$$$$-Budget Time in Windsor Locks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rndpP5ECuxk Click this link and watch the Smoke and Mirrors

Its Budget Time again for Windsor Locks. Many of us have had a significant decrease in the Assessed Values of our homes. I guess the expectation for Home Owners in Windsor Locks is that we should pay the same, if not more, in Taxes on our homes that are worth significantly Less.

I recently stated that the preparation of the Police Commissions 2014-2015 Budget was a lot of Smoke and Mirrors.. What stands out to me is that the Police Dept. should be fully staffed very soon and that Chief Osanitsch is still requesting over a quarter of a Million Dollars in Police Overtime( $300,000 dollars) when the purpose of increasing the Staffing Levels was to Significantly Reduce Police Overtime. The Police Commission is hanging their hat on the fact that Police Overtime has decreased from a recent high of $490.000 when the Police Dept. was significantly Short Staffed. if you do the math Chief Osanitsch is still asking for 62% of the recent high of $490,000 and now he has a full complement of Officers plus a Lieutenant, a third Detective, an additional Sargent and a K-9 Officer at a cost of, say $70,000 per additional Officer, plus 40% in fringe benefits, equal an increase of $392,000 in overall Police Dept. expenses. This figure does not include a recent request for (3) New Vehicles! You will hear Chief Osanitsch state that the largest part of the Police Dept. . . . Budget is Contractual salary increases. That a nice way to try and take the scrutiny off of the rest of the Budget! Your Police Commission has approved all of the above costs and has approved a 2.9 % increase in the Police Dept. Budget for 2014-2015. I think that the Police Commission is not in touch with the economic environment of our Residents and Taxpayers. I don’t believe that they considered the High Unemployment Rate, the number of Home Foreclosures, the number of residents that have been displaced from jobs so that they could afford their Mortgage and to be able to Feed and Clothes their children and the Significant Decrease in the Assessed Value of our homes. (Our Board of Finance should also take into consideration these, still, tough economic times. They appear to be handing out monies like they are a Candy Store.)

I have said it before that Police Commission Chairman Kevin Brace has sold the Residents and Taxpayers of the Town of Windsor Locks a Bill Of Goods. He has not missed an opportunity to supply the Media even the most insignificant violations of the Law. Sure, there have been a small number of more significant crimes in Town. However, when you evaluate a Towns Crime Rate you look at Major Crimes and Minor Crimes. Please look at the Windsor Locks Crime Report for 2013 and see how LOW the number of Major Crimes was. Can we as Residents and Tax Payers afford to pay the cost of a Larger Police Force that is not Justified by Crime Statistics Analysishttp://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Windsor-Locks-Connecticut.html.

The Windsor Locks Police Commission has already approved the 2014-2015 Budget which calls for a 2.9% Increase in expenditures in the Police Budget for 2014-2015. I think that the Residents and Taxpayers of Windsor Locks need to take a good hard look at the Expansive Police Dept. Budget and demand a 0% increase in the Budget until we can get a clearer picture on what is truly needed to maintain Law and Order in Windsor Locks. Perhaps all proposed Budgets for 2014-2015 should be submitted to reflect a 3%Decrease in funding to offset the Significantly Decrease In The Value of Our Homes. Where is the three and five year plan for the PD?

Just a note on the recent request by the Police Dept. for $38,000 for a 2nd Police Radio Frequency which I am in favor of. The sad part is I believe that there were only 2 to 3 voting residents in attendance at this Town Meeting .Both the Board of Finance members and our 3 Selectmen voted to approve the $38,000 appropriation. Both Boards had previously agreed on the request for a 2nd Radio frequency. ISN”T THIS LIKE HAVING THE FOX WATCHING THE CHICKEN COOP????