The Cap was not raised and like Radio Free Europe, these are the following special messages:
Goldilocks is a weenie. I repeat Goldilocks is a weenie.
The powerpoint presentation will not be presented due to technical difficulties.
The rain is spain appears in Norwalk’s sewer drains.
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Ah yes … at long last i certainly hope that I will never have to sit through another budget meeting. But I have several observations about this process. For one Corda really did a bad job making the case for the BOE budget. He misjudged what was being asked of him, and assumed that the status quo would prevail. The BOE members really didn’t help dig him out of this. By opening with the “I will not cut a single administrator speech” he came across as inflexible, where flexibility was what was needed. Eventually he came back with the 11th hour proposal that seemed, on the surface, and to me, entirely reasonable with the added checks of bringing back a finance director, and the monthly meetings.
The Norwalk-outers were ill served by whatever advice they were being sold. Was it Ken Slapin, Alex Knopp or Galen Wells who dreamed up the strategy of theatrics over substance? Who will really know, or more to the point admit to the machinations. At the end of the day, there should have been a debate about the performance and spending of the schools, but it should have been at the BOE level, and that debate should have been open and aired to the public. That is the key here, sunlight is the disinfectant, and the stink of political games was reeking from the BOE budget backers.
Even in the end, when I asked Matt Miklave for a copy of his statement, he declined. The very thing he said he most wanted, that open public debate, was being censored by himself. Enjoy the Cayman Islands there Matt.
When I look back at the BOE budget process, I remember when Rick McQuaid mentioned that the BOE had not responded to the BETs 32 questions. The 32 unanswered questions, and the lack of a response set the stage for everything that happened since.
And lastly, its time that Norwalk embraces the digital age. These council meetings should be video recorded and aired on government TV, and streamed off a web site. The public should participate and the technology is there to deliver it. Conference calls, webinars, websites devoted to issues, and yes even blogs, should be used by our government officials to educate the public about the issues.
The BOE budget should have been online. The BOE blog should have accepted comments. The BOE should open up the process of their budgeting to the public from this point on.
Lastly, Norwalk does get screwed by Hartford. Our attention to the budget locally must now be redirected to the helping our entire Hartford delegation get more ECS funding for Norwalk. And maybe a lesson on human anatomy for Bruce Morris, who somehow thinks that women can’t visit the urologist.
