by | May 15, 2014 8:06 pm | Comments (0)
Residents in Seymour voted on proposed 2014 – 2015 budgets for the town and the school district today.
Here are questions asked (paraphrased) and the results, marked with an ‘X.’
Shall the town budget of $22,660,827 be adopted?
Yes: 832 X
No: 711
Shall the school budget of $31,730,447 be adopted?
Yes: 789 X
No: 758
by | Apr 28, 2014 1:31 pm | Comments (0)
Marking two ovals on a bubble sheet. That’s all it takes to have direct influence over how your money is spent in Seymour.
Yet more than 80 percent of registered voters routinely don’t even do that much.
It’s a statistic that has always surprised and frustrated me, observing this town as a reporter since 2006.
Continue reading ‘Guest Column: Don’t Throw Away Your Chance to Vote, Seymour’
by | Apr 28, 2014 11:04 am | Comments (0)
The last time the Seymour Schools budget passed on the first referendum was in July of 2009.
That year, in response to the realities of the Great Recession, a zero percent budget increase was requested … and received.
Since that time, the school’s budget has increased, on average, only 1.2 percent each year.
Continue reading ‘Seymour School Budget A Reflection Of Community Values?’
by | Apr 21, 2014 10:00 pm | Comments (0)
The Seymour Board of Selectmen has officially passed the town’s proposed $54.6 million budget on to voters.
Now the fate of the 2014 – 2015 spending proposal will be up to the people, who can vote in a daylong referendum May 1 at the Seymour Community Center.
by | Apr 3, 2014 10:28 pm | Comments (0)
A public hearing Thursday on the proposed 2014 – 2015 Seymour budget lasted 12 minutes and included comments from just three people.
Town officials expect to get a clearer picture of how residents feel about the $54.6 million budget proposal at a town referendum May 1.
“They’ll tell us if they want us to make any tweaks,” said Board of Finance chairman Bill Sawicki after the short hearing Thursday.
by | Mar 27, 2014 6:52 am | Comments (0)
How much will this cost me in taxes?
Who’s getting raises?
Why have voters rejected the school budget so often in recent years?
Those were some of the questions from the public during a live webinar on the proposed Seymour Board of Education budget Wednesday hosted by the Valley Indy.
Continue reading ‘Seymour Talks School Budget In Live Webinar’
by | Feb 17, 2014 6:35 pm | Comments (0)
I have read the articles on both the New Haven Register and Valley Independent Sentinel websites regarding Police Chief Metzler’s reorganization plan, and I would like to make some comments that I was unable to make at the BOPC meeting on Monday, February 10, 2014.
While I sometimes have used my work experience in making decisions while on the BOPC, I have tried to keep my “day job” detached as much as possible from my elected position.
However, surprisingly, since it was mentioned in the articles, and the fact that it has come to my attention that a particular Town official is referring to my qualifications as that of a “glorified patrol sergeant,” I feel reluctantly compelled to give some background on myself.
Continue reading ‘Seymour Police Commissioner Slams ‘Rubber-Stamping’ Of Chief’s Plan, Resigns’
by | Feb 12, 2014 11:54 am | Comments (0)
The Seymour Police Department was restructured Monday under a plan that Chief Michael Metzler said increases supervision of police officers, bolsters the department’s chain of command, and reduces something called “sergeant shopping.”
The chief also said the reorganization could speed up the process of naming a new School Resource Officer, as well as restoring the position of Community Police Officer to the department.
Continue reading ‘Chief Metzler Shuffles The Management Deck At Seymour PD’
by | Feb 11, 2014 5:08 pm | Comments (0)
You can’t always get what you want — but can they get what they need?
Continue reading ‘Now Is The Time To Pay Attention To The Seymour School Budget’
by | Jan 8, 2014 9:41 pm | Comments (0)
The Seymour Board of Education hopes to receive a 3.5 percent increase in its budget for 2014 – 2015, officials said Wednesday.
The school board unanimously adopted a $32,024,884 spending plan, which carries a spending increase of $1.08 million over the current budget.
The budget will go to the Board of Finance for review before eventually heading to voters in the spring.
Given the rough go-around for school funding in previous budget cycles, Seymour school board members are already worried residents might not support the district’s latest plan.
Continue reading ‘Seymour Schools Request 3.5 Percent Budget Increase’
