Posts

Showing posts from November, 2023

Council sends $511 million school rebuild to November voters

Image
  The Enfield Town Council voted unanimously to approve a $511 million school project, supported by an $89 million town share. Voters will have final say in November.  The Town Council voted Wednesday unanimously to send a $511 million plan to Enfield voters to rebuild the town's elementary school system. The town's cost is $89 million, and that's what voters will be asked to approve in November. The plan builds four new PK-5 schools on the sites of Hazardville Memorial, Prudence Crandall, Edgar H. Parkman and Henry Barnard, and converts Eli Whitney into a new home for Eagle Academy. Work runs in two phases. The entire project will take seven to eight years. Mayor Gina Cekala said Enfield doesn't have much choice. "$89 million is a lot of money. It sounds like a lot of money. It is a lot of money," she said. But she put the town's share in proportion. Of the $511 million, "Enfield is going to be responsible for a maximum of 17% of this project."...
Post a Comment
Read more

Voter turnout will be crucial if Democrats hope to retain Enfield's Council majority

Image
  In the 2021 municipal election, Enfield Democrats won 7 out of the 11 council seats, helped by a voter turnout of about 7,850 -- a substantial 19% increase over the 2019 municipal election. To maintain a majority, the Democrats will likely need a similarly strong turnout on Nov. 7 But the Democrats face obstacles this time because of revaluation. Property taxes increased by around 10% for many.  Meanwhile, council Republicans are leveraging this increase in taxes. They've taken to their mailers, chastising Democrats as having "gone hog wild with taxes and spending." Aside from being false, this criticism overlooks Enfield's underlying issues — issues for which the Republicans, after 14 years at the helm, cannot evade responsibility. You can think about revaluation like Warren Buffett talks about stock market declines: "Only when the tide goes out do you learn who has been swimming naked." It means everything looked good until the market crashes, and then p...
Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA
Read more