Once again our Board of Selectman show that they have no fiscal responsibility and continue to spend, spend, spend. Raises, bonuses, and now huge department budget increases across the board, just more of the same from the people we entrusted with our tax dollars.
There are important reasons that voters value fiscal responsibility in their elected officials. Managing public money is a matter of public trust, and a charge that should not be taken lightly. They are entrusted to wisely manage our resources and to prevent runaway spending and out-of-control government growth by requiring all departments to run more efficiently. Instead, they continue to increase department spending and award those that ignore their department's budget and continue to over spend,year after year.
They need to apply the brakes on this runaway spending and establish a tradition of frugality that will require departments to run more efficiently, instead of rewarding those that don't. If they can't; or won't, and continue on as they have, then we need to find people who will have the public's and town's best interests at heart and remove those that are only looking out for themselves.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Am I missing something here?
Over the past few months, we've all heard the same old cry, time and time again about how our town is so broke and that we've all got to look at ways to stop the bleeding; yet it seems that our Board of Selectman are still wearing those rose colored glasses from times gone by. After talking about shutting down street lights to save money on this year's budget, the board unanimously decides to hire a new Executive Assistant, at an undisclosed rate of pay at a recent nonpublic session held Sept. 3rd and at the same meeting, gave several town employees not only a 3% raise, they also voted to give these same employees a bonus too.
Highway Dept. Sup. John Gomarlo, received a $958.00 bonus
Cemetery Dept.Sup. Norm Struthers, received an $810.00 bonus
Sewer Dept. assistant, Fran Domenick, received a $975.00 bonus
Water Dept. Sup. Gary Puffer, received a $1388.94 performance bonus.
Checking back on another nonpublic session, held on Aug. 27th, we found that they had done the same thing earlier, giving Margaret Sharra, Land Use Dept. a $1.00/hr raise and an undisclosed performance bonus, and then raising the salary of the Sewer Dept Sup.,Rick Meleski, after a 90 day review, to $42,900.00. How is this saving the town, us taxpayers, any money if they continuously hand it out as fast as it comes in?
Though I don't begrudge anyone being compensated for doing their jobs well, this is a slap in the face to all of those in town who are struggling to keep their heads above the ever rising tide rolling over them in food and energy costs and constant town tax increases. For a town that's so broke I wonder where they found the money to do this, surely turning off a few lights isn't going to offset the cost of these raises and bonuses and a new hiring. Anyone want to bet we'll see it reflected in the new budget? If you're happy with this, then go back to sticking your head in the sand; if not, then attend the next Board of Selectman's meeting and let them know. And if they refuse to listen, then send them a message in March, that the buck stops here!
Your comments, both pro and con are welcome ..
Highway Dept. Sup. John Gomarlo, received a $958.00 bonus
Cemetery Dept.Sup. Norm Struthers, received an $810.00 bonus
Sewer Dept. assistant, Fran Domenick, received a $975.00 bonus
Water Dept. Sup. Gary Puffer, received a $1388.94 performance bonus.
Checking back on another nonpublic session, held on Aug. 27th, we found that they had done the same thing earlier, giving Margaret Sharra, Land Use Dept. a $1.00/hr raise and an undisclosed performance bonus, and then raising the salary of the Sewer Dept Sup.,Rick Meleski, after a 90 day review, to $42,900.00. How is this saving the town, us taxpayers, any money if they continuously hand it out as fast as it comes in?
Though I don't begrudge anyone being compensated for doing their jobs well, this is a slap in the face to all of those in town who are struggling to keep their heads above the ever rising tide rolling over them in food and energy costs and constant town tax increases. For a town that's so broke I wonder where they found the money to do this, surely turning off a few lights isn't going to offset the cost of these raises and bonuses and a new hiring. Anyone want to bet we'll see it reflected in the new budget? If you're happy with this, then go back to sticking your head in the sand; if not, then attend the next Board of Selectman's meeting and let them know. And if they refuse to listen, then send them a message in March, that the buck stops here!
Your comments, both pro and con are welcome ..
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Should we put a stop to "double dipping"
It is a known fact that there are quite a few town employees who hold several different salaried positions; while this might be said is a good idea in regards to having experienced people fill those positions, it also gives the appearance in some cases as impropriety, bias and/or nepotism. We feel with the infusion of "new blood" so to speak, perhaps even more qualified people would and should be given the chance to come forward and provide their input to the benefit of us all. The practice of filling positions without being elected by the citizens of Winchester should also be stopped, this too wreaks of favoritism and impropriety. We feel that each town position is important and therefore should be filled with the most qualified candidate and that candidate should be an elected one in all fairness. In these hard economic times, should we not be getting the most bang for our buck? The subject was also broached in another discussion here on the board that perhaps in another effort to save the town some money, several depts. could/should be combined; ie: sewer and water for example. What do you think? All this talk about change and the future of Winchester should perhaps start at our town hall.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Appauling Situation Calls for Action Now !
Seems nothing changes in our town, more of the same old, same old, stick it to the taxpayers. The heck with rules and regulations! We received an email this morning from Budget Committee member, Bob Davis, who attended last night's Board of Selectman's meeting and came away disgusted after he learned the following:
As we all know this past weekend races were held at the Winchester Speedpark Motocross Track; as evident by the noise, increased traffic and all the campers parked along the roadway entrance into the track and along the river at the back of the track. What you don't know according to Bob's email was that our town Fire Chief, Barry Kellom, took a fire truck out of service to re-fill the water tanks on campers parked at the speedway. According to Bob, the selectman were told that Gary Puffer, our Water Superintendent, had opened the gates over the weekend at the town's pumping station and filled the truck with un-metered water, which was then used to fill an unknown number of campers at the track. Who authorized this? It surely wasn't the selectman who seemed to be caught by surprise at the news. Would this not be considered theft of service by both of these men? Who paid for the water and the gas for the truck and do both of these men expect to be paid overtime for working this weekend? Does the town have some kind of secret contract with the owner's of this track to supply town water to patrons camping at the track over the long Labor Day weekend? Besides the obvious, what would have happened had there been a fire and this truck was needed? Just how much longer would it have taken to respond if it had to be driven to the water plant and refilled, before heading out to the fire? Another thing Bob pointed out, was what happened to the grey water and sewage in the tanks of these campers.No one seemed to have an answer. As an owner of a camper himself, Bob knows you must empty the used water before refilling with fresh. As water is used, it either goes into the grey water holding tank or your sewage tank. Was this waste water dumped on the ground or worse, into the river? This area is in our town aquifer and there are protected wetlands and the town's wells only feet from where these campers were parked. Unless Gary Puffer and Barry Kellom can explain their activities this weekend and where the water went, then one must assume they allowed without question dumping of gray water into our aquifer and wet lands at the Winchester Speedpark. This whole situation stinks! Everyone should be calling the town hall and demanding their resignations. We can not afford to continuously put up with this kind of conduct.
As we all know this past weekend races were held at the Winchester Speedpark Motocross Track; as evident by the noise, increased traffic and all the campers parked along the roadway entrance into the track and along the river at the back of the track. What you don't know according to Bob's email was that our town Fire Chief, Barry Kellom, took a fire truck out of service to re-fill the water tanks on campers parked at the speedway. According to Bob, the selectman were told that Gary Puffer, our Water Superintendent, had opened the gates over the weekend at the town's pumping station and filled the truck with un-metered water, which was then used to fill an unknown number of campers at the track. Who authorized this? It surely wasn't the selectman who seemed to be caught by surprise at the news. Would this not be considered theft of service by both of these men? Who paid for the water and the gas for the truck and do both of these men expect to be paid overtime for working this weekend? Does the town have some kind of secret contract with the owner's of this track to supply town water to patrons camping at the track over the long Labor Day weekend? Besides the obvious, what would have happened had there been a fire and this truck was needed? Just how much longer would it have taken to respond if it had to be driven to the water plant and refilled, before heading out to the fire? Another thing Bob pointed out, was what happened to the grey water and sewage in the tanks of these campers.No one seemed to have an answer. As an owner of a camper himself, Bob knows you must empty the used water before refilling with fresh. As water is used, it either goes into the grey water holding tank or your sewage tank. Was this waste water dumped on the ground or worse, into the river? This area is in our town aquifer and there are protected wetlands and the town's wells only feet from where these campers were parked. Unless Gary Puffer and Barry Kellom can explain their activities this weekend and where the water went, then one must assume they allowed without question dumping of gray water into our aquifer and wet lands at the Winchester Speedpark. This whole situation stinks! Everyone should be calling the town hall and demanding their resignations. We can not afford to continuously put up with this kind of conduct.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
It's Time To Enforce Winchester's Noise Ordinance
Bob Davis is circulating a petition to get the town's selectman to enforce our new Noise Ordinance. Below is a copy of his petition;
This introductory letter is to inform you about myself. As you may know, last spring I went door to door in neighborhoods that were affected by the loud noise of the racetracks, to ask for signatures and your support, on a petition to ask the town selectman to enforce the noise ordinance that was passed by the voters in 2001. In my attempts to get them to do this, they informed me that the ordinance was unenforceable. So I returned to the Selectman’s meetings, time and time again until my perseverance finally paid off. A new Noise Ordinance was drafted and passed by the voters in March of 2008. Now I am asking you, if you will commit yourselves in joining me, in supporting the enforcement of this new Noise Ordinance. With a new petition of names in hand, I will ask the Selectman to enforce the ordinance and make the racetracks significantly reduce their noise. If this fails, I will then call everyone who showed an interest to set up a meeting and at that time ask all to decide if we should go forward and look into filing a legal action to force the town to comply. If we do decide to proceed, we should then organize a committee. I have spoken with the law firm of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, who represented a group of citizens from Tamworth, NH who organized and called themselves the “Focus Group”. They formed to fight the noise of a racetrack in their community .. and won. This law firm has the experience and legal know how and I believe that their outline of the “Enforcement of the Winchester Noise Ordinance” is the right way to proceed if it comes down to it. I have spent a lot of my own money and time, in my efforts to get this far. I know I can not afford to continue this fight alone. I strongly believe a united front will persuade the selectman to act. Therefore; I am asking you for your help and support and to join me if you want to try and do something about this noise situation. We are not going to try to put them out of business, we just want them to adhere to the noise ordinance and the will of the people. If there is no interest to support my efforts, then you will not hear from me again on this matter. This is a one time plea to join me in trying to make Winchester a better place for all. I thank you all in advance for your support.
You can contact me by calling 239-7299.
Bob Davis
We'd ask that everyone in favor of a quieter Winchester to please get in touch with Bob and sign his petition and show your support by attending the meeting with him when he presents his petition.
This introductory letter is to inform you about myself. As you may know, last spring I went door to door in neighborhoods that were affected by the loud noise of the racetracks, to ask for signatures and your support, on a petition to ask the town selectman to enforce the noise ordinance that was passed by the voters in 2001. In my attempts to get them to do this, they informed me that the ordinance was unenforceable. So I returned to the Selectman’s meetings, time and time again until my perseverance finally paid off. A new Noise Ordinance was drafted and passed by the voters in March of 2008. Now I am asking you, if you will commit yourselves in joining me, in supporting the enforcement of this new Noise Ordinance. With a new petition of names in hand, I will ask the Selectman to enforce the ordinance and make the racetracks significantly reduce their noise. If this fails, I will then call everyone who showed an interest to set up a meeting and at that time ask all to decide if we should go forward and look into filing a legal action to force the town to comply. If we do decide to proceed, we should then organize a committee. I have spoken with the law firm of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, who represented a group of citizens from Tamworth, NH who organized and called themselves the “Focus Group”. They formed to fight the noise of a racetrack in their community .. and won. This law firm has the experience and legal know how and I believe that their outline of the “Enforcement of the Winchester Noise Ordinance” is the right way to proceed if it comes down to it. I have spent a lot of my own money and time, in my efforts to get this far. I know I can not afford to continue this fight alone. I strongly believe a united front will persuade the selectman to act. Therefore; I am asking you for your help and support and to join me if you want to try and do something about this noise situation. We are not going to try to put them out of business, we just want them to adhere to the noise ordinance and the will of the people. If there is no interest to support my efforts, then you will not hear from me again on this matter. This is a one time plea to join me in trying to make Winchester a better place for all. I thank you all in advance for your support.
You can contact me by calling 239-7299.
Bob Davis
We'd ask that everyone in favor of a quieter Winchester to please get in touch with Bob and sign his petition and show your support by attending the meeting with him when he presents his petition.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Letter to Board of Selectman
The following letter is being sent to the BOS on behalf of fairness. If they are going to allow the Winchester Snowmobile Club, run by Dean Beamon to be linked to from the Town of Winchester's official town site, why not our sites too? After all, we are providing a service and important town information to the public, more so than a snowmobile club I might add.
the letter reads...
the letter reads...
The Board of Selectmen;
As a community group, we would like to ask you to add our web links to the Winchester Web page site under “useful links“. Our groups are all working for the betterment of the community and the public interest of lowering taxes and the public safety. Please add winchesterinformer.com, winchesterinformer.blogspot.com and winchesternoisecoalition.blogspot.com at your earliest convenience. This gesture would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Robert Davis
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
