LEAGUE
of
WOMEN VOTERS of WESTON :
Last year, in the national election,
Weston won the
Democracy Cup (for turnout) - more here!


Contact the League by clicking above, left. Steering
Committee 2010-2011, r.
Interested
in issues? Fair elections? Good government?
CLICK
HERE TO JOIN THE LWV OF WESTON!
TABLE OF CONTENTS: Election
2010 page here.

Party Primaries (Tuesday August 10, 6am to
8pm); election information here.
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL NEW LOCATION FOR
PRIMARIES
DEMOCRAT PRIMARY BALLOT (l) and REPUBLICAN PRIMARY BALLOT (r)
Report from the LWV of Weston "action agenda"...
UNANIMOUS
VOTE "YES" JUNE 28, 2010; EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2010!
Observer
Corps invites you to read the text of TOWN
PLAN OF C&D 2010
SPECIAL JOINT
MEETING:
BOARD OF SELECTMEN, BOARD OF FINANCE AND BOARD OF EDUCATION


FROM 8:14PM UNTIL 9:50PM
League members in the audience heard ideas for Strategic Planning with
consultant leading the process
mentioned by First Selectperson as one idea, Charter Revision as
another
possibility (to make budget process
work more responsively); no more bonding for a while...
---------------------
NOT LWV
of Weston SPONSORED
event, but recommended by Annual Meeting!


State Rep John Stripp and Finance Board Cahir. Mike O'Brien
Weston Budget symposium: A look towards
the future
Written by Patricia Gay, Weston FORUM
Friday, 18 June 2010
The state’s fiscal health is doing
poorly and may be in need of life support, but Weston is holding its
own, according
to speakers at the Budget and Fiscal Health Symposium hosted by Weston
For Fiscal Responsibility (WFFR)
earlier this month.
The symposium featured guest
speakers State Rep. John Stripp and Mike O’Brien, chairman of the
Weston Board
of Finance, who shared their views on the current economy and the
future.
Mr. Stripp, who is retiring this
year after 18 years of public service, recited some sobering statistics
about the state
of Connecticut’s fiscal health.
“In the past 20 years, from 1989 to
2009, the state’s population has grown 6.8%, while state spending has
increased by 270%. Connecticut lost 97,000 jobs since March 2008, and
3,000 businesses closed in the first
quarter of this year,” Mr. Stripp said.
In addition, the state’s
unemployment fund went to zero in October, and the state lost some
borrowing power
when its bond rating was recently downgraded, Mr. Stripp said.
“The state’s economy is not going to
snap back tomorrow,” particularly when Connecticut has the dubious
distinction of being one of the top five worst states to do business
with, Mr. Stripp said.
As for solutions to the state’s
economic troubles, Mr. Stripp said he was reminded of a line from the
film, A Few
Good Men. “You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth,” he said.
Some solutions could include
borrowing for the current year’s expenses, which Mr. Stripp believes
would be a bad
thing to do; increase taxes on the wealthy, which Mr. Stripp said would
drive wealthy people from the state;
increase taxes on businesses, which would drive even more of them away
from Connecticut, he said; or cut
expenses. Mr. Stripp said he favored cutting expenses.
Weston’s health
Mr. O’Brien said that while Weston
is doing fine at present, the town needs to pay close attention to its
future.
Fortunately, he said, the town has
many decision makers who are working together in a bipartisan fashion
on fiscal
issues.
He said the total town and school
budget is projected to increase from $63 million to $87 million in the
next 10
years.
With Weston being a bedroom
community and most of its tax revenue coming from residential property
taxes,
there is some cause for concern, according to Mr. O’Brien.
He said the town’s grand list would
need to rise significantly to cover increased taxes, but with the
economy the
way it is now, property values are going down.
Mr. O’Brien questioned if taxes
could be raised high enough to cover a $24-million increase over the
next decade.
There are a lot of issues the town
needs to consider, he said. Is the projected $24-million increase
realistic? Will the
town be able to maintain two-acre zoning and keep its rural character —
and can the town afford it? And how will
the town fund repairs to municipal buildings as outlined in the Kaestle
Boos report?
In light of the recent bonding for
the new middle school and library roofs, he didn’t see the town bonding
again in the
near future.
Mr. O’Brien said now is the time to
review the town and school budgets and expenses such as pensions and
health
benefits. He noted that town employees have readily adopted HSAs
(health savings accounts), which are less costly
to administer than traditional health insurance plans but that school
employees were just discovering the benefits.
Nina Daniel, of WFFR, who helped
organize the symposium, said the evening gave her a lot to think about.
----------------------------------------
ANNUAL
MEETING, ELEVENTH BETTY HILL
FORUM

Terrific
food, air conditioning and a knowledgeable speaker! More here...
--------------------------
"Know
Your Town ON-LINE."
Not-exactly-a-blog
-----------------------------------
B A C K G R O U N
D O N L E A G U E :
Planning The
League of Women Voters of
Connecticut's 90th Anniversary Celebration(s)
The LWVCT is planning to celebrate the 90th Anniversary of our
organization’s founding with a series of events
beginning in January
2010, the year of the founding of the national organization, and
continuing thru the early part
of 2011, the founding the CT League.
Using the Anniversary to Keep Your
League Visible
Does
your local library or historical society host displays of
community organizations’ memorabilia? If so, the
2010-2011
anniversary celebration is the perfect time to put your League, and
women voting, front and center.
What
is your town’s history on
suffrage?
Did
it use the Connecticut law to let women vote in
local elections before the government of the United States gave
us the
right in federal elections?
Did
the precursor of your League hold
local marches or rallies?
Please
consider calling your historical society now to work on a
display that could be ready for next year. It could
be on
suffrage, on women’s suffrage, on the League, or on just your local
League.
Local level: community outreach,
publications
LWVCT research: the economy, knowing your
Capitol,
citizen's
right to know and participate
Click
here for latest news of "Steering
Committee."
Scroll down for complete background.
----------------------------------
LWV
OF WESTON, CONNECTICUT -
PUBLICATIONS:
NEW for 2010 is Know Your Town Directory,
available at Town Hall, Town Hall Annex, Board of Education Central
Headquarters (to be distributed from there to each of the 4 school
buildings): and new version soon online
at the Town of Weston
website.
WESTON
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Numbered prints by Mary O'Reilly Sowinski for
sale
(some
still left!) depict Weston in 1979!
Notecards
commissioned by LWV of Weston available from the League;
- Test your knowledge of Weston...what is depicted in
the print above?
- Is this scene still there?
- Why is this view of particular importance for
Westonites?
With
the
economy turnng down, this was a very important forum:
"MUNICIPAL SHARED SERVICE: THE
ROAD AHEAD"
A
Symposium Presented by:
- The Connecticut
Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
- The Connecticut
Office of Policy and Management
- The League of
Women Voters of Connecticut
October
30, 2007, 7:45am-12:30pm
Central
Connecticut State
University, Student Center, Alumni Complex
Watch the
condensed version here:
Take a tour of the
Capitol with
official
League Guides--"Capitol
and Information Tours" (C.I.T.)
------------------------------