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35 comments:
With the New Britain's grand list slipping will our taxes increase?
An out of work taxpayer.
A sad Taxpayer said:
I will be laid off next week. I won’t be able to pay the higher taxes that the new assessment tax increase that will be coming because of this new development.
Al says:
I better move out of New Britain the taxes are never to be lowered by the democrats.
Hey Tim Stewart - time to consider downsizing the city employees, or at least eliminating some of benefits. somebody has to pay or if your out of work, you don't need a Phd to find the answer to this problem.
Tim Stewart Said:
Everything is on the table for reductions this year. Possibilities include wage freezes, furloughs, layoffs anything that will save the city dollars is in play. Additional revenues to offset the inevitable reductions in state funding are virtually impossible unless we impose a head tax on schoolchildren or find other means of revenue generation. That concept will not go over well with parents of school age kids. I think its finally time that employees step up and help their employers cope with this crisis in our economy. Time will tell.
As a result of appeals filed by New Britain taxpayers there was a slight decrease in real estate values in the grand list.Ben ancona of famed 100 west street property who is under the state's
attorney's watch was given a tax
break on this property.He then turned around and purchased two more properties with that savings
That's the money you can be saving
Don't let the Superintendent of Schools off the hook. All other large urban cities get 'big bucks" from corporations and other entities. Kurtz gets none. She, either does not pursue this ot she turns off the CEOs with her arrogant demeanor. Meanwhile, we suffer. Several top administrators make $125,000 plus a year as do the principals. The unions are too blame along with the Democratic members on the BOE who could care less about the taxpayers.
I don't appreciate your racist tone
against Mrs Kurtz.Please keep these remarks civil,remember we have a African American president
I'm all for a school tax for parents of children in the school system. I have no children using the school system, so why should I be burdened with taxes to support 6figure salaries for school administrators and 90,000 salaries for teachers who work 8.5 months a year to teach 6 students? Way to go Timmy, make them pay for the services they are using!
Obviously the pablum puking liberal Rick Guinness is still taking dictation from Phony Phil Sherwack.
We also have an African American Republican National Chairman as of today!
2 MORE FINE EXAMPLES OF DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP!
Hartford, Conn., mayor arrested on bribery charges
By PAT EATON-ROBB
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Eddie Perez, a one-time gang leader who turned his life around to become Hartford's most powerful mayor, surrendered to police Tuesday to face a bribery charge for having a city contractor renovate his home and not paying for it until after being confronted by investigators.
Perez, Hartford's first Hispanic mayor, pushed through changes to the city charter that gave him unprecedented control, which he used to consolidate power, appoint department heads and take control of the school board. But for two years he has operated under a cloud of suspicion, and the charges threaten to add his name to a steadily growing list of crooked politicians that has given this state the nickname "Corrupticut."
Surrounded at a City Hall news conference by family, city workers and allies Tuesday, the three-term Democrat admitted that he should never have used a city contractor, but said he did not commit a crime. He pledged to remain in the office he's held since 2001.
"It was inappropriate and inexcusable," Perez said. "I should never have allowed the perception of impropriety to color my administration."
The contractor, Carlos Costa, told investigators he believed he would be shut out of lucrative city contracts had he not done the work for free, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Costa's attorney, William Gerace, would not say if his client is cooperating with prosecutors.
"Mr. Costa was asked to do a job at the mayor's house and he did it," Gerace said. "He's not a crook. He's not dishonest. He's a hardworking contractor."
Costa, who was awarded a $5 million city streetscape contract in 2003, did $40,000 in kitchen and bathroom renovations at Perez's home in 2005. Perez paid $20,000 for the work, but only after being questioned in 2007 by a grand jury probing possible corruption in city government, prosecutors said. Neither Costa nor Perez obtained building permits for the work, prosecutors said.
According to warrants, Perez repeatedly intervened in matters to help Costa, such as by pressing city workers to pay Costa's bills faster than other municipal contractors.
Perez's attorney, Hubert Santos, said that pushing the city to pay legitimate bills is not a crime. He insisted that Perez always planned to pay for the renovation work, but was distracted when his wife collapsed in 2005 and underwent months of treatment for brain aneurysms.
"At least if you are going to destroy an administration, particularly one run by one of the few minority mayors in the state of Connecticut, the least we can ask of the prosecutor's office is to allege a crime," said Santos, who counts Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel among his clients.
Perez, 51, is charged with receiving a bribe, fabricating physical evidence and conspiracy to fabricate evidence. Each of the felonies brings a maximum sentence of five to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Costa was charged Monday with two counts of bribery, fabricating evidence and conspiracy to fabricate evidence.
Another city hall employee, Edward Lazu, was charged Tuesday with one count of receiving a bribe, fabricating evidence and three counts of forgery. Costa did free driveway and sidewalk work for Lazu, who certifies contractors for city work, prosecutors said.
Lazu's attorney, Richard Brown, said his client did nothing wrong and has no information about any wrongdoing involving the mayor.
Perez grew up on Hartford's gritty North End and founded a street gang before turning away from the life in the 1970s and forming a neighborhood civic group.
Though technically powerless in the city's weak-mayor form of government, Perez upended Hartford politics by aligning himself with a Republican and a Green Party member to seize control of the City Council. In 2002, voters approved a charter change that shifted the power from the council to the mayor's office and made Perez the most powerful mayor in Hartford history. In 2005, he took over the city's school system.
Authorities searched Perez's home in August 2007, and two months later the state put together an investigatory grand jury to look into possible wrongdoing in his administration. Although the investigation was revealed before the 2007 mayoral election in November, Perez easily won another term.
Other prominent Connecticut politicians have been the subject of corruption investigations in recent years, including former Gov. John G. Rowland, who resigned in 2004 and later served 10 months in federal prison after admitting that he traded political access for vacations and repairs to his cottage.
Among the others are former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim, who is serving a nine-year federal prison sentence for steering more than $2 million in city contracts, and former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano, who is serving a 37-year prison sentence for sexually abusing two girls, crimes that came to light during a federal corruption investigation.
Ill. House votes to impeach Gov. Blagojevich; first governor impeached in state history
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois House votes to impeach Gov. Blagojevich; first governor impeached in state history.
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The Republican National Committee has picked Michael Steele, a black man from a traditionally Democratic state, to be the new face of the party as the GOP forges a revival following a second straight electoral drubbing.
This should have Sherwacko panicking. So much for the Dumbokooks keeping thier power in this city in November. The new GOP is here in downtown New Britain.
Mr. Smith, is it true that Sherwood told you that you weren't welcome on the city council because you are not Puerto Rican? People are tired of racist discrimination like this. The new GOP, under the leadership of Chairman Steele will welcome you regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, etc. You should become a Republican!
How does Sherwack deliver his orders to Guinness, does he deliver it to the car that Guinness is living in?
If this is true i will encourage my followers
that we will attend the local New Britain Republican town committee meetings to open a dialogue with the African American and the Muslim
community in New Britain.Please advise on when you meet.
Praise the lord
maybe just layoff some teachers and that will bring the school budget in check. If they want to avoid the layoffs, they can offer wage concessions and furlough days like the real world.
Concessions from all the unions at both city hall and the BOE would be one way to get the budget under control.
Anonymous said...
Obviously just another false empty promise from the high and mighty phil sherwood (sherwack). You can tell when he is lying, just look to see if his lips are moving!
Anonymous said...
Mr. Smith, is it true that Sherwood told you that you weren't welcome on the city council because you are not Puerto Rican? People are tired of racist discrimination like this. The new GOP, under the leadership of Chairman Steele will welcome you regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, etc. You should become a Republican!
January 30, 2009 9:01 PM
Reply; It is true and this occurred when there was an existing vacancy on the city council. So it’s much to say about supporting Sherwood and his leader during the last election.
Being human mistakes are made but not during the next election for sure.
Frank Smith
Reply to Rev. Jacobs:
Yes...We New Britain Republicans now have an African American Republican National Chairman in Washington DC as of today 01/31/09 - plus the New Britain Herald story about GOP State Party Chairman Chris Healy's 2009 agenda at the Republican's new relocation headquarters now located at Suite 501 at 321 Ellis Street (Harrison Building)in New Britain.
The New Britain Republican Town Committee will meet this Tuesday February 3, 2009 at 7:00 pm in room 504 at New Britain City Hall 27 West Main Street.
WASHINGTON - The Republican Party chose the first black national chairman in its history Friday, 01/30/09 just shy of three months after the nation elected a Democrat as the first African-American president.
The choice marked no less than "the dawn of a new party," declared the new GOP chairman, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele.
Republicans chose Steele over four other candidates, including former President George W. Bush's hand-picked GOP chief, who bowed out declaring, "Obviously the winds of change are blowing."
These unfortunate re-assessment housing policies are a legal problem. Every 5 years towns must present re-assessment. Yes, this last assessment came at a ridiculous high market price that was brief and now gone but our taxes are based on the finding at the 5 year point that New Britain was required to perform.
The mayor was able to lower the mill rate but only so far to balance the budget. Residents saw a drop in car taxes with the lower
mill rate but homeowners saw an un-avoidable increase. Multi- families by nearly 40% increase.
This property tax system is failing homeowners especially in a
working city like New Britain. Now with federal and state funding being tightened we can expect a mill rate increase to keep operations balanced unless municipal layoffs and cut-backs
are approved.
One of the largest areas of course is our education system which comprises most of the cities budget. Our wonderful superintendent has not been
watching the news lately and is unaware of the economic crisis we are facing. She is not recommending any cost saving measures in fact she is looking for a signifiact increase to the school budget.
"Obviously the winds of change are blowing."
and these winds will blow right over the 13 nut jobs that serve as Democrats on the city council. Get ready for the winds of change Phony Phil Sherwack, Truly-worthless and conflict Catzanaro. Change is coming. The GOP is at home in New Britain!!!!!!!!
Wouldn't this be a good time to step up the collection of the $8 million in delinquent motor vehicle taxes?
Oh, here we go.... get ready New Britain homeowners. Can you afford a property tax increase added to your gas or oil, electric bill, cable and water/sewer? Better watch this year's 2009 election closely.
Our current Mayor does his best to hold the line with the liberals he has to work with the Tax and Spend Democrats that control our council and board of education here in New Britain..
It's amazing Tim Stewart has done as well as he has with our budget considering all that goes on around him. This year voter's should give him the support he needs to run a conservative budget
in these depressed economic times.
We agree that Mayor Stewart has done his best, considering the Democrats on the Council who are bucking every move he makes, not to mention some Democrat Aldermen are extremely argumentative with Republican Louis Salvio, who "tells it like it is".
The solution: Vote in ten at-large Republican Aldermen in the November 2009 New Britain election.
with the depressed time we as taxpayers all face together the Board of Education must reduce its teaching staff and come up with a budget that is lower then last years budget.
An Angry Republican said:
The mayor said…“Additional revenues to offset the inevitable reductions in state funding are virtually impossible unless we impose a head tax on schoolchildren or find other means of revenue generation”
Why not tax all those people who are arrested or those who have an emergency and call for a police officer…why not tax all those people who call for the firemen to put out their house when it catches on fire. Why not tax all those who have a mental illness…I think our mayor has been drinking too much again!
I have a better idea, why not have responsible spending and not give away our tax revenue to the homeless and those who are to lazy to work. How about not giving away our tax revenue in the form of tax breaks to companies who are better equipped to pay them like he did to Celebration Foods and the others.
The more I think about it the more I can clearly see our current mayor is at best an ultra liberal republican or at worst an ultra liberal democrat. Let’s see, this November do I vote for a democrat or a democrat in a republican’s suit.
Watch out Angry Republican. Pretty soon we will all be homeless in New Britain thanks to the frivolous spending and over taxing of our hard working class families.
Thanks to our Mayor, New Britain has become “the place to be” for free handouts and drunken politicians.
An Angry Republican said:
I have a better idea, why not have responsible spending and not give away our tax revenue to the homeless and those who are to lazy to work. How about not giving away our tax revenue in the form of tax breaks to companies who are better equipped to pay them like he did to Celebration Foods and the others.
-------------------------------
You are preaching to the choir, you should be telling your tale of woe to the bleeding heart liberal Democrats who think money grows on trees and give it away by the wheel barrel full.
Some of you need to get a grip. there will be tough choices to make no doubt. But to take swipes at the deal that brought Celebration foods to town is just plain stupid. To imply that the city would have any tenents to pay taxes on that property if the deal was not made is a fantasy. How much city money is spent on the Mayors homeless programs? Not as much as most would think. Also the people who blog about the school budget need to take a look at the services provided by the school system. The school system is in good shape. Give it a rest. In general the city budget is healthy. It is a result of national politics that the economy is imploding. Federal mandates for loans to unqualified borrowers is what caused this recession. Lets vote Chris Murphy, Chris Dodd and all the other tax and spend, then give the rest away congressmen out of office. That would be change we can live with!
If Al Capone were alive today he would be making deals in New Britain,Is Celebration foods a better deal for Tony Bianca jr and Bobby Landino and Timmy Stewart or is a good deal for the taxpayers ?
Deal or No Deal?????????
Anonymous says...:
If the best that liberal whacko Dem, Vinny vedercci can do is chastise Stewart for bringing Cel. Foods to town, I suggest he tell that to those who have jobs at Cel. Foods. Maybe Sherwack, Gorrotana and DeFonzo can then show them how to get jobs at the Capitol.
Timmy Stewart can get a job at celebration foods making cakes,because there aint going to be nothing lined up for him at the state fire marshal's office!!!!!!!
Timmy wake up!!!!!!!!!
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