Sunday, November 16, 2008

Time to Act is now.

The time to act is now!

Last month at the end of a council meeting during councilor requests, I had brought up the topic of a hiring freeze and a freeze of all overtime budgets at the town level. Not one other councilor joined me in the discussions and nothing more has been said about my proposal which i think is unfortunate. I did get some comments that said it was not a good request and how would that effect town services such as snow plowing etc.. ( no snow yet and lost opportunity to save some money).

My proposal would look at not eliminating any crucial services dealing with overtime but instead by making a complete review of where we are spending money and how to get a better "bang for the dollar".
by prioritizing jobs that are most needed and to put on a back burner, the non-essesial ones for another year.

I bring these issues up so next years budget becomes a little better to handle and to keep future disruptions in services to becoming larger issues and to minimize lay-offs that may need to be considered. I understand that some town employees may not like to hear about overtime freezes, however I'm positive that they will not like to hear that they may get a pink slip next year. I would hope that many can see the benifits of knowing they have a good job.

We must view the fact that what we do today will have effects 6 months from now. Sacrifice a little now to save a job later is what I beleive to be the best way to prepare. I'm sure some would dis-agree however from my own expeirences, find it to be proper planning.

I just read an article with our CFO Frank Childs telling the Union Leader that municipal budgets are tight and the fact that Derry has a tax cap, he believes that most likely "lay-offs" are coming. With that knowledge, would it not make sense to cut overtime now and also a hiring freeze?? It does to me!

Your thoughts?

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Light at the end

Here we go again.
Being accused of being an optimist is not a bad trait to have in these times. We have enough "gloom and doom" neigh sayers through-out Derry and unfortunately their voices are heard more often than one wishes.
Can we dwell on all the negatives we hear and are bombarded with on a daily basis or should we look for AND CONCENTRATE on the positives of each situation. I'll let you answer that question for yourself!

Reading many books written by successful people usually have a common theme. Stay away from the negative energy- its sucks the lifeblood out of everything. Surround yourself with the positive people! Even the medical community will tell you that by doing so, you will be happier, healthier and live longer.
So when being accused of "wearing rose-colored glasses" I say yes! whats wrong with that? Is the world perfect? of course not! Can I find something to complain about on a daily basis? sure but why would I want to make myself sick everyday. I could blame my problems on someone else, would that make me feel any better? Maybe, but we have to look ourselves in the mirror and understand that we control our thoughts, feelings and how we act. That's the power of positive attraction. What comes around, goes around. You think positive thoughts and positive things happen, You think negative thoughts and negative things happen, its a very simple life lesson.

Lets look at today's economy. Is gas going down? $2.39. How about heating oil? yep
These two things are the life blood of the economy..
How about real estate? Well the absorption rate is now at 6.8 months in Derry! Down from over 10 months supply. How about being a good time to buy real estate? Prices are more affordable than ever and who among us think that the housing market will not go back up in value. Stock market? some stocks are considered a steal right now...

Remember that the economy is 2/3 consumer confidence. Once banks and people stop being negative and start being positive, will we get out of this mess. I will go on to say that this spring, we will have so much pent up demand that our economy will be on the fast track to getting back where it should be..

Folks there is a reason why rich people get richer... They buy at the best value, when others are to afraid to let go of any money. I am not one of those rich people, however, should we not be looking at what they are doing? Now, I do understand some people are in worse shape financially than others, however keep the positive thoughts and positive people around you at all times! Forget those everyday negative, energy sapping people that are miserable day in and day out.. You deserve better!