Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Reader: Bigger, More Urgent Problems Include High ...":
I agree 100%. Just read the articles in the Courant and JI re: the tipper barrel proposal, and I say if the Town of Enfield is forcing people to use these barrels, they better darn well be providing the homeowners with these $$$ barrels, for free.
Anyone who purchased one of these earlier, did so because they wanted one (maybe they needed a new barrel to begin with?). But for those of us who have been using the same barrel(s) for many years, why should we have to buy these.
And, don't think for a minute anyone wants the price of one of these barrels tacked onto their current assessment.
Shame on you, Enfield Council. Your attempt to save the Town money is once again slamming the very same people who pay the taxes. You better come up with another means to implement this plan.
I notice none of the Enfield Council members are "chiming in" on the blog re: this. Wonder why?
Posted by Anonymous to The Cool Justice Report at 9:05 AM
30 comments:
> none of the Enfield Council members are "chiming in" on the blog re: this. Wonder why?
Typical of Enfield politics, the vote was along party lines. So its doubtful any of the Republicans are gonna surface on this blog, and to explain how charging Enfield taxpayers for these new tipper barrels is going to help taxpayers.
Maybe the Democrats who voted against this, may wish to comments.
But probably not.
This is just one more example of the Enfield townsfolks being screwed over. Its almost as bad as when the Town stopped curbside pick-up of leaves (and we know how that ended up).
"this" ain't over with yet. People
are furious at the thought of spending more $$$ out of their pockets for services they're already taxed for.
There's nothing "green" about not being able to continue to use perfectly good ol'trash barrels to toss out the family's weekly trash.
If people have to buy these barrels, its more likely these will also be stolen. Who's gonna police that?
Wait until the Town of Enfield gets the final bill for the Enfield High water damamge/clean-up. If the BOE is remotely responsible for keeping the facilities staff away (because they didn't want to pay holiday wages), this Tipper Barrel
snafu will pale in comparisons.
Ever notice Enfield's "attempts" to save their taxpayers money, generally ends up costing everyone big time. Why?
Ya gotta remember, the Council and BOE members aren't fiscal geniuses. They're just "people", playing around with your tax dollars. One doesn't need any real world experience or a degree to be elected to these posts.
That's the real problem. Got a bunch of amateurs, playing around with millions of dollars. Where's the Town Manager is all of this?
What a bunch of losers you whiners are!
You can buy the barrel or have the cost added to your taxes. Either way, you're still out $50.
Remember that when you say "the town should pay for it" or "the government should pay for it", you are saying I should pay for it.
Because the government is you, especially in town politics.
Maybe you wusses don't get it- but the tipper barrels save big $$$ because they cut the cost of hauling trash in half. Instead of two guys on the truck, you need only one.
With the tipper barrels, the garbage man picks up your trash barrel and dumps it using a robot arm on the side of the truck. Your old trash cans can't be picked up with this robot arm.
The garbage men probably make $40-70K because they're union members.
Because of the lifting there's also lots of workers comp expenses.
As a one time cost, this goes away after a year. If you built into taxes, it's there forever.
The dems are a bunch of hypocrites-- they raise taxes $1000 kickback a sweetheart deal to the ETA and then make a show about worrying about a 1-time $50 assessment.
Their solution: raid the treasury to fund the tipper barrels. That's wrong.
So why do other towns using tipper barrels "give" their residents
the 1st barrel for free (& if they want or need more, then they have to pay for them)?
Frankly isn't there something radically wrong with a town paying their union trash collectors $40-70K. Perhaps Enfield's trash collecting should be privatized? There are school teachers out there that don't make that kind of $$$$.
> Ya gotta remember, the Council and BOE members aren't fiscal geniuses. They're just "people", playing around with your tax dollars. One doesn't need any real world experience or a degree to be elected to these posts.
Ain't that the truth. Here's yet another example of one of Enfield's elected officials', spouting off - criticizing someone with an educational doctorate degree, for not having enough experience or credentials.
Well, excuse me Mr Arnone, but what's your doctorate degree in? Oh, that's right, you don't have one. Are you a CPA? Have you ever held the position of a school superintendent? I don't think so.
From JI http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19185583&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=569380&rfi=8
>> "I think it's an outrage," Democratic school board member Tom Arnone said Wednesday about Fusco's appointment to train the committee. "We just hired a man with absolutely no professional experience in accounting or auditing."
Arnone said that while Fusco has a doctorate degree, "It's in education. ... He's not a certified public accountant. He's not a certified fraud examiner ... He publicly admitted in the last meeting that he's not worked with past boards or on other audit committees."
But board Chairman Andre Greco, a Republican, defended Fusco's experience, saying a degree in finance or accounting isn't what the board is looking for in an advisor.
"We're looking for somebody to help others understand how a school budget works, and who's more qualified than a school superintendent?" Greco said Wednesday, referring to Fusco's role as school superintendent in Hadley, Mass., from 1971-1980, and in Branford from 1985-1992.
>> What a bunch of losers you whiners are!
>> Maybe you wusses don't get it- but the
Don't ya just love it when some "intellect" starts in on this blog with the name-calling (it really shows just how gifted they are).
I'd suggest blog contributors learn to express themselves w/o resorting to childish name calling. Folks might then take their comments more seriously.
>> but the tipper barrels save big $$$ because they cut the cost of hauling trash in half. Instead of two guys on the truck, you need only one.
Does that mean the Town of Enfield could downsize & eliminate some of their trash men? Why have so many employees if only one guy is needed per truck, right? Less town employees. Now that's a cost saving measure!
According to you, sounds like the Tipper Barrels could put some trash men out of a job. Unless of course Enfield plans to buy more trucks to put these "extra" guy on (and if so, there goes the savings right out the door because adding trucks is expensive).
Where's the proof that these tipper barrel programs really "save" money. That's still a big IF.
>> the tipper barrels save big $$$ because they cut the cost of hauling trash in half. Instead of two guys on the truck, you need only one.
That's the smartest thing I've read thus far re: this saving taxpayers' some money. Sign me up to buy 6 tipper barrels if it will mean Enfield will need less $40-70K union trash collectors! Frankly, that's obscene to be paying them that kind of salary.
>>> Arnone said that while Fusco has a doctorate degree, "It's in education. ... He's not a certified public accountant.
Perhaps Mr Arnone (Mr, not Dr
Arnone, right?) needs to realize that school superintendents don't require a CPA to be hired for superintendent jobs. The towns should have enough fiscal professionals on staff to handle fiscal matters.
Too bad Enfield's former finance wizard left for Somers. Again, what does that say about the Town of Enfield? All the good ones "leave".
Ya know what really gets me about Enfield's trash situation? I have neighbors who operate businesses out of town, but bring their "business trash" home, to toss out in Enfield.
They already have two of the tipper barrels, and they're overflowing every week. If these big tippers hold 2-3 cans each, that's a heck of lot of garage for 2 adults and 2 small kids each week.
Some residents are abusing the town's trash system. I think residents should be charged by the amount of trash they throw out each week. That's one way to cut costs and force recycling.
My guess is that where my neighbor's business "is", is a town that charges for trash pick-up. What do you think?
>>> "I think it's an outrage," Democratic school board member Tom Arnone said Wednesday about Fusco's appointment to train the committee. "We just hired a man with absolutely no professional experience in accounting or auditing."
>>> Arnone said that while Fusco has a doctorate degree, "It's in education. ... He's not a certified public accountant. He's not a certified fraud examiner
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tom Arnone didn't even graduate from Enfield school system. And what kind of training does Mr Arnone "have" to be elected a BOE member??
Who's he to be criticizing an educational professional, who's actually held the job of superintendent?
This is just another example of
"party line shenanigans" in Enfield. The Republicans are in charge now, so the Democrats will "balk" at anything they propose. Such a waste of time.
For all you residents who are upset that you have to purchase tipper's (that you actually can keep), you need to stop blaming the Republicans and realize this hard truth: It is not possible to drain the towns reserves to a dangerously low level by purchasing all these barrels (which effects the Town's bond rating). The state owes the Town several million dollars and IF we had that on hand, perhaps it would be up for discussion but I am told it's not "even on the Radar" in Hartford. If you are concerned, you should be contacting your STATE REPS (TALLARITA and JARMOC) to push it along at least a little bit so the town can recoup some of the Fermi remediation $$ it is owed! The towns budget is finally being cleaned up by the Republicans but they didn't create this mess - the previous majority did. It's a small fee to pay (ONE TIME) for a LARGE tax savings to all of us. If you can't see that, you're blind.
> push it along at least a little bit so the town can recoup some of the Fermi remediation $$ it is owed!
Who says the Town of Enfield is owed, or will ever see one red cent of this money? Why should the State be responsible for Enfield's follies.
I don't live in Enfield. I don't have any kids using that high school field. So I don't believe my CT tax dollars should go to help Enfielders out of their fiscal hole.
I read this blog every day and it seems Enfield certainly has more issues than many towns. Why is that?
Take care of your own expenses, or stop spending. Its that simple. Stop expecting the State to bail you guys out.
PS
I suppose you expect the State to also pay for your flooded out high school?
>> the Republicans but they didn't create this mess
Didn't the Enfield Republicans, as well as the Democrats, vote in favor of all the Fermi field clean-up? Don't recall hearing anyone on the Council balk at the mess made there. Same with the sale of Asnuntuck. The Republicans went right along with the past deeds of the prior administration. They're as guilty as the rest for any mess we're in now.
Basically, there is no need to make anyone buy a $50 barrel at this point in time. Nothing terrible will occur if the present trash system continues until the Town gets back on its feet. Why make the little people bleed more than they already are?
If its such a small, one time fee to pay, let the Town pay it! They're great at spending money on totally useless things that benefit but a very few (like lighted football or little league fields)
> If you can't see that, you're blind.
I see we have another ignorant,
"name caller" in the blog. It just so happens that I am blind. But I'm not stupid. So I won't blindly follow just because some Town official tells me something is a good idea.
Instead of building a $1 million dollar bike path near the dump, or naming the Public Works or town dump driveway, use that money to fund the distribution of tipper barrels.
> If you are concerned, you should be contacting your STATE REPS (TALLARITA and JARMOC)
They're useless. 1/2 the reason we're in these messes. Ms Tat makes a lot of promises during election time. And Mrs Jarmoc's hubby didn't do anything during his State house tenure. They just parrot Amann.
Enfield got peanuts for all the sewage $$$ Corrections owed them. Enfield will get nothing or peanuts for their Fermi High and Asnuntuck woes. Mark my words.
Let's see, if I need $50 to put
gas in my mini van, or use it to
buy a trash barrel (when I already
have 3 trash cans in my backyard), which do you think I'm in favor of?
$50 isn't small change for some of us. With the rising cost of gas, oil, food, etc. I can't afford spending $50 on a special trash barrel. Right now, tipper barrels are the rage. Five years from now, it will be something else.
>> Correct me if I'm wrong, but Tom Arnone didn't even graduate from Enfield school system. And what kind of training does Mr Arnone "have" to be elected a BOE member??
It doesn't exactly take a lot of brains to work in a sewage treatment plant-- and clearly Arnone doesn't have any. Sometimes, I wonder whether he's decided to fill his empty head with sewage.
He's up there with the garbage men making $40-70k.
I guess the state's paying him the big bucks to preserve binding arbitration.
But see, binding arbitration is in your interest-- this way you can have your 911 call answered by a pothead dispatcher that the town couldn't fire for being a junkie and teachers can get contracts at twice inflation
What a sideshow- up there with Sideshow Bob and Sideshow Mel!
I don't know why the dems put him on the BOE- but he's sure shooting himself in the foot.
The republicans must think that his tongue is the gift that keeps on giving.
Before Arnone worked for Windsor Locks, he worked for the Town of Enfield sewage treatment plant.
Andy, you may want to look into... ahem... the circumstances surrounding his departure from Enfield.
>>Basically, there is no need to make anyone buy a $50 barrel at this point in time. Nothing terrible will occur if the present trash system continues until the Town gets back on its feet. Why make the little people bleed more than they already are?
For the same reason you would take it on the chin to buy a security alarm. All the garbage workers are in the 40s&50s... expensive health care... that workers comp won't help at all.
No but we'll save money if we have tipper barrel collections that should appear as lower or flat taxes on your tax return.
>>If its such a small, one time fee to pay, let the Town pay it! They're great at spending money on totally useless things that benefit but a very few (like lighted football or little league fields)
Do the math: $50 * 17,000 households = $850,000.
Remember- you are the town- so you might as well buy the tipper barrels yourself. If you don't have $50 saved in the bank, shame on you.
That' chump change compared to some of the workers comp costs. I say that as a former insider privy to the expensive cost of claims.
>>>If its such a small, one time fee to pay, let the Town pay it! They're great at spending money on totally useless things that benefit but a very few
>>Do the math: $50 * 17,000 households = $850,000.
There was a photo opp recently showing Enfield Councilman Ragno presenting a $5000 check to BOE
member Arnone for little league field lighting.
Well, if the same $5,000 check was presented to Enfield Public Works, that money would pay for 100 tipper barrels.
Wouldn't more Enfield residents benefit from that $5,000 if used for purchasing tipper barrels? More so than lighting a little league field? People would use tipper barrels every week but youngsters don't need to play ball in the dark.
> Andy, you may want to look into... ahem... the circumstances surrounding his departure from Enfield.
What's this all about? Another story
for Andy to dig into?
How is it a town like Wethersfield
can give their residents tipper barrels for free (residents do have to purchase if they need more than 1 barrel)?
When I hear how other towns are able and willing to assist their residents, causes me to wonder "what the heck is up in Enfield?" And why Enfield residents stand for such.
>>> Before Arnone worked for Windsor Locks, he worked for the Town of Enfield sewage treatment plant.
that's news. wasn't aware he worked in the towns' sewage treatment business. How he had the nerve then, to question this superintendent's credentials is anyone's guess.
"How is it a town like Wethersfield
can give their residents tipper barrels for free (residents do have to purchase if they need more than 1 barrel)?"
Just take a look at the Town of Wethersfield website and it is explained right there in black and white:
"The town contracts with Paine's, Inc. for weekly curbside refuse and recycling collection."
Wethersfield contracts the service out so essentially Paines owns the tipper barrels and the cost is included in the annual fee a resident is charged for refuse pick up. Remember, nothing is free in this world. With so many people already owning their own tipper barrel, it only makes sense to have everyone purchase and own their own tipper barrel.
This Enfield "tipper Barrel" drama pales in comparison to other recent events in Enfield. Enfield High is once again closed, due to another fire. The folks petitioning for a dog park (which many towns already provide) are being contested, and now (according to Courant's
http://www.courant.com/news/local/nc/hc-enfgrads0115.artjan15,0,6328427.story)
the Town can't use the newly
renovated Fermi football field for high school graduation for fear of damaging the synthetic surface.
Who's running the show up there?
One would think that the committee that oversaw their athletic field construction would have shared this tidbit with townfolks from day one. To date the Fermi field has been used once since its completion, for a cross town TDay football game. What an expensive white elephant if it can't be used for graduations (as the other field was).
> Superintendent of Schools John Gallacher told the board of education last week that seniors and parents at Fermi have been saying they would like to have the graduation on the athletic fields as in years past.
>Gallacher said to use the new field would cost a lot of money, because the synthetic surface would have to be protected. Until recently, he said, he was under the impression the field could be used, but the installers had said a number of precautions would have to be taken.
> Remember, nothing is free in this world. With so many people already owning their own tipper barrel, it only makes sense to have everyone purchase and own their own tipper barrel.
Maybe Enfield should consider contracting out their trash pickup. That's one way to eliminate $40-70K trash men and
worker's comp claims.
Just how many people in Enfield already own a tipper barrel? Because no one on my street does. If so many already purchased barrels, then the Town doesn't have to give out as many. Right?
> it only makes sense to have everyone purchase and own their own tipper barrel.
Very little makes much sense in Enfield. that town can't seem to keep its high school open after the New Year's Day water damage. Heard on radio that its closed today because of a fire. Take about wasting time and money. These poor students will be making up time well into the summer.
> Wethersfield contracts the service out
So maybe its time the Town of Enfield considers outsourcing such town services. Why Enfield has $40-70K trash collectors on the town payroll doesn't make much sense in this economy. If trash was outsourced, it would someone else's headache if a hauler got hurt on the job. Maybe residents could actually shop around for cheaper services. There'd be some competition.
The Town could outsource many of their expensive services, & it would cost taxpayers "far less" since they wouldn't be "paying" for costs like health benefits and retirement on top of the service provided.
There must be very good reasons why many towns outsource such.
>>Gallacher said to use the new field would cost a lot of money, because the synthetic surface would have to be protected.
"protected"? Are you saying a high school graduation ceremony is rougher on this new athletic surface than a typical high school football or soccer game?
If it is, you guys should be asking for your money back. Or asking the company that installed, to pay the rental fees to hold the graduation ceremony elsewhere.
Most schools can/do hold their graduation ceremonies on their artifical football fields. That's where these kind of ceremonies should be held.
Enfield BOE member, Tom Arnone is certainly making a name for himself. Yesterday's JI editiorial (http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=19206833&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=569380&rfi=8)
points out Mr Arnone was out of line at a recent BOE presentation. Some Enfield officials never cease to amaze the general public. "think before you speak" should be their mantra.
"Board member Thomas Arnone launched a lengthy, fact-free berating of Fusco, capped off with a tactic straight from the left's playbook: an ad-hominem attack. The retired educator's activism, Arnone claimed, was designed to "instill fear in people to sell books."
Post a Comment