School money axed by board - Southingtonlibrary.org

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THE OBSERVER, THURSDAY, MAY 22, 1997
PAGE 7
Town should be
like a business
run
To the editor.
Being a Iofelong reSident of
Southmgton and a small busmess owner,
I felt that It was nme to vent some of my
frustranon at the way local government
IS run.
Normally, If you uwn a small bUSIness,
your pnmary concern IS to be able
to meet your payroll and expenses each
week and hope and pray there some left
charged-off credit cards are at an all-time
hIgh.
Bemg a busmessman, I understand
that updating and modernIZIng IS very
Important m keepmg up WIth the times
but there's a time and place for everything
Now IS not the time unless
progress is made to bring In hIgh tech
compames or manufacrunng faCilities to
Increase our taX base.
I
bUlldmg additional low-cost housmg on
small bUIlding lots all over town. It seems
that our Plannmg and Zonmg CommlS­
slon should stop and take a long, hard
look at approving every subd,V,SIOn that
One of the problems WIth local government
IS that there seems to be an un-
"mlted amount of mcome that it IS allowed
to so-call run their busmess WIth
So If they lose money every year, they
Just raIse property taxes to cover their comes before them. VINTAGE PHOTOS
losses, kmd of hke gomg to Foxwoods These only add more of the burden The accompanying photographs a~e probobly the only ones ovatlable that show Recreation Pork belare It become a popular swim­
WIth an un"mned credit hne and Just go- to our already outdated pub"c school mlng spot (above) and later when It was developed Into a pond along With a diving seellon at the water's deepest port In the lower
mg crazy, berung on everythmg in SIght 'ystem. photo, nohce the cars that are on the some road used today Recreation Pork, located all South End Rood, gets Its water from Misi
thmk the Ume has come for our io- I believe the nme has come for our ery Br. oak, which feeds off the Oummpiac River The swimmmg pand was used lor approximately 45 years belare the town decided
cal leaders to become much more ac- to n m e d I h t b Id d I bo 50 d iii I
countable with the wa the run our out to local busmess leaders to form a II k wh t tok el bo th I II T1i Ob
w anag r an town councl to reac a UI on mgroun h: a ut yar s ow~ . SIX years ago Jane (,0 . a South,ington Pronhng loaned us these undated photos.
i.';~;;-;~ii~f'if;-----;;~;;:;--:;;;==~~~~~~~~~~~~ou~~n~ow~~~e~nlPJfl(o,"o~s were en or on mg se a ut em, p ease co e server at 621-6751 _ Obtornina detail. 01
town. The day< of hVlng off Pratt & strong economIC eve opment team or these p tos could present a real challenge to locaThlSloroc bUffS - --- - - -
Whitney are long gone and are never hire a full-ume economIC director and
commg back.
not be afratd to pay th,S person a strong
When I look :n OUT TO'Wtl, i = a -wage nro to -dtetr 2htItty to generate the
great place to hve and raIse our famlhes nght kmd of growth fur our town.
but I am ""ry concerned we don't end up Th,s posltlon IS not a part-time Job
like our nelghbormg towns like New and not one for a person who lacks lIllna­
Bruam, Waterbury, Menden, etc. that tlve. It's "mllar to havmg good, aggreshave
tremendously hIgh mIll rates that slve people in your busmess They are
make It almost ImpoSSIble to bve there. the key to succeed in most small busI-
Just nice runnmg a bUSiness, our nesses. Good salespersons can make or
leaders should be pumng much more ef- break yOU. We need someone to really go
fort m attempong to bnng In more rev- out and selt our town to these companies.
eoue to Ol,lr town mstead of spendmg Remember, you get what you pay for
their valuable time by d,SCUSSing Items - take a look at the ChIC,ago Bults. They
such as a new poloce station, new hhrary, pay MIChael Jordan the most money m
and a new Town Hall.
pro sportS but he dehvers!
They should hve by the old adage'
Don't spend what you don't have. The
m:c.-spcndmg amtude.bY_QUl -toWn lead ... _ __
ers is why personal bankruptcies and
Name withheld by request
_. -• .southington
'Bargain basement
services' are no bar!!ain
'-'
To the editor.
Your edltonal last week concerning
the Permanent BUIlding Committee's use
of Kaestle-Boos Architects totally mIssed
the mark on a town's use of professIonal
seJ'VlCcs.
ProfesSIonals are better used as partners
In planning and admmistenog a parncular
program or process than as a tool
to perform ooe particular stand-alone
Job.
It wasn't that long ago that the town
was huildlng the second phase of
Southiogton HIgh School, and thIS newspaper
took the bUIlding comnllttee and
archItect to task about schedule and overrun
problems.
That project went to arbitratlon and
htigatlon because of ineffective commumcatlon
and frustration between the
town rcpresent30ves expectmg a pamcular
scope and quahry at work and profes­
SIOnals trylOg (0 mamtaln continUity on a
proJect delayed for three years by state of
Connecticut red tape and mumclpahty
regulations.
When a town finds a profeSSIOnal
that can work with Its representatIves to
achIeve a planned goal 10 an effiCIent,
conservatlve manner, it benefits the town
fiscally and time-management-wlse to
mamtaln that relationsh,p, and not merely
loak to "share the P'C," as IS the polmcal
fash,on.
If !("estle-Boos IS too expenSIve, negotiate
with them. Don't chase bargain
basement scmces - they are no bargain
Town taking its time
with snow damage
To the editor.
My home IS located on a comer
lot with no SIdewalks. I had snow plow
damage in March, and again from a
stann in April. I called the town HIghway
Depanment in March. and April,
aod again in early May to report the
damage. They said I was on their hst and
they were not doing lawns at th,S ·time. I
told them that I cannot maintain this area
Fusco ...
(continued from page 6)
authors of these plans deem property taXes
to be a burden.
If we arc going to cut taXes - and I
definitely believe we should - then the
cut should be a rcal cut that benefits the
people who pay the taXes. The reason that
the General Assembly can talk about cutting
taxes this year IS because under the
leadership of Rowland we are brlogmg
spending under control. The same should
apply to municipahties and th'e property
John T. Holcomb
Southington
as it stands.
I hope that no one falls mto
these ruts and gets hurt. I would not like
tB. see the Town of Southmgton faced
with another lawsun. I have been a
Southington taxpayer for over thirty
years.
Henry J. Gryk
Plantsville
taX.
Many towns In th,S state WIll hold the
Ime on property taXes th,S year by holding
the line on spending In a good number of
these towns, the budget process WIlt be
painful, as referendums are held and tough
deCISIOns are made on where to make cuts.
The urban centers must do the same. If
they wish to cut taXes, they should do It by
cutting spending 00 the local level, and
not by constantly loolong t@!the state -
and the taxpayers in other towns - as the
pot of gold at the end of the rambow.
STATE SENATE
Senate Approves Sweeping Ethics Bill
C allmg It a "