Lets open it up to anything you want to talk about?
Will KC and JF run for their seats on the city council? And who else may run?
How will the 0% upcoming budget effect town services? your thoughts?
Or anything else that is on your mind. Lets hear it.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 02, 2009
Real Estate Bubble and more.
If you have a chance to see this video. It about sums it up on the ecomomy the last few years. Take a look at it and then come back and share your comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmcf4Y3lGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNmcf4Y3lGM
40,000
Just wanted to thank the many visitors to Derry NH Politics Blog! It reached its 40,000 visitor mark a couple of days ago and its because of people like you it has found staying power.
There have been other blogs that have started and then have stopped for various reasons and I can tell you first hand that maintaining and keeping a blog going is not a very easy thing to do. I appreciate all the comments that come in and I post 99% of what you send ( the other 1 % I do not dare put in )and again would like to thank you for using these mediums.
If you have any ideas that may make improvements, please pass them along.
Thanks Again!
There have been other blogs that have started and then have stopped for various reasons and I can tell you first hand that maintaining and keeping a blog going is not a very easy thing to do. I appreciate all the comments that come in and I post 99% of what you send ( the other 1 % I do not dare put in )and again would like to thank you for using these mediums.
If you have any ideas that may make improvements, please pass them along.
Thanks Again!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Take back the money
This post will make some people very upset and I can fully appreciate that fact because of all their hard work and great effort into getting the Town of Derry a bike path that would connect with the town of Windham's'.
However we are in an economy like no other and with the last couple of town council meetings discussions talking about possible lay-offs, hiring freezes and freezes in overtime as well as a demand of our town administrator to come in with a 0% increase, how can we in good conscience spend $225,000 on a bike path at this time?
It just does not make sense does it???
I would not want the efforts of the bike path committee and the hard work in raising the other money go unnoticed either, however it can wait until the economy is much better don't you agree.
The right thing to do here is for the council to rescind the vote that gave them the $225,000 and use this money to lower the taxpayers tax rate for next year. Could you just imagine that the town administrator comes in at 0% tax increase for next year and then we use the $225,000 to actually LOWER THE TAX RATE.
What are your thoughts on this! agree? disagree? and tell us why!
However we are in an economy like no other and with the last couple of town council meetings discussions talking about possible lay-offs, hiring freezes and freezes in overtime as well as a demand of our town administrator to come in with a 0% increase, how can we in good conscience spend $225,000 on a bike path at this time?
It just does not make sense does it???
I would not want the efforts of the bike path committee and the hard work in raising the other money go unnoticed either, however it can wait until the economy is much better don't you agree.
The right thing to do here is for the council to rescind the vote that gave them the $225,000 and use this money to lower the taxpayers tax rate for next year. Could you just imagine that the town administrator comes in at 0% tax increase for next year and then we use the $225,000 to actually LOWER THE TAX RATE.
What are your thoughts on this! agree? disagree? and tell us why!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Derry's major ice storm
Another unforgettable major storm has made it's impression on all of us here in Derry. This one ranks right up there with the "blizzard of 78".
I would like to thank our Emergency Operations Center for performing an outstanding job and they are still at it as this blog is being written. This storm was devastating with knocking down trees and power lines snapping. Frigid temps and lack of electricity made for rough days and nights as people were scrambling to stay warm and get to the basic necessities such as food and water.
In some spots, it looked like a war zone. Warner Hill, English Range road and Windham road. In this blog, I would like to hear from you how this storm effected your life. How did you cope, and what you will do to prepare yourself for future storms.
If you have picture you would like to share, please send them along as well.
I would like to thank our Emergency Operations Center for performing an outstanding job and they are still at it as this blog is being written. This storm was devastating with knocking down trees and power lines snapping. Frigid temps and lack of electricity made for rough days and nights as people were scrambling to stay warm and get to the basic necessities such as food and water.
In some spots, it looked like a war zone. Warner Hill, English Range road and Windham road. In this blog, I would like to hear from you how this storm effected your life. How did you cope, and what you will do to prepare yourself for future storms.
If you have picture you would like to share, please send them along as well.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Is becoming a city the answer?
Is becoming a city the answer in Derry? Will property taxes finally start to come down in doing so? Some say "Yes" and others are saying they are not so sure.
For years the discussions around the water bubblier was that maybe if we could become a city, taxes would be kept in line because the schools portion of the tax bill would have to fall under the "tax cap" that the town presently has.
For those of you who may not know how the Town works presently, here is the scoop.
Only the town side of your tax bill has a tax cap, which ties into the national CPI and which has averaged about 3% a year over the last 10 years. Never has a council spent up to the maximum allowed in any year. Last year, We were allowed to add an additional .22 cents/1000 of home value and we spent .18 cents.
The rest of your tax bill includes the following: School, State and County. These four categories make up your total bill. Only the town side portion has the tax cap.
The idea in becoming a city would allow you to include the school portion under the cap. The school portion is the largest of the four in taxes.
Another reason to become a city is that cities have different grant monies from the feds than a town would. We may have more opportunities to get more grant money.
At the last council meeting, Councilor Coyle introduced a motion for the establishment of a charter commission so that the elected commission members could look into the possibilities of becoming a city and to study the idea in more detail.
The council will have a public hearing in Jan to get the public reaction to establishing the committee. What are your thoughts? Is it time to become a City?
For years the discussions around the water bubblier was that maybe if we could become a city, taxes would be kept in line because the schools portion of the tax bill would have to fall under the "tax cap" that the town presently has.
For those of you who may not know how the Town works presently, here is the scoop.
Only the town side of your tax bill has a tax cap, which ties into the national CPI and which has averaged about 3% a year over the last 10 years. Never has a council spent up to the maximum allowed in any year. Last year, We were allowed to add an additional .22 cents/1000 of home value and we spent .18 cents.
The rest of your tax bill includes the following: School, State and County. These four categories make up your total bill. Only the town side portion has the tax cap.
The idea in becoming a city would allow you to include the school portion under the cap. The school portion is the largest of the four in taxes.
Another reason to become a city is that cities have different grant monies from the feds than a town would. We may have more opportunities to get more grant money.
At the last council meeting, Councilor Coyle introduced a motion for the establishment of a charter commission so that the elected commission members could look into the possibilities of becoming a city and to study the idea in more detail.
The council will have a public hearing in Jan to get the public reaction to establishing the committee. What are your thoughts? Is it time to become a City?
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?
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?
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