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About Me
- the Winchester Informer
- I am part of a group of Winchester citizens completely opposed to dirty and hazardous businesses, like asphalt and wood burning plants wanting to come into town at the expense of our quality of life. I am concerned about preserving the rural character of Winchester. These types of development have no benefits for Winchester citizens and they create many health hazards and will cause the destruction of green space. Our Winchester is known for its precious natural resources; dramatic rocky slopes, unique wetlands and abundant wildlife. I feel there are many questions concerning these proposed projects that outweigh any benefits. The increase in traffic along existing streets and noise and air pollution would be very significant. I am also concerned that the town infrastructure cannot cope with the problems these types of businesses will demand. Furthermore, I am very discouraged with the Planning Board and Zoning Boards and feel they have been negligent in their duties to protect neighboring residents from health hazards and safety issues that will surely arise and affect the lives and livelihoods of many citizens.
25 comments:
I am not sure if this is the forum to discuss the potential outcome of the warrant articles. But I would like to start with School Warrant Article One.
Should Article One pass with a "YES" vote. The school will have a budget amount of $10,835,479 to work with. This does not mean that all of it is raised from Taxes. After the estimated revenues are subtracted the amount to be raised from Taxation for the Budget(not including warrant articles) would be $4,485,924. That is $460,264 less than last year which is approximately a $1.59 decrease to the $30.03 tax rate. APPROXIMATE NEW TAX RATE $28.44
If Article One does not pass by casting a "NO" vote. The default budget of $11,554,845.21 would pass to operate the school. The amount to be raised from Taxes would be $5,205,290.21 after you subtract the estimated revenues. That would be an approximate $0.89 increase on the current $30.03 tax rate. APPROXIMATE NEW TAX RATE $30.92.
In simpler terms... Vote YES for tax cuts. Vote NO for a Tax increase and neither vote means teacher cuts.
What happened to the $9.1 mil. B.C. budget?
Yes Rick, explain why you took it upon yourself to up the whole committee's proposed 9.1 million dollar budget and give the school board another 1.7 million dollars so they could cover their shortages from the year before and give Dassau and others their raises? Were you looking out for our best interests them and being frugal as you claim to be? Sounds to me you want to be the hero; yet you played right into their hands. Can't have your cake and eat it too Rick, why should we vote for someone who has just stuck it to us and tells us it would be okay to give them even more money. I think not !
The budget that was going to ballot was $11.5m. That's the reality. The $9.1m budget never made it to the voters. Elisha and I made the conscious effort to take steps in the right direction.
After deliberative even Ted who proposed the $9.1m budget said we did a good job. Elisha and I have been working with the budgets for years. We know it better than most the school board.
I am not here asking for your vote. I am here to inform people of what the warrant article states and what the outcome will be.
Lastly at deliberative there was a chance to lower the number beyond $10.8m. Nobody stood up or made a motion. I am going to ask you to please support the warrant article. And to please spread the word that we need to elect new members onto the school board. Its time for a change.
I don't know how the $9,1 Mil fell through the cracks, but lets get behind Article One Vote, YES, because that's as good as it gets this year. As pissed as the school board and the SAU appear to be, I would say it a good step in the right direction. With a Yes vote, and replacing two school board members, we will be on the way to big changes that can come in the future. If we don't unite behind this movement we will lose again, and i am tired of losing to these bullies.
What is the current school board/ administration saying they are going to cut if (when) the 10.8 million is the budget they get? I've heard that they are threating teacher positions. I thought this wouldn't cut teachers.
Honestly Rick, the majority of voters would have preferred the Budget Committee's budget of $9.1 million (did you not see the petition?). We are NOT pleased that we are stuck with paying yet even MORE in property taxes than we did in December. To have a tax rate at $30.03 is outrageous - but to say that we should be pleased with another increase is ludicrous!
No creative thoughts from the SAU and School board. The ones that have ideas are all teacher cuts. Proving once again that the Administration does not put our children's education first.
All they talk about is Teacher cuts and threaten the teachers that use their own money to help educate our children.
Although the ballot budget is somewhat larger than some of us would like to see, it is a step in the right direction. It will begin to curtail the runaway budgets that the school has been fostering for a long time. Lets vote in two new board members, a new, lower budget, and hope for the best. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step".
Of course teachers can be cut, several community members asked that very question when Rick presented the 10.8 budget and it was clear there was no guarantee that his suggestions for cuts would go through even if he gets on the school board but yet many (including Rick) were willing to take that chance.
Mr/Ms. Anonymous you are 100% correct. We the voters do not have a say of exactly where the money goes. Just like last year when the vote supported the School Boards budget and Kevan Whippie assured us there were no cuts to State Funding.
When the State funding was cut(as the Budget committee predicted) instead of trimming the budget and re-evaluating the spending they planned for the SAU... they cut teachers and aides.
We have the opportunity to change the face of our current School Board. In the past the SAU has called all the shots and they are now campaigning to have the people vote for Default budget so they can continue on as usual.
Lastly I will say that Elisha and I have had many conversations with the SAU talking about bottom line budget. They continued to get upset at the thought we could give them a bottom line budget and that we needed to recommend cuts. We did as they asked....
But at deliberative the School Board, Jim Lewis, Pam Bigelow and the SAU staff stayed in their seats and didn't grab all the information that Elisha and I provided.
Now we are empowered by the vote. There are no guarantees. But if we put the right people on the School Board we can make some changes. Elisha and I ask for your vote but we also know that McGrath, Beaman and Cardinale have some great ideas on how to make the $10.8m budget work.
The person that posted "UNITE" is 100% on the mark. Even if we dont agree on everything lets take a step in the right direction. We all want our children educated, taxes reduced and our teachers respected...We need to work together.
You know people we can cut teachers and still have a quality education. I do believe that Mr. Horton is beating his own drum. I, for one, do not believe that we can trust him to operate as a positive agent for the people. As he says the tax rate will only be $30.92 just think what it could have been had he followed the budget committee's plan for 9.5M. Hmm, as Adam Smith said "as we all pursue our own selfish self interest..."
While working on the town budget, Rick, many times voted right along with Ken Gardner and Kevan Whippie against budget cuts for the town. What makes you think he will change his spots once he's on the school board ?
At many of the budget meetings, Rick defended Ken Gardner and voted with Ken Gardner and Kevan Whippie many times. Rick even supported Ken Gardner when he was caught in several of his lies by Bob Davis and loudly chastised Bob for bringing the subject up. Why ? Rick, who talks a good game, even spoke boldly, arrogantly, inconsiderately and was very disrespectful toward committee Chairman Brain Moser and Bob Davis.. He even tried to back-stab Brian several times attempting to take control of the budget committee chairmanship, who some feel Ken Gardner put him up to this because Ken Gardner wasn’t getting his way with the board.
Also at the budget meeting pertaining to the school budget, Elisha & Rick supported what we were led to I believe was a 10.2 school budget. Why didn't they stick to that amount instead of increasing it to 10.8 ? At deliberative 10.2 would have passed easily. Never did Elisha or Rick ask the other budget committee members for their opinion about their amendment. Elisha's and Rick's ideas of cuts were not their own, but instead were the opinion of others.
As it unfolded, we were ready for the 9.2 budget amendment proposal if Elisha’s and Rick’s cuts were voted down. We couldn’t beat the pre-staged grandstanding and taking credit as if it was their own ideas. Their actions cut all the hard work, long hours and efforts of the other budget committee members.
The reality of all of this is that other towns have also had to deal with short comings and have laid off teachers and other staff, cut back on programs offered and field trips and other perks for students. This is the way of today because of the economy which has been an issue for several years now requiring that we all tighten our belts and look for ways to cut costs. That's what is happening all around us in the real world. But here in Winchester, the talking heads and so-called well educated continue to ignore these facts and have the attitude that they are more important than all of the citizens in town combined and that they will not be told what to do or take a pay cut or stop adding to the burden of every taxpayer in town. They lie, use deceitful tactics and threaten to go to court if they don't get their way. This has nothing to do with educating our children, or providing service to the town; it is all about a handful of administrators and greedy teachers looking out for themselves and doing what's best for them and their families to be sure they continue the status quo. We could give them the moon and still they would ask for the stars. Just look at their track record, every year their demands for more money in the name of educating our kids goes up; but test scores and other factors show they aren't getting the job done and we and our kids are not getting our moneys worth here in Winchester. I say it's time to clean house, rethink how we got into this whole situation and take control of how our school is run and our children are educated. Without changes, there is no change.
Nothing will change in this God forsaken town until We the people get organized and rebel. These people we elect, entrusting them to look-out for the best interest of the citizen, instead they become self-serving, greedy, selfishness, sense of entitlement and cronyism which means special treatment and preferences given to friends or people that can line their pockets.
With only Sherman Tedford and Ken Gardner running unopposed for selectmen should scare the living Beat Jesus out of most people if they only had enough common sense to take the time to open their eyes and to know the facts these people are ripping the tax payers off. They are not working in your best interest! Now that is a pair that will beat a full house!
This year when you vote you must remember we do not need Margaret Sharra’s legacy “the bridge to no where” or the generator for emergency management or any other selectmen’s expenders for their friends. Screw them, send a message, if we can live without 20 years ago, we can live without it now.
We all need to vote no on any appropriations no matter what they are. We have to go without in our lives because there is no money, how can these five expect us to continue going without while they feed their egos and put more of a burden on us? It's time to say enough is enough and let the town go without for a change. The police just got a new cruiser last year and a new officer, why do they need more just to sit up in Keene on detail work? We can go without sidewalks to Kulick's too. I've been walking there for 12 years without them, why do we suddenly need them now? Both the cemetery and ELM center have their own trust funds set up, why do we keep doling out money for the operation of both when the interest alone in their trust funds can pay for it? And if Keene can recommend doing away with the Pumkinfest, why can't we drop the silly Pickle Festival in these hard times? There is just so much wasted taxpayer dollars year after year, it's time we all say no more!
Ref; send them a message. You are totally right! See how the selectmen and their frinds try to grow a dept.
A few years ago I was at a selectmen meeting and one of the selectmen said we have to much money accumulating in the cemetery trust fund and the trust wants us to spend some of the money. What!
So the selectmen go about setting up another dept expenditure column in the finance dept growing another dept. Adding another person in the finance dept to manage more accounts. For the cementry dept the selectmen hired a dept head, labors and bought some equipment like a Ford tractor with bucket and a back hoe. I have watched as this dept cost grew bigger and bigger each year. Now the cemetery dept has phones, sewage hook-up computer services, water lines, medical, workers comp, dental and etc. for benefits. Now this year asking $37,225 budget. Now they have hired a new dept heads who wants more money!
Oh! The Ford tractor the selectmen bought became completely worn out as the selectmen said at a meeting in just a few years and needed replacement. Funny Leroy Austin owns it now and it works just fine for years, lifting heavy rocks and digging holes, scraping driveway. Hummmm WORN OUT!
See it isn't just this dept it is all the town depts growing and make work for their friends and as town population has shrunk.
Take another dept the town beach we pay now a $27,195 budget. We hired personnel, with benefits, bought Lands End picnic tables and built a over priced car port for $24,000 plus. Dept head and all. The town beach was closed by the state July 14 of last year for bacteria. Where are the saving? we paid them all summer to do nothing. Now they want to hire someone to close the gates at night!
Now they want to grow the Emergency Management this year, buying a generator just in case. In case of what? I saw two feet on water on Main street and no one needed a generator. The selectmen gave Chaney Stephens the Emergency Management job to shut him up because he was talking bad about the $347,000 fire truck we didn't need.
Now this year the boat landing own by the sportmen club needs the town take it over. Another dept growing I can see it coming.
So when you go and vote just remember we are amount a band of thieves and their hide-out is the town hall.
Time to stop the craziness--Vote-Richard Horton and Elisha Jackson for the school board. Any one but Colleen is the cry in town. Vote YES on #1 and #10, the rest are all NO. Time to make a stand and save our homes.
I agree-Remember when you read today's opinion in the sentinel that both the Winchester residents that are trying to sway your vote have a lot to win or lose personality.
How come Marlboro, a town larger than Winchester only has a School Budget of just over 5 million while our greedy administrators and School Board want nearly 12 million? Something stinks. And after reading Mr. Bigelow's biased personal opinion, regarding new candidates running for the board, I'm appalled at the methods these people will stoop to to get their way. This has nothing to do with the quality of education in our tow, which by the way stinks, it's all about the money and don't you get fooled into believing it's not.
A sidewalk to Kulick's is a great idea, but times are tough and the original estimate done by our experts apparently wasn't even close. If I had a house FOR SALE on main street, I would be in favor of this expense too.
I will need to find the stats somewhere but I don't believe Marlborough is even half our size.?
Do you have figures to back up your statement? i'm just curious
Found the stats. 2010 census Marlborough 20.7 square miles and population 2059
Winchester 55.5 square miles and population 4684
I do not disagree with you trhat the school is over budgeted we just need to have the correct facts posted.
Well Bigelow is only making sure his brother wife Pam Bigelow at the school get her fair share
Concerning the size of Marlboro to Winchester, one has to look at the amount of non taxed property that Winchester has within it's borders. The largest state park in NH eats up a lot of the 55 square miles. The proper statistic would be to research the total taxable property per number of population. That would register whether it is comparable or not. Divide the total taxable property value of each town by the number of people according to the most recent census figure. See who gets the better deal.
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