Three is Better Than None

If you have not seen the latest Town Council meeting on Totoket TV I strongly suggest taking a look. It seems that leadership role is starting to develop. Three members, Rose, Calamita and Faughnan seem to be emerging as the guiding force on the Council with Calamita the strongest of the three. Rose has served in the past and Calamita was appointed at the beginning of this year but all three are newly elected in the November election. Let’s hope that the Council can stay focused on moving the town forward with good policy and let the other boards and commissions do their jobs.

For a listing of times to view the Town Council Meeting see the Totoket TV link at the sidebar.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, how much do you think you know about Turkey? Take the quiz, you'll find out for sure!!!

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Managing 'His' Future

The Election is over and the people have spoken. If there is one message this election has sent us, it is that our municipal elections have turned into a popularity contest. Candidates from both sides have thrown their fellow party members under the bus to get the popular vote. Both sides have been heard saying “I don’t care who you vote for just make sure you vote for me”. The vote totals seem to back that up. Give the winner a Miss Totoketville sash and let the Council members pick their Chairman. That would elevate the popularity contest.

Our town manager, Karl Kilduff, has tendered his resignation. For those who haven’t been to or seen a Town Council meeting on TV, the town manager seems to have become increasingly frustrated over the past several months with the confusing manner in which the Council has conducted themselves. With the leadership role still vacated and no one seeming able to step up to fill that spot,the town manger has decided to move on. What a great loss to this community. Despite the council’s political games, infighting and inability to move the town in the right direction Mr. Kilduff has always managed to keep his focus on moving the town forward and assuring the residents concerns were addressed.

Our ex Mayor and the Democrat town committee Chairman have apparently decided to make the search for a new town manager even more difficult. They announced in yesterday’s paper their desire to change the form of our town government and eliminate the town manager. That should reduce the application reviewing by about 98%. Nice job guys. Quick thinking. Did I say quick or quit.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

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The above link will take you to a letter that triggered this whole grade tampering issue. It was acquired through the Freedom of Information Act and passed on to me. It is a perfect example of how the NBCCC works. To my knowledge this person has no children in either the High School or Jerome Harrison, yet she gives the impression that she full knowledge of these issues. What she does have, is misinformation and a vendetta against the Board of Education. This campaign of vengeance has now cost the tax payer double, once for an investigation at the local level and the second at the state level and to what ends. Two reports virtually interchangeable with the exact same conclusions. Not to mention dragging our town through the mud because their end justifies their means. The NBCCC now complains about Board legal fees and they are in fact directly responsible for at least 2 of these expenditures and who knows how many indirectly.

View the Report of the Attorney General

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Deja Vu

View the Report of Berchem, Moses & Devlin, P.C.

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If you take a close look at the whole issue, what difference is another report really going to make? This whole matter is going to come down to one person's word against another. Judging from what I’ve heard and seen, the Boards attorney found one more instance of grade changing (a total of 5) than the Administration’s investigation did. The conspiracy theorist (see my very first post ‘Who We Were') are saying “yeah well of course, it's the Board’s attorney. They work for the Superintendent”. What a bunch of crap. That’s just not true. Berchem, Moses and Devlin are one of the most respected law firms in the state. Visit their web site (I put a link on the side)and take a look at their client list, I have. They represent more than 15 municipalities, over 25 Boards of Education, 80 plus corporations and various third party administrators. In my opinion if our BoE retained that firm and said ‘do the investigation, but here’s the result we want……. Berchem, Moses and Devlin would have said ‘find someone else’. They have way too much to lose. Even if the Attorney General’s office found another 10 cases of grade changing, that still doesn’t meet the 100% criteria set forth by the Strategic Plan. For those who didn’t read the last page of the report I posted (click the title) and for those who didn’t do the work and graduated anyway, I’ll do the math. There have been 25 students who have not graduated in the last 6 years. That’s 16 more students that haven’t graduated then in the 5 years prior to our present Superintendent’s administration. If channel 8 had done their homework this story would never had made it to the news.
Like the majority of you, I’m tired of reading the negative press our town gets. The press doesn’t get its information on its own and I doubt very much if the Superintendent calls them. I know, as well as many of you know, who they are, and they stop at nothing until they get what they want. If it’s not the Superintendent it will be someone else. They’ve already targeted the Board Chair and Councilor Bigelow. They don’t like people saying ‘no’ to them and anyone who doesn’t do their bidding is fair game. Many of them are public officials and their statements to the public and comments to the press put our town at risk. If I were the Superintendent I would have retired already with my slander and deformation of character settlement and been done with these Bozo’s. The BoE needs to decide if the Superintendent has been playing favorites to some students or if the fault lies on Dr. Perry’s shoulders, take the appropriate action, and put this behind us. This is not the big scandal that a some would have you believe.

I Was Only Following Orders

I was going to wait until the investigation into the alleged grade fixing was complete before I commented, but I don’t have to hear all of the facts before commenting on this one. If the Superintendent is guilty of tampering with grades, let’s say goodbye and move on. But I hope the Board of Education doesn’t forget about those teachers and administrators who were complicit in or participated in the grade changing. It took a former board member, Kris Vanacore, to bring this issue to light on Channel 8 news. Where was Dr. Perry then? I presume he had to be “smoked out” in the investigation. Would he still be silent and if so why? Where was he when the townspeople and faculty was calling for the non-renewal of the Superintendent’s contract two years ago? There is no excuse for Dr. Perry and any faculty who knew about this not to come forward. Teachers and administrators are part of the most powerful union in the country and “I feared for my job” doesn’t cut it. They’re given tenure, protected through contracts and can file complaints with the State. How can we support and teach a character curriculum when our top administrator and teachers at the high school can’t follow it. Two years ago at that infamous Board of Education meeting, faculty had no problem speaking out against the Superintendent. Why was there a problem bringing this issue forward unless there was some complicity between the former principal, teachers, students and parents. There is more to this than meets the eye and I look forward to seeing the investigation completed and all of the individuals held responsible for their actions. North Branford deserves better than this.

Wanted:

Person(s) interested in becoming a member of an Ethics Commission. Must be a resident of Totoketville. You can have political party affiliation but must not be an active member or have been an active member in the last 25 years. You cannot ever have served on any board, commission, committee or council. You cannot be an employee or have a relative who is an employee, including but not limited to: husband, wife, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin (including 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th cousins). All in-laws are also excluded. If you know any person who serves on any board, commission, committee or council (this includes those who are not sure if they know someone who serves), please do not respond. We will consider those who live more than a mile from anyone who serves on a board, commission, committee or council.
Please submit your resume’ to
Totoketville Town Council
Application will be accepted pending a repeal of the ethics ordinance.



Putting aside the sarcasm, I’m glad to see the council didn’t scrap the ethics ordinance all together. The ethics ordinance puts higher standards on the Ethics Commission than any other board or commission and rightfully so. To impose even more stringent standards as talked about by the council at it’s last meeting would do nothing more than serve as an even a greater deterrent to recruit good people to serve on that commission. I hope that was not the intent. If you can’t get people to serve why would you need an Ethics Commission? Councilor Bozzutto has put the town’s economical development project in jeopardy by his self-serving attempt to purchase property that is part of that project. What is even more disturbing is his blatant advertisement of his attempt do so and the fact that the council does not seem to have a problem with his behavior. If the Council held themselves to the same standard that they hold an appointment to the Ethics Commission, there would be no need for an ethics ordinance. Their needs to be some oversight to protect the residence’s interest in our town. Whether the answer is an Ethics Commission or not it sure seems like a good place to start.

Ethical or Pathetical

Much can be said about politics in Totoketville but dull is not one of them. Either BoE or Town Council, there always seems to be some controversy looming in the background. Much of it is uninformed rumors or vindictive payback mostly stemming from personal agendas and it seems to bounce back and forth between the Council to the BoE . With the apparent lack of leadership on the Council, a group of four seems to be emerging to advance their own agendas forward. Yes, the ‘good ole boys’ are back.

According to Councilor Doody, most of the town wants one library. Where then, were those people when the special meeting took place? Maybe they were there, all four of them. Have the audacity to express our opinion and the acumen to make your case. Don’t ‘back door’ the issue.

Curbside trash bids for 07/08 have been in for almost two months, yet no action has been taken by the Council. Why? Councilor Bozzuto along with newly appointed Building Committee member Fitch, are about to purchase the property adjacent to the Big Y site for 1.3 million. Probably a perfectly legal transaction but given their positions, at the very least there is the appearance of impropriety.

Councilors Hausman, Doody, Bozzuto and Esposito want to repeal the ethics ordinance and disband the newly formed Ethics Commission. There will be a public hearing on this matter at the next regular Town Council meeting. Ask yourself one question: What reason would anyone serving in public office have for not wanting to an Ethics Commission? Make your voice heard either by speaking out at the hearing or sending a letter to the Council.

The Town Council meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM. Hearings are traditionally set for 7:30.

North Branford Town Council
PO Box 287
North Branford, CT. 06471

Budget Referendum

Tuesday, May 8th is the Advisory Budget Referendum vote. Your ballot may be cast between the hours of 12:00 Noon until 8 PM. This is a non binding referendum in which at least 15% of registered voters must participate in order for any changes to be made. In other words we let the Council know how we feel and they may or may not act upon it. The choices are: Too High, Too Low or As is (no changes). Whatever your preference is......cast your vote!

Keep Our Kids Safe

Another incidence of school violence in the headlines today. Our children are not supposed to be in harm’s way while attending school. Some would say we live in a different world today, and we do, but the fact of the matter is that school violence is down from what it was ten years ago. Not a comforting fact for those who have lost loved ones to this senseless violence, but a fact none the less. This doesn’t mean we drop our guard and do nothing to protect our children. All reasonable efforts should be made. This is why the Town Councils recent cut of the security upgrades for our schools are so distressing. It is difficult to imagine that this Council, which has continually funded public safety increases would support a motion to cut security in schools. How quickly we forget about the public outcry for safety in schools.

Town Budget Proposal

The Proposed Town Budget is 42,152,839. Cuts have brought the mill increase down to .94 from 1.33. Here are some highlights of the budget.
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TVES Cafeteria: Food for Thought

Had TVES cafeteria not been packed with supporters of both the library and middle school projects one would have to wonder if the outcome would have been the same. The chairman of every committee, board, and commission sets the agenda for a meeting. In this case the mayor is the chairman for the council but the agenda was clearly not his own. The discussion at meetings is meant to be heard by the public. There were so many side discussions going on from within the council that you couldn’t follow, let alone hear what was going on. Councilor Bigalow came prepared with a copy of local statues that were confirmed by the town attorney. The mayor must certainly have access to the town attorney. So what then was the objective for a special meeting? If as Councilor Doody stated the town is slit 50-50 over the library renovations, where then were the other 50%? They must be as passionate as those who are for two libraries. Unless of course they all were there, all ten of them. I would have more respect for those that sit on the council if they just spoke their minds and not wiggle around behind the scene trying to affect the council vote. The outcome of the special meeting was, if I understand it correctly, that major projects will be put on the ballot during the election cycle. So, now a final decision will wait 2 years to get on the ballot so a new council can overturn it and wait another two years to put that on back on the ballot. One commenter made a good point about the addition to Branford High school. That project was way over budget, but Branford doesn’t have the benefit of a professional Town Manager, their projects are run by their elected officials.

Reminder

Tuesday, April 3rd at TVES the Town Council will hear the town manager's budget request. The BOE will make a presentation to the council as well. Following that will be special meeting to discuss the library and middle school projects. Whatever your thoughts are on these issues, you need to go and make your opinion known. These issues need to be resolved one way or another, no strings attached.

Final Phase is just the Begining

As the Route 80 project begins the last phase of completion, the town is beginning to discuss relocating Wall Field to Totoket Valley Park. The state is providing a $400,000 grant to relocate it due to the Route 80 construction. While the realignment of Route 139 may make Wall Field problematic for the Majors, Little League may still be able to use it for the Pee Wee Leagues. The expansion of Route 80 makes the property a potentially valuable piece of land; therefore, the town may want to sell it. Any proceeds can be used for park development at Totoket Valley. It seems that most residents want some sort of green area for community events, concerts and festivals so people are likely in agreement to develop it at Totoket Valley. What about the community center? Or the senior center? The senior program seems to work well where it is. If the town sells Wall Field, the community center will probably go with it. What are we to do with the existing program space? Do we rebuild it in Totoket Valley Park? At first blush, the answer would seem “yes”. However, before you answer the question, our residents need to answer a fundamental question: What are our needs? North Branford is very sports oriented. We can never have enough baseball and soccer fields. But what do we want in a recreation center? The Recreation Department does a wonderful job with the concerts, festivals, and trips. The town now has a potentially great opportunity to work from a clean slate and provide the town with something its residents would want. So I’m throwing it out there. . . what would you like to see or not see occur?

Complaint Department

This area was created for bloggers who would like to speak to issues not related to a specific blog subject. This was done so these issues would get the attention they deserve and not get buried within a particular blog.

R & D

Someone wrote in to the Totoket Times questioning whether this blog has been taken over by the Republican party. This is NOT the case. Neither party has control or authorized this blog, nor do they control me. I too find it curious as to the reason nbgop.org pointed their URL to this blogspot, but I thank them for the additional exposure.

It is interesting to see how quickly the letter brought the election cycle into play and attempted to cast a shadow over one party in town. I, and I hope others, don’t view this blog as negative. I have one motive, to educate and facilitate opinions and facts. It is important that comments posted to the blog distinguish between the two. Too often people in town have tried to try to convey opinions as facts. As for the election, we have some time before we start discussing that.

A final point, I support the individual, not party, in an election. I urge every resident to watch our public officials, listen to what they say, and stay informed.

Rumor Has It........

I believe that most people care about our town and want to get the correct facts and information. Why then do we have such an incredible rumor mill in this town? I am always amazed at some of the stories that I hear floating around, and people spread them innocently because they think that the source is accurate. When you read the Totoket Times, listen to public access and attend public meetings, pay attention to those who are speaking publicly and put their names to the information. It is interesting to see those people on boards and commissions who are willing to talk about stuff over coffee or a beer, but remain silent during the meetings, the most critical time to share information. When decisions are made, we can’t second guess them or rehash them with a spin. I know many people in town have worked hard to make the right decision on the library renovations and the NBIS project, and people in the community may have their opinions of the ultimate decision. That is our prerogative as taxpayers, but when public officials who have sat silently on the board or council and allowed these approvals to go forward with their “yes” votes, now want to undo the process, these people must be held accountable. I don’t mean that they should be strung up on the town green, wherever that is. I mean that before they begin the policy of constantly second guessing their decisions, our elected officials should first explain to the public why they are choosing to open up a prior decision. It may be for the right reason, but we need to hear it articulated from them at a public meeting, not in the grocery store, not at Dunkin Donuts, or in some other place that creates this incredible telephone chain rumor that no one is accountable for. We should ask for no less from our public officials, and they owe it to the numerous volunteers who have worked hard a proposing the library renovations and North Branford Intermediate School project.

On Tuesday, April 3rd, at 7 pm the Town Council will hear the BOE’s budget presentation followed by a special meeting on the middle school and library renovations. I encourage people to attend.

Puppet or Pulpit

Word on the street is that the Mayor is trying to call a special meeting to discuss the future of the town’s library and middle school project renovations. Just two meetings after Candelora left the council, we’re starting to see the leadership void open up. This council has sat through two strategic planning exercises with NBIS, received two recommendations from engineers, approved the educational specifications for the school, approved the architect, authorized the town manager to hire a construction manager, and approved several pieces of funding-all with unanimous votes. Also, the Council approved the library projects after a strategic plan, authorized an architect, approved bonding and applications for state grants-all with unanimous votes. Apparently, Mayor Andy Esposito is gaining enough courage to call a special meeting of the council on Wednesday, March 28th. My guess is he doesn’t want these topics to come up at a regular meeting where the public might find out about it. He has sat nearly silent (except for the trash contract) for the past six years on the Council, and now wants to rescind projects that he approved, and the town has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, all in the name of fiscal responsibility. I can understand why the board of education, library commission, and town employees are on the brink of either quitting or lynching our mayor. The mayor is trying to throw years of hard work out the window based on his personal beliefs-without citing any facts. This is not what I want in a town leader. Who is pulling this guy’s strings?

1 or 2

Over the past few decades, many town councils have debated whether to renovate our libraries or build one library near the police station on Forest Road. This year and after much debate, the Council approved funding to renovate both libraries. While renovating each library will cost the town less money, does it make sense? The renovations will effectively double the size of each library and make them handicap accessible. The Council also purchased the house next to the Smith Library in order to expand parking. One of the main arguments for keeping two libraries is that each library is located in populated areas where people travel. All the studies show that libraries are not destination places. People go to the library on the way to another destination like the store or post office. Critics say that if the libraries were moved outside the populated areas and placed on Forest Road, the library usage will go down.

Renovations are scheduled to begin this summer so the point maybe somewhat moot but the issue still seems to pop up at every Town Council meeting. If the Council changes their decision now, all the time and money invested in this project is lost.

I believe we should have two libraries, but the notion of centralizing our services and bringing two communities together is a good one. I think the Council should focus on centralizing our parks and making a Town green on Forest Road for community events. I’m tired of the ping-pong each year with our Memorial Day Parade and our Christmas tree lighting.

Note: After I posted 1 or 2 I was informed that the library was again brought up at last nights Town Council meeting. Is it me or did we elect these people as our leaders to make the best decisions for our town? If you can't make a decision and lead, step aside and let someone else who can.

Storm?

Not really much of a storm though compared to what we’ve had in the past. This new mix they put down on the roads seems to be working fairly well except for the white tire tracks it leaves everywhere. Friday brought a snow day for the kids. At first I wondered why until 2:00 rolled around and the snow stared to stick fast. My children are old enough to be on there own so that isn’t an issue for us anymore.

I heard the dome at the Sportsplex came down during the storm so I took a ride over to see. Sure enough, it was down but from what information I could gather it was lowered to prevent damage from the heavy snow that had built up. Many people were there shoveling what appeared to be many tons of snow into buckets and barrels and removing them by hand in a human chain like fashion. Unfortunately, judging from the amount of snow it looks like they’ll be at it for a few days.

All in all, a mild winter for us compared to most of the country. For the Northeast it has been the mildest winter since the 1930’s. They still have the record for the warmest January day.

What, Where and Why

Some of you have asked the who, what, where and why question. As I stated in ‘sticking mud’ this is a new person moderating this blog. I have been on the old blog from time to time and found most of it offensive but as previous commenter stated, some of the topics need to be discussed. While ‘surfing the web’one evening I stopped in to Totoketville to see what was happening. It wasn’t there. Not even a blank blog. Curious to see if Harry had abandoned the name, I created a blog and tried the Totoketville name and low and behold here I am. I had no intention of starting a blog but I saw an opportunity to go in a different direction. I started out with satire (who we are….were) and went to frustration (sticking mud). My objective is to move on to issues that face our town and leave the those who are stuck on the conspiracies theories behind.

Many issues lay ahead of us. With the rising energy costs, this years Town budget could potentially be the biggest ever which means higher taxes for all. There are the library renovations, the Middle school renovations, Big ‘Y’, and a centralized athletic field among a few.

One issue that seems to have slipped between the cracks is the breathalyzer policy that was passed by the BOE. A few months ago, the Student Council recommended to the BOE that it enact a policy that allows the schools to administer breathalyzers during school events or when a student is believed to have been drinking. I am surprised that students would be making this request. They are actually willing to give up a piece of their freedom in order to attend school events without students that have been drinking. I applaud their initiative, but what does this say for the social atmosphere in our schools? Is teenage drinking rampant enough for the students to make a request onto the administration?

Totoketville is one of the first school systems in the state to adopt this policy. Does the enactment of this policy mean that,as parents,we aren't paying enough attention to our children? Are we being proactive or overreacting? On one hand, I want my child to be safe at school, on the other, it is pretty intrusive.

Sticking Mud

To clarify, this blog has been taken over by a new person. Over the past year, many strange rumors have circulated around town and you may have received some emails from a group known as the NBCCC, the North Branford Coalition for Concerned Citizens. In my observation, this group of people banned together originally to oust the superintendent. In an effort to gain popular support, they professed to educate the public and expose the corruption. I think they used this common cause to oust Dr. Wolfe as an attempt to unify a force against public officials and community leaders that would not subscribe to their tactics. Their behavior reminded me of Hitler's march on Europe.

This coalition has spread rumors about people and written, in my opinion, some pretty offense letters to and about our public officials. They spread these rumors anonymously and behind people's backs in order to affect the outcome of town elections or force people out of office. We all know the saying, if you throw enough mud, some of it is going to stick. The interesting part about NBCCC is that you probably don't even know who is part of the membership. They have remained a secret. Why? If they believe in their cause, why wouldn't they make themselves known to the general public and invite an open dialogue with the officials that they claim to be self-interested or corrupt? I suppose some of them are bitter because they were rejected by one of the major parties in town. I believe the public displays of inappropriate behavior and the violations of public trust caused this to happen. After all, in order for a civilized society to function, there must be a set of minimum standards that we live by. When individuals demonstrate behavior that falls below these standards, society rejects them. I think they would like you all to believe that they were the victims of this great conspiracy to protect Dr. Wolfe. Do you really think a group of twenty or so people would unite to protect Dr. Wolfe? We have better odds with a monkey typing a world renowned novel.

The original nasty blog that personally attacked many of our town leaders shocked my conscious, saddened me, and made me question just how far some will go. When I read the original blog, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I don't know what offended me more, the content of the blog, Lisa Gagliardi's behavior of actually forwarding it to residents professing its truth with the belief that it was actually a good thing to do for the community, or Harry Blogger thanking her for spreading the word? They profess to want to help the town, but somehow managed to turn it into a vehicle to attack public officials. I'd rather not continue to dredge up all of the nauseating, prolonged details of the past year, but I believe it is important to expose the situation for what it is.

I am concerned that the vicious climate created for public service will have a unnerving effect. This is why I have taken over this blog. I want to do my part. I would like to thank all of the public officials who are VOLUNTEERING their time to serve in office. While I and others don't always agree with your decisions, and at times want to slap you in the head, I appreciate the time that you put in to make this community better. I pledge to all of you that if I have a problem or a question, I will approach you first and discuss the matter with you. Moving forward, I will be posting issues about the town on this blog. I invite the public to ask questions and post, and I invite the public officials to answer their questions. It is my hope that we can move forward as a community and use technology to better inform the public. I have no agenda. I've watched on the side lines for quite awhile, and its time to move on.

Who we were

We are a group of residents united to advance our own personal, narrow agenda ahead of the best interest of our Town. We are the sole arbiters of justice and truth, and our ends justify the means. We lie in secret and come out to strike with our agenda and with disregard to process. Be on notice, that if you are a public official who refuses to conform to our views and do not follow our cause, we will berate you out of political office. If you are a resident with a problem, please contact us. If your cause advances ours, we will be happy to exploit you and your children to suit our needs; however, we disclaim any responsibility for damage that we may cause to your reputation, career, or family-we blame someone else.