Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Jack Walton of the Watertown-Oakville Taxpayers Association and Vice President of FCTO� has accomplished what no other Connecticut Taxpayer Group member has, to our knowledge, to date.�

Jack has gained a seat at the negotiations table as Board of Education contracts are negotiated in his town. �There is no one more qualified to sit at this table than Jack.� FCTO extends our congratulations and appreciation to Jack Walton for his dedication to serving taxpayers in his town and our State.�

Jack�s success is highlighted in the following news article as it appeared on 30 June 2005 in the Republican-American daily newspaper (Waterbury)

Unprecedented. Ground-breaking. About time.

Those are the types of words being used to describe a surprising development in the school district's pending teacher contract negotiations that could have far-reaching ramifications throughout the state.� The Board of Education on Monday announced it would extend an invitation to the Watertown-Oakville Taxpayers Association to place an advisory member on the board's negotiating team for contract talks that begin Aug. 3. Superintendent Joseph Erardi Jr. delivered that message in writing to a group of four WOTA representatives Wednesday morning in his office.� Jack Walton, WOTA's media spokesman, appears the most likely choice to fill the position. He said he was given a thick binder containing guidelines and ground rules, the current three-year pact and other documents to peruse in making his preparations for the talks.�I will not have a vote, but will have a voice," Walton said. �The seating of the WOTA member is being challenged, however, by the Watertown Education Association, the teachers' union.� The taxpayers' association has been highly critical of town spending, particularly school budgets, the past several years and has been blamed for the defeat of numerous budget referendums. While it rarely sends members to openly speak at public meetings, it has not been shy at castigating the education and teaching establishments in newspaper letters to the editor and advertisements.� Walton said WOTA has clamored for years to have some type of representation in teacher contract negotiations, but nothing ever came of its request.� But for anyone normally out of the loop to get a foot in the closed door of contract deliberations is highly irregular.�

"Phenomenal," was the reaction of Susan Kniep, president of the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayers Association. "We as a taxpayers' group will make sure the news gets out, and hopefully next year it will be a concept to be embraced."� Kniep said she is unaware of any taxpayer organization in the state having previously landed a member on a school contract negotiating team.�� "If nothing else, this is a step toward that process," she said.� The state group, formed in the 1980s as the Connecticut Association of Taxpayers Associations, has among its laundry list of goals requiring union contracts and disputes to be negotiated and resolved publicly, according to the organization's Web site (www.ctact.org).� Frank McHale, WOTA president, said his association will convene a membership meeting soon to draft recommendations stating WOTA's positions that will be forwarded to Erardi.� Walton had previously stated the group would press for no pay increases for at least the first year of a new pact.� "The taxpayers are fed up with the large (budget) increases year in and year out," McHale said. The group wants the town to use $2 million from its approximate $3 million fund balance to plug into the proposed 2005-06 budget to offset tax increases.� A combined $50.2 million town and school spending plan was soundly defeated at a second referendum Tuesday.� Asked if the offer by the school board to WOTA was a subtle attempt to soften its opposition to the budgets, McHale simply responded, "They're finally recognizing WOTA with a seat for the teachers' contract, which is about time."� WEA President Marcia Moriarty said a "lose-lose" situation would develop with WOTA's inclusion.� "I don't know how they will add to the collective bargaining table," she said, adding other special interest groups, such as students, were not offered a seat but perhaps deserve just as much consideration as WOTA.� "I don't get it," Moriarty continued, saying loyalty and confidentiality will be compromised during the negotiating process.� The legality of the development is being looked into, she said.� Erardi said his morning session with the WOTA representatives lasted about 90 minutes. "The design was not to talk about Jack's role, but to hand deliver the letter," he said.� The new superintendent, who began work in the district May 31, said the meeting gave him an "opportunity to understand the landscape" of the community.� "There isn't one that I met that doesn't want the best for our children," Erardi said.� The three-year teachers' contract, which cost an additional $2.4 million more than the contract before it, expires in August 2006. The last two contracts have gone to arbitration.� Phone messages left with town attorney Randall McHugh, school board attorney Joseph B. Summa and Connecticut Education Association union representative Jeff Mockler seeking comment were not immediately returned.

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Donna McCalla, ctjodi@sbcglobal.net

Subject:� Connecticut Tax Experiences FY 2005-06

Hi, all. I am attaching the updated Budget Adoptions Spreadsheet, as well as the CT Tax Increase Comparisons spreadsheet, up to date as of last Friday, July 8.

There are now 9 unapproved budgets in Connecticut, although a couple are up for vote again this week, and one approved budget (Killingly) faces a recall vote. As you can see on the second tab of the Budget Adoptions spreadsheet, municipalities (on average) who defeat a proposed budget on the first referendum reduce the proposed tax increase by 2 percentage points. For a third referendum, budgets are reduced by an additional .5%, but interestingly, budgets going to a fourth round are (on average) about 1.25% less than Round Three, and 3.5% less than Round One.

Since the statewide average tax increase remains at the 4.41% number, it is interesting that residents of those municipalities willing to go to Round Four are making a significant impact on the final tax rate set for FY 2005-06. Round Four continues to be the "ceiling" this year; Killingly, as their history for the past 4 years would indicate, remains the current holdout. We wish them luck, as they are facing a number of financial issues.� This information will hopefully prove useful as budget season for FY 2006-07 begins in just 5 short months, especially given recent news about reduced federal education funding, companies pulling out of Connecticut (and resultant job losses), increase in "interest only" mortgages, significant increase in consumer debt nationwide, slight reduction in CT housing starts, etc.� Thanks to Edie Duncan of Granby's help, we have been able to close out all other towns with the exception of the 9 unapproved budgets with detail on approved tax rates. A couple of the towns have blanks in the "Approved Tax Increase" column because of revals and those towns are not able to provide that detail.� Any corrections, please let me know. Thanks, Donna

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Join with others who are attempting to defend their property rights which have been affected by the recent Supreme Court decision.� Visit� FCTO�s website to learn what you can do.�� Governor Rell offers her comments below�.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE�� 

CONTACT: Dennis Schain, 860-524-7313

July 11, 2005��

dennis.schain@po.state.ct.us

Statement of Governor M. Jodi Rell on

Call for Legislative Hearings on Eminent Domain

Governor M. Jodi Rell today issued the following statement after legislative leaders announced a plan to hold public hearings on the use of eminent domain for economic development projects:

This issue is the 21^st century equivalent of the Boston Tea Party: the government taking away the rights and liberties of property owners without giving them a voice. But this time it is not a monarch wearing robes in England we are fighting it is five robed justices at the Supreme Court in Washington.� I support the idea of public hearings on how and when eminent domain should be used, especially for projects when blight is not an issue. I believe firmly that the rights of property owners come first.�� The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Fort Trumbull redevelopment case has rightly created enormous concern among homeowners. I have heard from people who worry that their rights might be superseded by a municipality's desire however well-intentioned to create new opportunities for growth and revenue.� � Home ownership is often referred to as the American Dream. Our homes are the places where we raise our families and build our lives. When government intrudes on our homes, it must have a defensible reason. In the New London case, the reason was not defensible.� Defining the right reasons for using eminent domain is properly the task of the Legislature. That is one reason why I have supported Representative Ward's call for the General Assembly to convene a special session to discuss this issue. Public hearings are the first step to establishing those critical definitions. We should do this right but we should not let the matter drag on for months.�� The Governor also said she supported asking municipalities to forestall any eminent domain proceedings until the Legislature has acted.

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NEWS LINKS WORTH READING AND SAVING

�Websites to connect you to the political news of the day�

http://www.politicsnationwide.com/

http://politicalwire.com/links.html

http://politicalwire.com/

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Another excellent website to keep you current on the news�..�� http://watchdog4pop.blogspot.com/

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For the honest law abiding citizen who has no health insurance, here is how our tax dollars are being spent for the criminals.

Jailhouse Medicine: A Million-Dollar Patient

May 15, 2005, By ROBERT A. FRAHM, Courant Staff Writer

When the University of Connecticut Health Center's budget tipped into the red this year, officials blamed the cost of a single patient - a prison inmate whose pharmacy bill topped $1 million.�� Read on�. ��http://www.uchc.edu/ocomm/features/stories/stories05/feature_jailhouse.html

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Remove The Tax Blindfold

Dan Haar, Hartford Courant, 6/26/05

The state legislature continues its special session this week, but it won't consider two common-sense reforms that would have given the public valuable information about who's paying taxes and where taxpayer dollars are going.� So much for the Year of Accountability.�� Read on http://www.courant.com/business/hc-haar0626.artjun26col,0,4317433.column?page=2&coll=hc-utility-business

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