Here are some of the issues facing us in this upcoming year.
Seven (7) Union contracts to negotiate. Right now the police patrolman's union has declared impasse. The union decided to man the polling places at West Running Brook and Gilbert H Hood Middle school during elections in an effort to gain public support of it's proposed road detail ordinance. ( I'm hoping that the union comes back to the table).
FY08 Budgets: Councilors should be receiving their budget books this Mon 3/19. We already know that this budget will be a "tough" budget in the fact that even if it were decided to raise taxes up to the tax cap- there would be a shortfall of about $300k. Lets hope that some of the supporters of the now defunct charter who want to have a say in budgets-come out and watch the budgets hearings, understand how the budgets works and through the representation of their councilors,have a chance to have input on these budgets. Remember folks- e-mail us, write us, call us. YOUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD!!( you can even use this blog forum to speak your mind)
Hiring a town administrator: The search is on and will continue to receive applicants until 4/6. Bennett Yarger ( the company doing the search) will be coming up with a time line in the decision making process very soon ( I will post when it becomes available) It is my understanding that we could make a final decision as early as mid-late May!
Private Roads Issue: This was scheduled for Feb council meeting, however after an e-mail from a citizen who wanted more notification of more people, especially citizens that live on private roads, I decided that that citizens request was not unreasonable. In fact, my recommendation would be for the sub-committee, who worked on this for at least 6 mos, come before the council and give us the information they worked very hard on. This would be a workshop- Then we should have a public hearing letting the citizens voices be heard- Then a vote by the council ( 3 separate meetings) *** this is not an easy subject to deal with, how ever we must make a decision so that these issues are addressed.
Sewer expansion to Brady ave area: Another big subject and a very important one.
Economic Development: This is going to be a very very interesting issue to deal with, I am looking forward to hearing from my fellow councilors their thoughts on how we move forward in bringing business to Derry. This is very important as this will help contribute in lowering our taxes. Downtown area will be a major focus of mine not only because it is in my district, but because we need to bring back focus to our downtown.
I'm looking forward to taking on these issues and my hope is that more people will contribute in having their say on theses issues. I'm hoping for constructive conversations and solutions to what you want to see. Lets aim high and really think outside the box, lets sets some goals on how to achieve our goals and lets work together to find these solutions so that we can all be proud of our town!!
let us know your feelings about these issues!
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3 comments:
Brian,
While I live in another district, I wanted to let you know how I feel about the issues you raised.
1 - I don't think it is good public policy to mix union negotiations with a road detail ordinance. The road ordinance should be based on public safety issues, not pay issues. Also, as you pointed out during the council debates, it has an effect on pension costs to the town.
2- Just keep the taxpayers in mind. I think it is time for the Council to consider and debate a hiring freeze until the budget picture comes into better focus.
3. I liked Paul Hopfgarten's suggestion of hiring someone with both private and public experience. An administrator with more diverse experience may be better able to come up with new and different ideas.
4.I like your suggestion. Let everyone have a shot at making their arguments and let the Council decide. Having said that, this is one of those issues where the courts are probably going to make the ultimate decision.
5. I don't know enough to comment.
6. I agree that the downtown should be a focus. It seems underutilized to me. Maybe we need to talk to folks in other towns with downtown areas and see what they do to get people in to shop, eat, etc..
7. There's one issue that didn't make it on your list that I think needs to be brought up. The demeanor of the councilors when the council is in session. It appears that some of the councilors won't form life-long friendships, but they must find a way to work together better for the town. I don't mind people disagreeing (sometimes we get better results that way), but snide comments that fosters resentment and mistrust don't help the Council achieve what is best for the town, and frankly turn me off. I won't reference particular councilors, but its happened more than once. Can this be brought up at one of the meetings and try to get the councilors to agree to avoid some of the pettiness?
Thanks
Tom Seidell
Tom,
Thanks for your input! This blog is not exclusively for Dist#4 citizens, but for all of derry citizens. Please feel free to chime in whenever you want!!
You bring up some very good ideas and I appreciate you letting me know how you feel on the important issues!
I too am hoping for the councilors getting along better this year. My hope is that now we know each other a little better, we can get the work done that the citizens want us to get done.
Thanks again Tom!
THE DEMEANOR OF THE COUNCILORS IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR ME. IT IS SILLY TO CONCERN OURSELVES WITH THAT. SITTING ON THE TOWN COUNCIL SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED A MEMBERSHIP IN A FRIENDSHIP CLUB OR A POPULARITY CONTEST. I EXPECT THE BATTLES TO BE FOUGHT AND THE COUNCILORS TO CARE ENOUGH TO FIGHT THEM. FORGET ABOUT THE CRUMPETS AND TEA. PUT YOUR BOXING GLOVES ON AND GO TO WORK.
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