Well honeybunch, it’s been quite the week — back in the saddle as they say, with the memories of the holidays and the vacation fading. Of course, for Cobina, things were not quite so pleasant over the vacation as she came down with a bug and was laid up for most of it. Got sickt he day after Christmas and am still feelin’ a bit under the weather.
Speakin’ o’ weather, it hit 70 here cuz of the nutty pattern we’re in in these parts. We’ve had January thaws every year, but usually there is something to thaw. Excep’ for a couple o’ flurries, we ain’t seen any snow to speak of – yet. November was cold, December warmer than usual, and January is follying the pattern – something about the Jet Stream, I guess.
Tennyrate, here in the Asylum by the Sea things are getting into the normal winter flow. The Town Committees are havin’ their biennial caucuses to see who will fill the seats on the 60-member town committees. So far, we ain’t heard about any primaries, but that don’t mean they won’t happen.
The majority party is still segmented into three major factions and the big win by herronner in November doesn’t seem to have made a dent in the enmity that the factions have for one another. The Rossi faction is in control of things for the present, but we’ve seen that change in a hurry. For now, Rossi is in charge and can do perty much what she wants. Let’s hope that somehow or t’other people can be brought on board to do what is right for the city – but we ain’t holdin’ out much hope.
I never understood the whole power politics thing here. I guess it was once about controlling jobs and who got ‘em. But, let’s face it, there ain’t any to pass around much anymore. We can’t afford it.
Over on the Republican side it’s gonna be very interesting over the next little while to see what happens. I don’t have to tell you about the split in the ranks the RTC had during the last election. It’ll be interestin’ to see just how things play out with the new town committee being seated, and whether there will be a showdown. It can’t hurt the party, it might even create some interest. I know effen I was a young person trying to git into politics, I’d choose the Republicans cuz they have a place to move and grow. The Demmies seem to be set in who they have and who they support.
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We got the follyin’ letter, and we disagree with our writer’s premise. We don’t think that historians are as relative about decades as he seems to indicate. Tennyrate, I thought’ yew’d by interested:
With all due respect to Cobina, I must provide a correction. ‘A new decade or century starts with “1.”‘ While it’s true that we call our current century The 21st Century, and it began on 1 Jan 2001, and will end on 31 Dec 2100, we just don’t number our decades in the that way. If we actually called it The 202nd Decade, then yes we could claim that it ran from [1 Jan] 2011 thru [31 Dec] 2020, and in that sense Cobina would be right. I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard anyone call it that.
A century is any period of 100 years, however you happen to define its starting point. Likewise, a decade is any period of 10 years, however you happen to define it. While the 20th Century ran from 1901 thru 2000, the [century of the] 1900’s did run from 1900 thru 1999. Likewise, the 21st century runs from 2001 thru 2100, but the 2000’s will be from 2000 through 2099. In the same way, the decade of the “Roaring Twenties” ran from 1920 thru 1929, ending with the beginning of The Depression. (I’m not commenting as to whether or not Cobina is as “old as dirt” and actually remembers the roaring twenties.) Therefore, in this current century of the two thousands, the first decade may still be the “aughties”, running from 2000-2009, the “teens” from 2010-2019, and this decade will be the “twenties” from 2020-2029. It is up to history (starting sometime after 2030) to decide whether our decade of the twenties will be roaring or some other moniker.
— Scott Tietjen
The only thing I hafta say is thanks for writing. Methinks yore wrong cuz a set of 10 is complete at “10.” But we appreciate that someone actually thinks about this stuff. Thanks, Scott.
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Nelly Nuthatch tells me that the City Council is gearin’ up for the “forums” that it’s gonna support in order to tell people about the Charter Revision isshews and how the question is gonna be presented when it is voted upon at a date still to be determined.
Before the council broke for the holidays it decided that the residents would be given an opportunity to review the changes. It’s perty much the same presentation that was put forth before the council voted, and is probably tweaked a bit now that things are lookin’ a bit more promising, but it’s still a question as to when or how many will show up to learn about this.
Cobina has visions of the same activists and gadflies that appeared at the previous presentations will be at the new ones. They might even have the same questions. We hope that John and Jane Q. decide to go to the events, cuz as we have noted in the past, these changes are the largest structure changes we’ve had since this community went from Selectmen to Mayor-Council.
Yew know as well as I do that once the changes are voted on there is gonna be a certain segment of the community that is gonna be perplexed that something happened and they weren’t informed. Then they’ll take umbrage that someone tried to pull the wool over their eyes – even though there were several attempts to tell them what was going on.
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As I mentioned to yew last week, it’s the beginning of the budget-making process. And we’re gonna start hearing about the wish lists that the department heads and the Bored of Ed will present. Of course, these things will be pared down and the Municipal Accountability Review Board (MARB) will be the elephant in the room whilst all this is contemplated.
The mayor has to send her proposed budget to the council in March, and then the council gets its turn to look it over after the annual public hearing. Like I said last week, the only given on the budget this year is that there will be a tax increase. The MARB has dictated that we should have an increase in the mill rate up to 40 mills during the term of the five-year plan. We are in year three, methinks.
So, don’t be surprised when the tax bills go out in late June and have an increase, it’s all planned. Of course, once the MARB leaves town – sooner rather than later, we hope – things will git back to normal and the city can chart its own course. Still, without any appreciable increase in the Grand List, we’re still in a fix.
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Is it me, or do I think Gov. Ned Lamont is gonna push through his toll on truck regardless of what the public thinks? And make no mistake and this is the plan: they get the trucks to pay tolls, and then the rest of us will be brought into it. It’s a backdoor measure to get tolls into the state.
We have a spending problem in Connecticut, not a tax problem. They tax just about everything, but they spend it quicker than they get it. People are leaving the state in droves, and we might lose yet another Congressional seat when the census comes out. The only good thing about that will be one less tax-and-spend Democrat elected.
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With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next mitt luff und kizzez,