By the time you read this missive, sweets, it’ll be a week into the spring season. Yup, we’ve survived the winter again, and are lookin’ forward to all that the spring and summer have to offer in these parts. Of course, yew know as well as I do that Ol Man Winter might’ve been extricated from his seat for nine more months, but he ain’t gonna go away quietly.
Things don’t really git warm around here until the first couple weeks of May. And, the damp and cold that we do have during April is something again. Still, whilst traversing around the neighborhood Cobina did seem to see the trees starting to show signs of budding. Willow trees are showing that greenish-yellow they have jest before changing to green, and we did see our foist crocus of the year. So, things are looking up.
Of course, the true sign of spring as far as the boys and girls of the political class are concerned is the opening of the budget approval process. That little exercise was done last week when Herroner called the City Council into special session and announced her spending plan for the next fiscal year, set to start July1.
It was perty much pro forma as they say, with the usual remarks. She did put together a bit of a statement that yew can read in this week’s papyrus. It is the second year she is doin’ that and it seems to be accepted well by the taxpayers cuz it is a sign of “transparency,” a word much used in political circles of late.
This means the public hearing is set, and the papyrus has a run down of the major expenditures and revenue streams as it has for many years and in many publications going back to probably The Flood, maybe even antediluvian.
Sammy Bluejay was perched outside the meeting venue and was listening to the goings on It was perty much what you’d expeck, no real surprises one way or t’other. As Sammy sez it’ll be interesting to see what happens at the public hearing this year, set for …. Over the last decade or so these things have become rather hum-de-dum affairs with none of the real fire and brimstone that used to accompany setch sessions.
Sammy and I were reminiscing about the days when the West Haven Taxpayers Association, formed in a year when there was revaluation perty much stormed into the public hearing and there was a lotta fiery talk. Stayed that way for quite a while, but no more. Havin’ the city go belly-up financially kind o’ takes the raison d’etre outta any type of public protest, and cuz we are in a Blue State high taxes and high costs are jest perty much expected as opposed to forty years ago. Now, people jest up and leave, going to greener and warmer pastures for lower taxes and less cost.
Still, it’ll be of interest to see what happens in the public hearing given it is a revaluation year and peoples assessments will probably affeck what they pay in the year. Stay tuned for what happens.
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The Wag came in t’other day and he was as annoyed as I’d ever seen him. It seems his gassamobuggy was the victim of a driver who dinged him, leaving a bit o’ damage, but not bothering to leave any contact info. Luckily, it wasn’t th subject of a repair, just a quick fix.
He came to his car which is parked on the main drag every night and found that his car door was difficult to open and his side-view mirror was displaced. That was an easy fix cuz those things move nowadays, and there was not damage there What damage their was happened to be with the door and adjacent panel. Luckily, his friendly neighborhood fixit man did his thing and was able to pull out the panel, and fix the door toot sweet. Still, the car is fairly new, and this is the thoid thing he’s had happen to it in about a year.
At the supermarket adjacent cars seem to forget there are neighbors and dinged both is doors. This last thing set him off about the way people jest don’t follow rules or courtesy anymore, to which Cobina gave a big, “Nope, they don’t.”
This happens through red lights being conveniently ignored, or (what she sees each day she comes to the office) people ignoring turning signals and making turns whilst it’s red. I guess thing that that only apply to people who want to follow the law.
Tennyrate, it’s jest another example o’ the way people don’t care about their neighbors, jest themselves. And, don’t git me started on drivers who wanna zigzag on the highway trying to go 100 miles an hour when everyone else is going about 65.
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Nelly Nuthatch noted that the city is reclaiming sand along the various beaches. The city leadership was lookin’ to reclaim sand that found its way back into Long Island Sound over the years, and permission must’ve been given cuz that’s exactly what was done. That’s a good thing. Over the years we’ve spent hundreds of thousands of kopecks on replacing sand, only to have it washed back into the drink.
It once was a matter of turning over Heaven and the hot place to try to get permits to reclaim the land. It looks like common sense is finally back in fashion, and the city can scoop back the sand and dry it out on the shore to put it back from whence it came.
Nelly sez that not only are city crews reclaiming the sand, they are caring it around to various beaches when the need for recontouring the shore is necessary.
Reclaiming sand is a step in the right direction, honey bunch. One has to remember that our beaches are all man-made, begun after WWII. We can remember a lotta rocky areas before that. But the sand isshew is much later. Remember, back in the 70s those jetties were constructed to help with shore preservation, and only made the situation worse. Forcing water into smaller areas doesn’t slow down the process, it speeds it up.
Until those jetties are either modified or got rid of, the situation is probably gonna continue long past yew and I are here to see it.
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Circling back to the budget for a second, there is a feeling amongst one or two of the local politicos that the MARB, otherwise known as the Municipal Accountability Review Board, maybe stalling its exit. After seven years, one would think the members would be happy to wish us good luck and move on to other things. But, no.
The latest “snag” seems to be about things the city really doesn’t have control over – the pensions of the remaining two independent fire districks. Now, everyone knows the pensions are the foist thing to git cut when budget-makers are looking to keep levies down. So, the pensions are not fully funded. Natchurly, this is a cause for some concern, but only effen everyone retired at the same time. The worry is that effen the districts face hard times the city would be left holding the financial bag. That probably ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Whilst MARB wants a consolidation with the FDs under city control, that ship has left the port and ain’t returning anytime soon.
This “problem,” so called, is a matter that some are wondering effen the boys and gurls on the MARB are looking to hang around. As one person was hoid to say, “They have nowhere else to go.” There were only two towns under the MARB for a while, and effen they leave, the little sinecure they have goes with them.
Now, I don’t know if that’s the case, but we do know power is a heady thing, and the fack that people have plenary power makes it a hard thing to get rid of or let go. This reticence to leave our friendly confines probably has more to do with that.
Nobody wants to see the MARB in the rearview mirror more than the third floor of the Actors Colony or the City Council. And, the faster they go, the faster we get back to seeing effen we can govern ourselves again. Keep yore eye on this. It could git interesting.
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Sooo, Stiles School will be made into about 30 apartments. No surprise there. The biggest surprise is that it hasn’t happened sooner. Making former municipal buildings, churches and armories into apartments has been the rage for decades. The good part is the buildings aren’t torn down, the bad is that more apartments using more city infrastructure happens. It’s been a problem in this burg for decades.
Still, no one can claim surprise over this. That was the way the city was gonna be able to unload the building, which hasn’t seen a student in about 20 years.
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With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,