On the surface, anything that takes a step towards property tax relief for the beleaguered homeowner seems like a good thing. Who wouldn’t support a check against the never ending rise in taxes. But, you can’t have policy decisions created in a vacuum and where Rell’s proposal falls short is exactly along the lines of not thinking about the realities outside the old Hoover thinking.
The problem with Hartford telling towns the maximum that they could raise taxes is that it would pit the various mandates that Hartford imposes, like the state Educational mandates, at an unfair advantage over the things a municipality might like to do. To meet a proposed 3% cap would lead to fierce budget battles pitting schools versus other municipal services, battles we already see now.
Soon digging for quarters to feed the parking meters in SoNo will be joined by a new payment option, a special issued parking payment card. Finally! And word, according to the Hour, is that other parking areas may get the option too. From the Hour:
The debit cards will hold $25 in value and deduct that amount in 25-cent increments. Parking Authority members say the cards will offer motorists convenience.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, and perhaps evoking his doppleganger, at least according to an earlier illustrative comment, Council member Doug Hempstead is urging people to volunteer their time, energy and experience to help out, not just the city, but the many non profits in the area that could use some help. From the Hour:
More government recruiting sessions aimed at landing resumes for service on city boards and commission are in the works.
This time, however, Common Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead wants to cast a wider net by encouraging residents to also submit their resumes for work with local nonprofit organizations.
The Hour got into it today with both an editorial brick brack and a story on the issue of snow and ice removal. They somehow forgot to mention the long stretches of snow in front of the empty lot on Route 7, (Elinco) on Water street in front of the former Norwalk Compressor building and countless others. DPW could probably self fund itself with the amount of fines they should be dishing out at $99 a pop.
Some problems just don’t have an easy answer, and the question of what to do about Bruce Morris, who serves in the state Legislature while employed by the Norwalk Public Schools, is one of them.
Update: In my haste to post this I accidentally forgot to post the introduction. So What follows is the agenda first followed by the meeting notes. I also corrected some typos that resulted in some items not being clear
LAND USE AND BUILDING MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
The Agenda
Bonnefant, Geake, Lindstrom, Sutton, Krummel, Hempstead, Alan Loh, Ralph Velnseze
A. Board of Education (Items tabled from November 29, 2007)
1. 24 Tablet PCs and docking stations – “Authorize the Purchasing Agent to issue a Purchase Order to Advance Corporate Networking for the purchase of 24 Tablet PCs and docking stations for the high schools science departments for a total not to exceed $37,130.40. Acct. #09085010 5777 C0112”
In the techie world there’s an adage about doing things the right way costing less than doing things the wrong way, or the short cut way, or the half-assed way. The point is that it is costly to fix things or recover from disasters. Which in a roundabout way leads me to thinking about the amazing amount of sidewalks still blanketed by the odd mixture of ice and snow. If snow had been removed when it fell, then the clean up of the subsequent ice would have been handled by a sprinkling of salt and sand.
Last night’s historical commission had to delay its start as meeting a quorum was an issue. Earlier in the day Kathryn Martino and Sue Gun met to prepare the budget for the commissioners review. It was emailed out at 5pm, and also printed out for the commissioners attending the meeting. The highlights of the meeting included news that the Historical Commission is planning to hire a part time maintenance worker to tackle many of the small repair jobs that its properties require. This was a compromise worked out with the City when it was pointed out that the historic properties were not being services under the umbrella maintenance contract held by the City.
The Maritime Aquarium got a boost in funding its master plan rennovations, a $5 million dolalr doantion form the longest serving trustee, William Ziegler. From the Advocate:
Ziegler has served on the board since its inception in 1981.
Changes will include new exhibit information, a new entrance and orientation area, and two new galleries - Winter in the Sound and Shores of the Sound, Loynd said.
The galleries will look at the ecology of the Long Island Sound’s shores and fish that can winter in the Sound, he said, such as halibut, herring and conger eels.
