The town administration is proposing a $287,309,640 municipal budget for 2013-14. That is a 5.5 percent increase from 2012-13, or $15,026,946 more in spending.
That carries a 6.38 percent increase in our taxes starting July 1 unless something is done. Cuts need to be made. No doubt about it. Even Board of Finance member James Walsh said the same thing, although he specifically pointed to the Board of Education proposed budget at a meeting last week. “Cuts will have to be made,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to.”
The combined hearings of the boards of Selectmen and Finance began on Feb. 19 and continue on Monday, March 11. A complete list of upcoming sessions, can be obtained via http://fairfieldct.org/Finance/2013-2014/hearing_schedule.pdf
The Board of Finance’s public comment session takes place at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, at the Senior Center. The board instituted a Saturday public hearing years ago in an effort to attract more people into the budget-setting process. Unfortunately, attendance at the hearing over the years has been pathetic.
If we don’t let our elected leaders know where we stand on paying more in taxes, then we deserve what we get.
Mark your calendars for that day, let your voices be heard.
The board will have its final deliberations on the municipal budget on Thursday, March 28, and vote on Tuesday, April 2. The budget then goes to the Representative Town Meeting for its series of meetings, with final adoption in May.
The proposed budget can be viewed here.
And if you want to know how I feel about paying more than 6 percent in taxes in the next fiscal year, read this.
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Your chance to speak is coming up
With honey, not vinegar
Have you noticed how the social discourse has deteriorated? Sometimes, we have a hard being nice to one another or saying something nice. Just look at our elected officials — here, in Hartford or in Washington, D.C. — civil conversation between adults becomes vitriolic debate.
What’s the old saying? “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” There’s something to be said for that.
Along those lines, the Fairfield Public Library will host “Navigating the Social World with Kindness & Manners,” a talk on the importance of teaching manners, etiquette, social skills and kindness, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 28, in the Memorial Room at 1080 Old Post Road.
Judith Re, founder and president of the Judith Re Academie for Instruction of the Social Graces, will discuss how these skills can open doors. She started her business in 1986 with teaching manners to children and adults at Boston’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
The program is connected to the library’s 2013 One Book One Town celebration, which this year is focusing on “Wonder” R. J. Palacio that encourages kindness in dealing with difficult social situations.
Re’s talk is part of the library’s “Pathways to Parenting” series. Admission is free. For information or to register, visit www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org or call 203-256-3160.
It could have been worse
Some people have been complaining that Fairfield has done a lousy job clearing the roads after the weekend’s blizzard. Where have they been? Can’t they see the magnitude of what we just experienced with nearly 3 feet of snow?
Maybe those people who are disappointed in Fairfield Department of Public Works crews should take a ride over to Bridgeport, where many roads are still impassable. On the city’s website, the list of cleared roads has certainly grown in the past few days, but there are plenty more streets that still haven’t seen a plow, or did only on Tuesday, Feb. 12 (four days after the storm).
I know. I saw it firsthand. I live on the Fairfield-Bridgeport border. The Bridgeport street right across from my driveway did see a plow until Tuesday night about 11 p.m. Up until then, the residents on that city street were stuck. (Except for the clever neighbor who lives on the corner opposite my house. With a snow blower, he cleared his driveway and then a portion of the street in front of his house – enough to park another car and to have an entrance into the outside world.)
I should mention that both Fairfield and Bridgeport share maintenance on my street. So on Saturday after the worst of the storm was over, the Fairfield side of my street already had been cleared. The Bridgeport side? Barely. And I suspect the little bit that was done on that side might have been handled by Fairfield trucks as they passed through.
This week’s Bridgeport late-night snow mover cleared the rest of the street and tidied up the corners so there is more room. Only thing, though, the operator decided to push some of that snow into piles on my yard. While it makes visibility difficult from my driveway and that of a few neighbors , I suppose he couldn’t do anything else with the mounds of snow. Let’s hope it starts melting soon.
So instead of denigrating the crews (who have worked long, hard hours), let’s thank them for the fine job they have done.
Your HeART’s in the right place
A Valentine’s art exhibit and wine tasting to benefit Operation Hope will take place on Friday, Feb. 15, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Fairfield University’s Bellarmine Museum of Art. The event – called HeART of Hope – will feature an exhibit of work by the American realist painter Colleen Browning and wines provided by Harry’s Wine & Liquor Market.
The wine tasting will include information on each wine, plus serving and pairing suggestions.
Tickets are $65 per person and $100 per couple. For tickets or information, call Operation Hope at 203-292-5588 or visit www.operationhopect.org.
Women in literature
Pequot Library is starting a new initiative called “Beyond the Book Club.” According to a release from the library, the club is taking inspiration from Pequot Library’s founder, Virginia Marquand, by focusing on both women and Pequot Library’s mission of “Bringing Literature, Music, Art, Science & the Humanities to our Community.”
The club will be open to all and will meet 11 times a year. Participants can come to one program or all. There will be book discussions, related workshops or viewing and discussion of movies.
The first session starts with the movie “Little Women” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7. Marianne Pysarchyk, head of technical services and teen librarian at Pequot, wanted to start with literature, but when she talked to her colleagues “the first name that popped up was the author Louisa May Alcott … ‘Little Women’ is so widely read, it’s read in schools and both young and older readers know it. Starting with the movie, we can compare and contrast the literal vs. the visual.”
Upcoming sessions are:
Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m.: Book discussion on the historical fiction book “March” by Geraldine Brooks, whose character Mr. March, taken from Alcott’s “Little Women,” is the absent father gone off to war leaving his wife and daughters to make do in difficult times, and the new biography “Marmee & Louisa: The Untold Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Mother” by Eve LaPlante. Club participants will be able to compare and contrast historical fiction and non-fiction.
Saturday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m.: Workshop on creative writing, “Influential Women Who Shape and Inspire Our Lives and Our Writing.” Led by author, artist and speaker, Adair Heitmann, the workshop will guide participants to remember a significant woman who helped shape their life. Learn how to complete an outline and other writing tips. Heitmann is the director of communications at Pequot.
Although the club is free, registration is required by contacting Pysarchyk at 203-259-0349, ext. 19 or pysarchyk@pequotlibrary.org.
Don’t get sidelined with the flu
I was one of the millions who have had the flu. I came down with it three days after Christmas, and it knocked me out for a week and I didn’t feel normal again until three days after that. Even so, I had a residual cough that only recently went away.
If you’ve gotten the flu – and I wonder how anyone has been able to escape it – you know what I’m saying.
Of course, I never got a flu shot. In fact, I have not gotten one in 10 years. I just never saw a need.
I know differently now.
For those of you who have not received a flu shot, the Health Department’s Public Health Nursing Office, 100 Mona Terrace, has a limited amount of the vaccine. Call 203-256-3150 for an appointment.
Additionally, a no-appointment, walk-in clinic will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23, at the nursing office for those who are age 9 and older. For those with children under 9, the department asks that you call for an appointment.
The accepted insurance are Medicare Part B, Connecticare, Aetna and Anthem. Bring your insurance card with you. Without insurance, the cost of the flu vaccine is $25. Payment will be accepted by cash or check made out to the Fairfield Health Department. Those with Husky insurance or an inability to pay can call 203-256-3150.
The consent form for the flu shot will be available at the clinic or you may print it out in advance by accessing this link. Those making appointments will complete a different consent form.
The department asks that you wear clothing with loose sleeves or short sleeves. For information, call 203-256-3150.
And you need to know about the flu, how to avoid it, how to treat it and who is at risk, visit a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention special website.
A chance to get involved
The town administration is looking for interested residents to fill vacancies on several committees, boards and comissions.
Due to political party balance requirements as specified in the Town Charter, some positions have party restrictions.
While these groups may not appear to be the most exciting ones, they still serve a valuable purpose in our local government. And it would give you an chance to get your foot in the door of being a part of the decision making.
All of the appointments need Board of Selectmen approval and one (Historic District Commission) also needs the approval of the Representative Town Meeting.
Here’s the list.
Affordable Housing Committee
Three vacancies, any registered voter except Democrat, four-year terms
The committee is responsible for studying the need for affordable housing in Fairfield; making an inventory of sites within the town that may be suitable for affordable housing and tracking the availability of those sites; and studying sources of funds for affordable housing.
Board of Assessment Appeals
Two vacancies, both must be filled by Democrats, to complete elected term ending in November.
The board is an elected body consisting of up to five volunteer residents authorized under Connecticut law to revise individual property assessments. Residents who disagree with their real estate, motor vehicle, or business personal property
assessments can petition the Board of Assessment Appeals to revise their assessments.
Historic District Commission
Two alternate vacancies, any registered voter, five-year term
The commission is an appointed board of seven volunteer residents who vote on alterations to properties that are within the town’s three historic districts in Greenfield Hill, Southport and the Old Post Road by downtown Fairfield. The commission must approve nearly any change to a property that is within a historic district if that change is visible from a public street, assuming natural barriers, such as shrubs and trees, are not in place, since they can be removed.
Housing Authority
One vacancy, any registered voter except Democrat, five-year term
The authority is responsible for providing decent, safe and sanitary housing for seniors, disabled or low-income Fairfield residents. The authority works in accordance with Housing and Urban Development, which works to provide better living standards for those who might not be able to secure them on their own.
Land Acquisition Commission
Two alternate vacancies, any registered voter, four-year term
The commission, established by a town ordinance in 1997, is charged with investigating land that could be purchased by the town for active and passive recreation use.
Shellfish Commission
One vacancy, any registered voter, four-year term
The commission has jurisdiction over about 1,000 acres of sea beds in Fairfield and works with the town’s Conservation Department.
Water Pollution Control Authority
Two vacancies, any registered voter, four-year term
The authority is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the town’s wastewater treatment plant, compost facility, eight pump stations and more than 205 miles of sewer lines. The wastewater treatment plant discharges 10 million gallons of treated effluent per day to Long Island Sound. More than 95 percent of pollutants are removed and 5,000 tons of sludge are generated per year, which is mixed with discarded leaves and brush and composted into an organic soil amendment
To be considered, contact Kathleen Griffin in the first selectman’s office at kgriffin@town.fairfield.ct.us or 203-256-3030.
For more information, visit www.fairfieldct.org.
Similarities
My paternal grandfather admired Abraham Lincoln. And that always surprised me because Lincoln is known as the father of the Republican Party and Poppy was a diehard Democrat.
But I think what drew Poppy to Lincoln was that they were both self-made men. My grandfather had an eighth-grade education, but he managed to own and operate a lock manufacturing company, which, in its heyday, was a widely known successful business. Poppy felt he didn’t need all that “book learning,” as he called it.
And they both looked out for the less fortunate. Lincoln freed the slaves. Poppy gave a job to anyone who needed one. They both commanded and received respect from their followers. When my grandfather died in 1976, the procession of cars to the cemetery was 40-plus deep. The majority of those cars carried his workers paying their last respects to a man who treated them fairly.
So it is with great interest to me that the Fairfield Museum and History Center is currently exhibiting “Promise of Freedom,” the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. I have yet to get over to the museum to actually see the exhibition, which runs until Feb. 24, but I plan on doing so very soon.
According to the museum, this is the “only exhibition in New England to display a Lincoln-signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, an original 13th Amendment copy, as well as other fascinating documents, paintings and artifacts that narrate this decisive moment in the quest for human freedom.”
As the exhibition heads into its final months, the museum is hosting “Let Freedom Ring! Jubilee Celebration,” from 2 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 6. It is an interfaith celebration of the 150th anniversary that is co-sponsored with the Fairfield Clergy Association. The program is free and open to the public.
The event will feature music by Chris Coogan and Shemeer Johnson; a dramatization by Jeanette Harris, storyteller; and prayers for freedom, based on the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights. Attendees are asked to bells to ring in freedom.
For a complete calendar of events for other programs associated with the exhibition, visit the museum’s website, www.fairfieldhistory.org.
