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It's coming to that time of year again. The Christmas Tree isn't the only thing shedding its balls.
Whether it be a budget hearing or a Candidate's Night, -- and whether it be live or on one of those god-awful locally-televised meetings with the bad lighting, bad angles and distorted audio -- people will soon be sitting in a circle and chanting those all too familiar, yet meaningless, buzzwords: "Transparent", "Community input", "Process", "Transparent", and the inevitable "Think Outside the Box" ! (Did I mention "transparent" ?)
Nobody wants to be The Bad Guy anymore. There is little testicular fortitude on display on local cable TV. Does anybody else notice that the phrase "Pass the Buck" has been replaced by the phrase "Let the Voters decide"? (Hence, the Christmas tree analogy.)
Town Meeting & Local elections certainly do reflect the will of the voters -- at least those that show up to vote -- and it should not be taken lightly. But that should not be confused with reflecting the will of the people. Granted, if people choose not to exercise their right to vote (out or ignorance, laziness, or some legitimate reason), they are effectively making the choice to support the will of those who do choose to show-up. Unfortunately, that leaves most of the population at the mercy of the special interests who rally their troops to get out the votes and utilize their neighbors' tax dollars to support their personal causes.
Case in point -- after the recent pool override, Poolies proudly credited the miniscule margin of victory to their efforts to get former swim team members to submit absentee ballots supporting the million dollar renovation.
That's comforting.
They encouraged kids who don't pay taxes, probably won't live in Town again, and probably have very little Big Picture understanding of the issue to saddle tax-paying, non-swimming, residents with increased taxes. AND, they did this without ever asking how much it will cost to operate the pool going forward. All they knew was that they had fun in the pool when they were in school. Who cares what it costs!
(At the risk of sounding like a broken record, nobody has ever given a good answer as to how much it will cost to operate the pool. The simple fact is that the school budget is relatively fixed -- If dollars are being spent on aquatics, they are not being spent on academics.)
If anybody wants a preview of the coming Budget Season, watch the last BOS meeting. When told what the vague parameters of the school budget should be, the Superintendent effectively replied (and I'm paraphrasing), "The Budget will be, what the Budget will be and we will go to Taxpayers to support any shortage."
I like Canfield. His tree is always decorated -- His balls know no seasonality! He just does his thing and advocates for his schools. He's got no old allegiances, he doesn't need to worry about evaluations or his next job -- he's already got his pension, There's no way the morons could try to bag a third Superintendent! Of course, if I was on the School Committee, I might want to remind him he works for them -- not the Board of Selectmen. But, since it appears the School Committee has adopted the Harry Potter Cloak of Invisibility as their official uniform -- I guess they're OK getting their Superintendent's Reports via the Selectmen and the Cape Cod Times.
In addition to benefitting from the School Committee's apparent narcolepsy, it appears that the new Leadership of the Teachers Union has been like a breathe of fresh air in a septic tank. It must be nice to be able to work for the benefit of students without wasting time fending off the constant attack of a delusional Jimmy Hoffa/Norma Rae wannabee and her flying monkeys ! Maybe the Union will start reflecting the will of its membership. (Probably not coincidentally, one of the last contracts gave the union the right to collect agency fees from non-union members. Maybe some of those folks decided that if they were going to be forced to pay -- they no longer wanted to be embarrassed by their leadership?)
Some Legal Observations:
The ongoing case of Johnson Vs. Sandwich has turned into a Fluster-Cluck. But, that doesn't change the fact that 5 Judges have ruled that Kangas, Crossman, Marshall, Linehan and School Counsel were all wrong and their mistake will cost taxpayers well over $400,000. I guess they should have gone to court when members Susko, Cahill and Killion asked them to. Or, maybe their attorney should have followed through when a certain former School Committee member pointed out the appropriate law and relevant legal precedents to him?
On a related note, if a Judge has ruled that Johnson's contract was illegally voided and that the Town was legally bound to pay her, why shouldn't she be entitled to reimbursement for the legal costs needed to recover what had been illegally taken from her? Particularly when the Town's attorney appeared to have egregiously abused the legal system by forcing both parties to waste many thousands of dollars deposing former school committee members about topics that were completely unrelated to the legal questions at hand -- particularly AFTER the Appeals Court had already ruled against them.
On a related note, wouldn't it have made sense for Town's Counsel to interview former School Committee members about the questions at hand BEFORE filing documents with the court? Particularly, when said members could have clearly proved that the documents were inaccurate and were serving no purpose other than to increase legal costs and waste the Court's time?
Why is the School continuing to employ the same attorney whose "interpretation" of the law resulted in expensive losses in both the Johnson and Minkoff cases?
What was the true legal cost of prolonging the Johnson case? Yes, the Insurance Carrier will be funding something, but Insurance Companies are not charities and will obviously recover those costs with future premiums. I would like to hear what was paid to Johnson, what was paid to all of the attorneys and how much was initially funded by an insurance recovery.
It's ironic that the Board of Selectmen couldn't legally step in to prevent the School Committee from making an expensive mistake originally but is now stuck trying to clean up the mess and fund the judgement. BUT, on the other hand, the Selectmen probably could have stepped in and said "enough is enough" and saved many thousands of dollars by settling the case after the State Appeals Court made the final result obvious.
I would be very curious to hear the Selectmen's rationale for not resolving this case -- particularly when the likely outcome became painfully clear.
Some Other Random Observations:
STEM Academy -- I like the idea, but the answer to every question is not: "STEM, STEM, STEM, STEM ..."
Power Plant -- Why have we not heard more public discussion about the automatic tax increase residents will get when the Mirant Plant goes offline and gets re-valued for tax purposes. Power Plants' tax value lies in their equipment -- not in their real estate value. Obsolete offline generating equipment has a minimal tax value. Are we afraid that discussion of a pending increase could discourage support for the variety of Override proposals currently percolating around Town or maybe -- cause a potential commercial development to slide over to less taxing / less bureaucratic environments in Mashpee, Bourne, or Plymouth??
SEIC -- I have good friends on both sides of this issue. While I certainly appreciate the fact that real estate negotiations are best done out of the spotlight, this process has been underground a long time. I think it would go a long way towards calming the electorate if there was a complete disclosure of funds received and disbursed to date, as well as the relevant details of any contractual obligations incurred which will may require future payments-- as well as the expected source of funding for those payments.
Fire Boats -- What's to say? The F/V Overkill is back on the Coast Guard dock (although with rumored transmission issues) and the original fire boat is out on long-term disability with a seized engine. I guess the Coast Guard will have to protect us from flaming tankers with dirty bombs passing through the Canal for awhile longer.
The Golden Triangle -- It looks like we may have one more opportunity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. From the looks of last week's newspaper, it looks like we're going to start playing Chicken with the only guy in Town willing and able to develop the property. What can I say, I'm reminded of that great scene in the movie Blazing Saddles -- Cleavon Little holds the gun to his own head and says "One Move and the Black Guy gets it!!"
Happy (almost) New Year !!
15 comments:
Two comments if I might.
You are correct when you write about the Cable presentations of the meetings. I think someone should really look into SCT. Their programming is close to Communist and for sure they are too lazy to drum up people to cover meetings with cameras, put on more original programming, and stopping the insane lack of communication with the people who fund it. Why do I have to watch and listen to music and pictures rather than good programming with commentary, not fluff, but political. There are some good shows, but not enough. Most of it is crap. The meetings are very poorly done. We never see School Committee meetings lately for more than a week at a time, but watch the Selectmen for months at a time. I'll stop, but will say that one could do an entire blog at these poorly run cable access channels.
The Selectmen should do their job and that to lead. I agree with your comments and would point out that the majority are not willing to make any decisions that they don't have to make. One of them went on a dog and puppy show with visuals that pointed out how we the people don't understand why the Town is in this hole we are in. The presentation was a shell game that failed to point out the biggest reason "THERE HAS BEEN NO, NADA, ZICLCH, NONE, ZERO, NOTHING DONE TO GET THE TAX BASE UP". Funny thing, most of the voters understand this, why don't they?
The Selectmen are more interested in talking and not enough in doing.
Happy New Year to the citizens of Sandwich and to one of Santa's larger elves[your words]where are the smilies when you need one.
The new year is all set to be an historic time for our town.
Those behind the scenes are about to place an override before the tax payers of Sandwich.
The beaches will once again be compromised from the winter storms.. Why is it that no one seems to place any urgenacy from the towns fathers on this continuing problem?
The drinking fountain area will be completed, so that folks can get the same water they get out of there taps now [thanks to the good work of our water department.]
The school district will be leveraging all its work on the Stem Program. When they ask for another 1.2 million dollar overide.
The Sandwich Economic Inititive Corporation may need to reevaluate what purpose they serve in providing Economic development for Sandwich. You will notice no mention has been made in regards to the South Sandwich Village project or for that matter any other project since they have been in existance.
I know that I have missed a bunch of other challenges.. like where do we get two taxpayers to run for Selectmen? or for that matter the School committee?
And, your plan is..........
I'm waiting...........
HINT: Create an imaginary demand for retail space. Close your eyes really tight. Believe its real with all your might. Click your ruby slippers together three times and repeat, "There's no place like Sandwich." Now open your eyes. Are you still in Kansas, Dorothy?
Munchkin Mayor, my plan would be, if I were a Selectman, to stop the plans of the library because it is not needed in this day and age; put an end to the senior center talk; demand that the Superintendent of Schools tell us when the Town will get the Wing School; tell my fellow Selectmen that we should meet at least once a week, starting earlier if necessary to sort out how things will be brought to the voters. The voters should not have to vote on any overrides or any debt exclusions unless they first have every major problem on the table; insist that any override for STEM be a debt exclusion. Why should we pay an additional 2 1/2 percent increase every year for start up costs?; insist that any sale of the Golden Goose Egg Triangle have a clause where the property would revert back to the Town if the proposed development were not completed within ten years. Of course the buyer could keep what will have been developed.; have all the Selectmen pledge that they never blame the taxpayer for not understanding the why of why we have a lack of tax funds, but rather blame themselves for not doing anything that works about it. Its not the taxpayers' fault that the Golden Goose Triangle can't be sold. Its not their fault that we have less than necessary coverage for Fire and Police Services, its the Selectmen's fault; stop using metaphors at meetings; tell all Town employees that they work for the citizens and to do their job even if it means they have to do more with less; and of course, and most of all, to not let the voters decide until and unless they have a clear and unmitigated view of what else is to come, this, so that they can make an informed decision.
Four of the five Selectmen don't do their job. I am not sure what they think it is. I think it is to make hard, tough, decisions for the good of the Town. Leaving the decision to the voters at the polls doesn't always work because the voters are confused, mainly because they do not have all the facts laid out.
Mr. Pierce in particular needs to know that his job is to make decisions, not wear baseball shirts. The voters either agree with the decision or they disagree. If the Selectmen do their job, then the voters will say yes, if they don't do their job, then the voters will vote it down. The voters, practically speaking, can only vote on what is presented. If the Selectmen continue to present garbage, its their fault something is turned down. Mr. Pierce needs to understand this. Quite frankly, I feel that Mr. Pierce should be more for just doing what is right in view of our tax base than pleasing every book reader, senior, junior or anyone else. What is good for the whole is more important.
I liked the board more when it was not cohesive and voted less in lockstep as at least we got both sides of an issue always.
Mr. Pierce, recall is not out of the question for any Selectman not doing his or her job.
Got our outrageous tax bill..and took a ride around town today to see the sights on many very bumpy roads and parking lots, but more importantly we passed the Dewey St. fiasco to look at the breaches @ Town Neck. ( Know better than to try the road to the Boardwalk, bad enough in good weather conditions.) Then by the Police and Fire Stations, enough said...to Town Neck Beach and the bump and grind parking lot there. Past the Burgess House, and Wing School. The library parking lot is a mess, having visited this week (before the storm). Subdivision roads are disasters, both pavement, and over-hanging low tree branches. Every time a delivery truck goes by our neighborhood they leave destruction in the road, but the dpw is around every year, looking at the hanging branches, so that makes it ok. 22 years and taxes have doubled and the dream we moved here for is rotting away before our eyes. Sandwich is the laughing of the Cape as we have learned...Deluxebury of Cape Cod.
Maybe its time to vote for some selectmen with common sense. Time for new town government as well. Its time to get some people on the BOS that dont want to spend our money on a 35 million dollar fire station and hire contractors that steal money from the town (basically what the contractor who installed the windows at the high school did)
Hey,
Santa called and wants his razor returned!
Brother Bob have you heard the latest StEM program to be operated by as a preschool for 40 youngsters from all of Cape Cod
They just recieved a 164,000 dollar grant from the Massachusetts Educational system.
They will have a teaching ratio of one teacher to every 10 children.
With both full and half day programs.
How does the Sandwich school district absolve itself from being back charged at some point to pay for those preschool children residing in Sandwich and the other towns as well?
This subject matter should be well vented or we all may face a loss of more educational dollars for our system.
TM, I think we're OK -- The State is giving a grant to a private group to run a pre-K. It shouldn't impact Sandwich K-12.
But ... I do think its interesting (OK, maybe amazing) that a private group received a $164,000 grant for a pre-school in Sandwich -- a place swarming with well-nourished, gifted & talented kids with perfect orthodontia,riding around in shiny SUV's with their Northface jackets on ! (ie. Hardly a disadvantaged clientele!)
Once upon a time, somebody might have questioned why so many of our tax dollars were going to a relatively small group of people.
Its curious that The Sandwich Public Schools cant get a grant for kindergarten but a few folks in a private group secured $164K for a pre-school. Why doesn't every other private pre-school receive a subsidy?
But ... nobody seems to ask those questions anymore.
Since it is a private non profit, they get to do what they want. Since it is a private non-profit in Sandwich they also don't have any Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with the town, so give the town nothing on a regular basis.
But its also a private non-profit that just grabbed $160k in public tax money for the benefit of a very few.
Whats wrong with that picture?
It soon may be the haves and have not's that meet behind closed doors to determine how our tax dollars get divided up. The Have Not's will lose this battle every time to the entrenched long time approach of throwing every thing out there to see what sticks and hangs on the wall.
The Town of Sandwich does not have any thing in place to provide any further economic development other then become a stumbling block to the one person that will provide a mixed bag of economic development by buying the Golden triangle.
Once again the same forces, with in the present board of Selectmen are making sure it never occurs.
When you hear a trusted unbiased member from the Cape Cod Commission publicly state that the plans submitted for the development of this property is actually what they are looking for to have smart economic on Cape Cod, It tells a lot about those that continue to place the same road blocks that they placed the last time to prevent one man, , [second largest tax payer in Sandwich]from accomplishing his futuristic business plan for this area.
When these same folks who have never submitted any minutes from meetings held by the SEIC in executive session, now have the big ones to demand that this developer working within the guide lines of good business ethics, divulge some propriety information so that they once again can further there agenda in another business plan at who's benefit, does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, that we may never see economic development here in Sandwich that will ever help resolve this ongoing dilemma.
Then again having TWO NEW members from Sandwich being elected to the office of Selectmen, may begin a new chain of events that perhaps take on a different approach to public service.
We might just get two that work in a more open and transparent manner where by the town is really number one.
Further concerns in regards to The Heritage Museum getting public moneys for Stem type programs .
Has any one given any thought to what the children families that can afford this will encounter in the public school district once they reach public school year age?
Will the children that attend these preschool stem programs really now face another challenge, when it is realized that the public school district has not implemented such a program at the lower levels for there children to attend.
For me this is taking public educational dollars to provide a small well of parents with a private school setting for there child. We all get to pay the bill, but do not have the right to send our child to this learning experience with elitist mentality.
If this stem learning experience is so great, why has it not been indoctrinated in the whole public school experience where all can take advantage of educating there child for tomorrows world?
Why are only forty young people of means allowed to get an advantage over others when the public is paying the bill for this private school mentality?
The least of which the Museum gets to put in place a profitable cost center and provides no financial support to our town to fund it for the future.
I am curious about the public money to say the least. I suspect it is a grant of some kind created to inspire innovative thinking in education and foster more pre-k settings. Clearly politics has a great deal to do with this. The school does line up with recent trends and goals relative to innovation in schools, charters, etc. Less and less money seems to be flowing to our public school districts. And of course the funding formula does little for Sandwich and most Cape Towns. Public funds should be going to public entities, I would agree. STEM of course is extremely trendy so rather easy to jump on that band wagon.
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