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Showing posts from February, 2025

The Public Deserves to See the Trash Outsourcing Report

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Art generated by AI following author's prompt: Report locked in safe The Enfield Town Council is considering a consequential issue: outsourcing our public works trash removal service. However, the town has not released the consultant's report, which likely examines the pros and cons of such a move, even as the Council begins its budget deliberations. The town council authorized the hiring of the consultants in November, 2024. On April 7, 2025, the Town Council discussed the report in executive session. I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for a report copy this week. The Town Manager's office responded that the report is still in draft format and is not eligible for public disclosure under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act. I was also told: "The contract has not provided us a completion date at this time." That means the report could be withheld from the public indefinitely. Draft is not an automatic exemption This was my response: "My un...
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Charter Commission proposes 7% budget cap, a fix that won't solve the problem (With correction)

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Charter Revision Commission meeting CORRECTION FROM ORIGINAL POST:  In my initial analysis, I incorrectly connected two distinct fiscal years when discussing budget increases and tax impacts. This fixes it. Here's what happened: The 4.5% tax increase in 2022 was based on the FY2023 budget ( July 2022 - June 2023 ). Town spending decreased by 1.19% in FY2023 , but taxes still went up because the 2021 revaluation shifted the tax burden to homeowners . When residents opened their tax bills in July 2022, they saw the 4.5% tax increase. Using a sample 1,200 SF single family house Southwood Acres, property taxes went from  $4,265 → $4,457 or a $192 increase. [For context, Social Security recipients received an 8.7% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for their 2023 benefits, reflecting the high inflation of 2022.] 📌 Cause: This tax hike was driven by the 2021 revaluation , which shifted more of the tax burden from commercial to residential properties, not by increased spending ....
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Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA
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