Budget times 09

Getting ready to kick-off our marathon budget meetings in April. This is where the 7 councilors will collectively shape an already tough budget for 09 which takes effect on July 1. With big numbers to balance, I'm sure the council will be up to the challenge to balance the books in a fiscally responsible way.

For people who are newly interested in town budget, The town MUST live with-in a tax cap.
The tax cap is determined by the CPI index from the previous year. This is mandated by the town's charter. This prevents run away spending and forces the 7 town councilors to prioritize budget items year in and year out.

The town's budget is about 80% personnel driven. and so one can see the challenge councilors have when health care costs increase yearly, raises and COLA's typically increase yearly as well.
Items such as fuel, heating costs are rising at such a high percentage increase that one can appreciate that a budget held at a 2.5-3.3% overall increase allowed per tax cap- the budget gets tougher and tougher to make ends meet.

This year, I made a motion to have a full, comprehensive budget book ( the same as a councilor would get) made public and at town hall for taxpayers to see ALL THE DETAILS. and not a condensed version. This is an opportunity for the taxpayers of Derry to see where your money is going and to ask questions of your councilors about spending priorities. So with that said...

Let the budgets begin..
Update: The budget book will be at the Town Clerks office for public viewing. Starting 3/31, It will be there for public viewing.

Time to Unite!

We all have read about the new school proposal at the state house and how Derry stands to lose over 7.5 Million in state aid next year. This would have to be made up from local taxes if this were to stand. Its time Derry residents get together as the 4th largest community in New Hampshire and say to the state legislators that This IS UNACCEPTABLE!

a kind blog reader has started a petition- take a minute to get on and sign this today!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/596081181

Don't wait- It could cost you if you do!

20,000

Wanted to thank the visitors that read this blog and for your comments.

We reached a small milestone with our 20,000th visit today.

Averaging over 110 hits a day and from all over New Hampshire.

Thanks again for making Derry NH Politics blog a success!

Benson, Wetherbee Elected!

Congrats to Brad Benson and Neil Wetherbee for their wins for town councilors!
Congrats to Mark Grabowski and Wendy Smith for their wins on the School Board!

This was a telling election and I wish to thank all those that participated in the process.
I will post numbers as I get them.

The 4A question was basically a wash. With 2516 people voting. The No vote beat the Yes vote by 100 votes. This tells me it was very close. Not a mandate at all. ( keep in mind this was also a non-binding initiative). More discussion will follow I'm sure.

To the 2516 out of 19,000 registered voters who turned out-- A BIG THANK YOU FOR CARING!!!

Time to Vote!

Derry, Now is the time when you have the power of the ballot to make sure your voice is heard.
You have had a chance to see what the future politicians of our town want for the future. Who will best represent YOUR views on the council?

Remember this: It is a privilege given all of us. Many sacrifices have come for our right to vote and we must never forget those who sacrificed for us.

Voting will take less than 5 minutes of your time.

Lets surprise everyone and have a record turn-out.

Voting will be from 7am-8pm Tues March 11th

Dist 1 & 4 Vote at Hood Memorial School

Dist 2 & 3 Vote at West Running Brook school.

Update: As of 1pm we have very light turn-out. 700 votes combined. *** If you have not voted yet. Please make sure you vote before 8pm.

Ballot Question 4A

Readers of this blog take notice! Do NOT let Tom Cardon and Doug Newell bombard you with "snippets" of sound bites that try to scare you into thinking that the upcoming 4A question on this years ballot has ANYTHING to do with the town having to spend more money on 4A. Over the last few months we hear from these two gentlemen that by voting Yes on this question, it will mean we will have to spend 10,20,30 Million dollars more and it will come from Derry. The facts are here. In this blog.

#1) The present council have all agreed by vote that the town of Derry will not spend any more money and in fact the money that was spent on the EIS study will be deducted from the 5Mil that is allotted ( in paper only) Period!

#2) Read the question carefully please and separate these two facts. If no more money is being spent and we get state and federal funds to complete this project, would you vote YES?
Taking out the money issue, Do you support economic development, Less traffic impacts, Lower taxes? This is how you should approach this question. Don't let the ADT, Doug Newell and Tom Cardon use scare tactics to confuse you.

#3) I will not use this persons name however if you get to see a re-run of the last council meeting you will see someone with immense knowledge of the subject. Her work has been done for many years up in concord and throughout the state IN FAVOR OF 4A. I'll call her R.R for this blog. Many of the taxpayers of Derry know her well. She is honest in the fact that some on the other side may get mad however she knows of their distortions and has come to speak on those.
R.R is a supporter of the project with NO more money being spent from Derry taxpayers.
Listen to someone who tells it without distortion.

And then today the Union Leader has this editorial in today's paper on the subject:

Exit 4A gets an OK
A challenging task endorsed

It is no surprise that a special panel of the executive council this week unanimously endorsed the creation of 4A in Derry. The exit's positives outweigh its negatives by a significant margin. The question is, how too fund it? It speaks well of the Derry and Londonderry officials that they did not throw up their hands and say "oh well" when the exit was removed from the 10year highway plan last year. They deserve credit for fighting for this project,which would be a significant accelerate for growth in both towns. Seeing this project through will take a great deal of toil and creativity. Completing the exit without turning to the state for money and eminent domain acquisitions is an immense challenge, but one worth taking on. If enough private and federal resource are secured, not only will a big setback be turned into a success, but it could be a model for other communities to follow. Of course, it makes sense to try to get the exit included in the I-93 expansion instead of tacking it on afterward. So in addition to dealing with the existing challenges, town officials have to race against the clock as well.
Exit 4A would bring industry, commerce, jobs, and an expanded tax base to Derry and Londonderry. It also would relieve some existing traffic congestion. Its a shame the project was cut from the highway plan. But it is encouraging that the towns are pursuing it anyway, despite the enormous challenges. That spirit is too often lacking in local government.

***reprinted with permission from the Union Leader************************

There you have it. Separate the facts from the rhetoric and Vote YES for economic development. Vote Yes for Lower Taxes. Vote Yes for less traffic impacts in the downtown
Please Vote Yes on 4A

Derry NH Politics Endorsements

Hope everyone has had a chance to see the debates on C17 on Mon Evening.

We have two councilor seats to be filled

An At Large Councilor and Dist #3 councilor

For At Large Councilor my choice is Brad Benson. Brad has lived his whole life in Derry and runs his family business of 97 years in Derry. He is very active and has contributed to many organizations in the community. His business savy will be a major plus come budget time. Brad truly wants Derry to be the best it can be and it shows. Please vote with me for Brad Benson

Dist # 3 My choice is Neil Wetherbee. I have only known Neil for a few years but I can tell you Neil is a person who will get the job done. He has taken on co-chairing Community for a better Derry who were instrumental in saving the MET. He also was a member of the Conservation Commission and is very active in his community. Neil not only lives in Derry but works here as well.

Please join me in voting for Benson & Wetherbee Town Council.

Walmart Decides to back out!

Just received word that Walmart's Super Center plans have just been withdrawn. In a press release today, Walmart said the costs were more than they anticipated and they made the decision to withdraw their plans.
This leaves us with more bad news on the economic development front. The anticipated other businesses that would of come had the super center been built would of help us out in our residential/commercial mix of real estate we now have.
Where this leaves the Manchester Road improvements and the bonding that was approved for this roadway will be the next discussion councilors will be talking about.
Seems like the news keeps getting worse in the town of Derry
Unless of course, you were one of the opponents of the project. Then you should be happy I guess.
Question is now. How are we creating an environment that is positive for economic development?