You’d be perfeckly within your rights to think it ain’t, but believe it or not, honeybunch, it’s spring. Yup. The calendar changed and we are now in the spring of the year. Effen yew’ve been like Cobina, getting in the gassamobuggy each morning, it’s still in the 20s, and it seems like it never is gonna git warmer.
But, the trees are startin’ to bud. A willow tree near Cobina’s domicile is ready to get green again, and we’ve even seen a crocus or three. Soooo, whether we wanna believe it or not, things are moving toward spring. It’s jest that those famous words are ringing around here heard by us all when we git the weather lowdown: Cooler by the shore.
With springtime comes the annual second part of the so-called “budget-making process.” By the time yew git this missive, the annual public hearing on the budget will be done and gone, and the City Council will begin its six-week survey of the document.
This is gonna be a bit different as I told yew last week. The Municipal Accountability Review Board, called MARB for short, is really in charge of the city’s finances. This is because in the waning days of the O’Brien administration, we found out – though I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it was known all along – that the state comes in and oversees a city that bonds to pay off its deficit. Only two municipalities did it, Hartford and we in the Asylum by the Sea.
Tennyrate, here we are once again under the oversight of a state review bored and there are some members of the council who’re rightly asking, “What is it we have to look over?” Sammy Bluejay some o’ the council members are posing that very query if not out loud, at least behind the scenes.
The review by the council is a matter that doesn’t really amount to much even in good years. As yew know the council has to muster nine votes just to make a line item change under the charter, and that’s been a tough road to hoe over the last two decades. The split in the Democratic Party, which has got more pronounced over the years, has made any change a matter of honor. So, not much is done.
There is talk that charter revision might change that but that remains to be seen.
Still Sammy sez that this review by the council will be more pro forma than usual cuz anything they do will be scrutinized by Hartford. We shall see.
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Meanwhile, the wag came in with this suggestion – one he’s had before, on how the school system can loosen up about $1 million. I think we’ve mentioned it before. The coordinators in various subjecks are paid six figgers plus benefits. There are nine coordinators in various subjects, including math and science, etc. There are fewer schools now than there were, and can’t the coordination of the subject matter be done by teachers or department heads with a stipend?
With nine coordinators with salary and benefits the city is paying for middle management that really don’t hafta be. We’ve got teachers who have as much or more experience than the coordinators. It jest seems like we can be shifting those funds into something other than pencil pushers.
The wag is right, but that ain’t the way education runs.
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Meanwhile, Nelly Nuthatch tells me that the Charter Revision Commish has been seated and is preparing to begin its work. It’s got an 18-month mandate to look over the charter and give recommendations. Nelly sez that right now the commish is getting the suggestions that the City Council has established.
These things, believe it or not, are regulated by the state and the law requires that the governing body have some recommendations to be discussed before things get underway.
Of course, we’ve seen some o’ the recommendations before: increasing the mayoral term to four years, decreasing the needed votes to change the budget to a simple majority, etc.
As I may have mentioned, the commish has been set at nine with five Demmies and four Republicans. Whilst there was a kerfuffle as to how the members were selected, Cobina is hearing some interesting things about the make-up of the group, and how it might do its work.
Effen we can keep the politicos at bay, and allow real discussion to happen amongst the members, we might have some meaningful revisions of the charter. The past couple o’ times it’s been attempted the entire process degenerated into a political in-fight and not much was accomplished.
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Iva Lootey came over t’other afternoon and wondered what the change in leadership is gonna result in for the city’s Republican Party. Effen yew saw in last week’s papyrus, the GOP had its own Town Committee elections and organizational meeting and Patty Libero was named the new chairman. She succeeds Michelle Gregorio, who has been at the helm for the last couple o’ years.
Michelle tried to raise the profile of the party, which ain’t seen any real success in almost three decades. Effen the party can git its act together and get some young blood, it could pose a challenge for the fractured Demmies. When the party had its real success it was cuz of a youth movement way back when. Maybe they can emulate that youth movement and come up with something that’ll compete in this berg. One party rule helps nobody, even when the one party acts like three.
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Iva Lootey visited and sez that the fencing that was around part of the “Haven” area was taken down. He said that some machinery has been seen there but other than that not much. Word is that another hold up is the National Park Service. It has to sign off on the city giving up Baybrook Park that little patch of park that was next to the former Bilco Door.
Of course, effen there is one adjective that describes the entire thing it’s “holdup.” Still, there are people who aren’t quite sure the entire projeck is gonna happen, and for reasons that have been rehearsed here before.
In fack, the last time we mentioned it, it was the cause of a big flare-up on the so-called “social media.” I don’t know when things are gonna start shakin’ over there, but I got a feeling – call it a hunch – that the projeck if and when it begins ain’t gonna be the way it’s been advertised. The market realities of the day are gonna hafta be reckoned with.
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That having been said, we ain’t been posing our usual queries about Beach Street. Here we are months later and nothing is happening over there. With the exception of the demolition of the former Captain’s Galley, which is now a vacant log up for sale, the rest of the vacant properties remain.
I still can’t git over that somebody hasn’t bought the former Chick’s Restaurant. Yew’d think an eatery of that type by a busy beach would be something that would be attractive. It’s been more than two years and the building is still empty.
With that bit o’ chatter, I’ll close this time till next, mitt luff und kizzez,