATTENTION. WHILE NEW UNFUNDED MANDATES
COMBINE WITH THE
CONTINUAL RENEGING ON FUNDING THE MUNICIPAL
AID FORMULAS TO
SQUEEZE THE TOWNS, IT’S THE IMPACT OF THE
LABOR MANDATES THAT
ARE DRIVING US BROKE. COMPENSATION MAKES UP
A GOOD 75% OR SO
OF A TYPICAL MUNICIPAL BUDGET………SO WHEN
CABE REPORTS THAT,
FOR THIS ENTIRE DECADE, SETTLEMENTS ARE
RUNNING AT CLOSE TO 5%
PER YEAR – STEPS INCLUDED – DOING THE MATH
TELLS YOU THERE IS A
PROBLEM……AND IT’S NAME IS BINDING ARB..
WHEN THE STUDIES VIRTUALLY ALL REPORT THAT
PREVAILING WAGE INFLATES COSTS ON GOVERNMENT PROJECTS BY 10-35
%..........THAT’S A PROBLEM THAT, IN MY TOWN, COSTS GRANBY TAXPAYERS ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.
THAT REPRESENTS 4% OF THEIR TAX BILL……… A SAVINGS THAT COULD FUND MORE PROGRAM
AND CONSTRUCTION…. OR JUST END UP SHOWING UP IN A REDUCED TAX BILL. WOULDN’T
THAT MAKE A HELL OF A LOT MORE SENSE THAN PAYING EXTRA TO TRADESMEN WHO ALREADY
EARN EQUIVALENT TO – AND OFTEN MORE THAN – THE MEDIAN INCOME IN CT?
OUR DEAR CONNECTICUT IS A STATE IN TROUBLE…….. AND IT
SHOULD BE NO WONDER THAT WE ARE TYPICALLY
ONE OF THE FIRST
INTO
- AND LAST OUT OF – RECESSION WHEN THE
ECONOMY HITS A SOFT
SPOT. THESE INEFFICIENCIES ARE ALL
PART OF WHY THAT HAPPENS….
AND UNTIL THEY ARE REMEDIED AND THESE
PROTECTIONIST
ANACRONISMS FROM THE PAST ARE MODIFIED, WE
CAN EXPECT NO
BETTER. BY MAKING IT HARDER TO IMPOSE THE
ADDED COSTS OF NEW
MANDATES ON THE TOWNS………………..AND BY
RELIEVING US OF SOME
OF THE BURDEN OF THOSE ALREADY EXISTING….
YOU HELP US ALL IN
BEGINNING TO RIGHT THE SHIP.
TRUE….. … THE STATE STEPPING UP
TO MEETS ITS OWN FUNDING COMMITMENTS TO THE
TOWNS WOULD
ALSO MAKE A DIFFERENCE….BUT SOME OF THAT IS
LITTLE MORE THAN A
SHELL GAME OF LEAVING IT IN ONE OF THE
TAXPAYER’S POCKETS ONLY
TO TAKE IT FROM THE OTHER. GETTING AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE
EXPONENTAIL GROWTH IN COSTS….. AND REDUCING
THE SLOPE OF THE
MUNICIPAL COST CURVE GOING FORWARD….IS THE
KEY TO TAX
REFORM………….AND TO CONNECTICUT’S FUTURE.
THESE INITIAL STEPS
ARE IMPORTANT, BUT DO NOT LEAVE ASIDE THE
TWIN 800 POUND
GORILLAS THAT ARE AT THE CRUX OF IT ALL.
REFORMS TO THE LABOR
MANDATES ARE ESSENTIAL IN TACKLING THE
CRITICAL ISSUES OF COST-
MANAGEMENT.
ALLOWING THE TOWNS PARITY WITH THE STATE UNDER
BINDING ARB…… AND RAISING THE THRESHOLD
UNDER PREVAILING
WAGE TO A SINGLE TIER OF $1 MILLION WITH
INDEXING….. ARE BOTH
MODEST REFORMS THAT PROVIDE SOME MINIMAL
RELIEF WHILE
PRESERVING THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF THE
MANDATES…..HOWEVER
UNWARRANTED THEY MAY BE IN TODAY’S WORLD.
THANK YOU.
************
