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Health & Fitness

Numbers: April 19 Windsor Locks Board of Finance Special Meeting

To truly understand Windsor Locks' fortunes one needs to look at the numbers: numbers of dollars, numbers of votes, numbers of residents showing up at town meetings.

To truly understand Windsor Locks’ fortunes one needs to look at the numbers: numbers of dollars, numbers of votes, numbers of residents showing up at town meetings. 

Let’s take a fairly recent example, the April 19, 2011 Board of Finance Special Meeting.  Below are excerpts from the minutes of that meeting (emphasis is mine).  My comments are in brackets.

Slide 7 – Revenues 

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Chairman O’Leary stated the revenues have been the main problem.  Property taxes will increase by 5.30% in this budget.  Intergovernmental, which are basically grants from the State of Connecticut, has decreased 18.31%, mainly due to the Manufacturing, Machinery and Equipment grant.  Education grants from the State of Connecticut shows a slight drop.  Charge for Services has increased.  Investment Income remains the same.  Other Revenues has slightly increased.  Other Financing Sources remains the same.  The total budget increased 0.38%.

Slide 9 – Shift of Tax Burden from Commercial to Residential

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Chairman O’Leary stated the information on this slide was provided by Donna Murphy, Town Assessor.  If you look at 1988, 31% of the grand list was covered by the homeowner.  By 2010, 51% of the grand list was covered by the homeowner.  Commercial and Industrial real estate stays about the same.  Each time we do an evaluation the value of private homes has increased more than the value of commercial real estate.  Personal Property has dropped from 54% in 1988, to 34% in 2010.

[Why has the value of private homes increased more than the value of commercial real estate?  Is there a reasonable explanation for this discrepancy?  MG]

Slide 10 – Comparisons

Chairman O’Leary stated this slide shows us the expenditures, which is $43,084,033, a $161,987 increase.  Also, the revenues without taxes, and the current tax revenues.  The Total revenues remain $1.1 million short if we change nothing.  That $1.1 million represents nearly one mil.

Slide 14 – Mil Rate Comparisons

Chairman O’Leary stated this slide shows home values and the amount of tax increase for those home values.

[What is the relationship between home values and the amount of tax increase for those home values?  If the chart compares different towns, how does Windsor Locks fare?  MG]

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[A resident] then asked about a $30,000 facelift to the old Midtown Garage, which the town will be paying for.  [Resident] stated he thought there was a ground problem with oil, and that the property could not be sold.  He stated the property owner should be responsible for the ground study and cleanup.

First Selectman Wawruck stated the $30,000 is not for a facelift, but for assistance to market the property.  We need to take the initiative to improve and move Main Street forward.

Mike Russo stated as a member of the EIDC your comments are well heard.  He then stated he would like to clarify a few things.  He stated he is not aware of the owner being a multi-millionaire.  As of 60 days ago, there were some delinquent taxes owed.  He also stated we are not giving money to the property owner, nor are we spending $30,000.00, but approximately $1,800.00 to do a study.

[Is the town spending $30,000 or $1,800?  Can’t the property owner market the property?  Town officials should take an interest and be helpful, but why the use of town funds?  If the town does fork over the funds, will it have any say over who the new owner will be and the property’s future use?  This should have been part of the deal with the current owner.  And who exactly will be “marketing the property”?  MG]

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[A resident] then stated that in a five-mile radius, there are 15 school systems, and we come in at the bottom.  Our schools are not up to par, and we spend $13,500.00 per student and other towns are spending $10,000.00. 

[If this is true about our school system being at the bottom, it really is time for fundamental change.  MG]

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