PRESS RELEASE

The East Hartford Taxpayers Association (EHTA)

March 29, 2005

 

 

The East Hartford Taxpayers Association wants to take this opportunity to thank all who participated in the petition drive to put East Hartford’s 2005-2006 budget on the ballot, before the voters, to reduce property taxes for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

 

It was heartwarming to see so many participate in signing the petition, volunteering to support our goal to reduce property taxes, and sharing their concerns with us.   

 

Although we had failed to collect the 4000 signatures required to put the 2005-2006 Budget on the ballot, as we encouraged no tax increase, we are pleased with our success in our initial campaign to persuade the Town Council to reduce the  Mayor’s 2005-2006 budget.  We are also delighted that through our petition drive, we have  significantly increased our membership as we continue to promote honesty, accountability and efficiency in East Hartford’s government.       

 

Obstacles we were confronted with during the petition campaign included:

 

• A 15 day time frame in which to collect signatures which encompassed a holiday and snow days.
• Educating the public regarding….
• The distinction between the two petition drives; i.e. the petition initiated by the EHTA in 2004 to change the Charter and the 2005 petition to put the budget on the ballot.  Many assumed that if they had signed the first petition, they did not need to sign the current one. 
• The error within an East Hartford Gazette editorial which stated that, if the referendum to reduce the budget passed,  the Mayor could then veto the Town Council’s reduction of the budget.  

 

The EHTA is very concerned as we approach Revaluation and the impact current and future tax increases will have on our quality of life as more of our money is taken from us and we are left with less to support our families.

 

We would respond to Town Council Chairman Kehoe who urged taxpayers not to support our cause.   We would concur with the taxpayer who stated during the public hearing on the budget that Mr. Kehoe, who earns in excess of $100,000 a year as a state employee cannot possibly feel the pain of the average taxpayer burdened with an increase in taxes.  Further, we were surprised to see Mr. Kehoe’s concern for the minimal cost of a budget referendum intended to save taxpayers millions of dollars.  Especially when considering Mr. Kehoe, as Chairman of the Town Council, has endorsed all bond referendums which have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars; i.e. Main Street Redevelopment, Magnet School, etc. while refusing to audit the millions of tax dollars spent. 

 

In summary, the East Hartford Taxpayers Association is working to protect East Hartford residents from unreasonable taxation. We are challenging the lucrative salaries, pensions and healthcare benefits of some town employees which consume 85% of our budget, while private sector employees are losing their jobs and health benefits. We are calling for a wage freeze for town employees, as is customary in the private sector. We are attempting to establish a system of checks and balances to protect our money through independent financial and procedural audits. We are challenging the lack of economic development and the destruction of tax generating property thereby affecting our grand list on which our taxes are based. And more importantly, we are concerned that only 2% of our budget is spent on books and supplies for our children, while 85% of the Board of Education budget pays for lucrative salaries and benefits.

We ask other concerned taxpayers to join with us and to protect themselves and their families from  unreasonable taxation.   

For further information on joining the EHTA, contact Susan Kniep 524-6501, John Bezzini 895-9005, Sandy and Scott Bertrand 568-3942, John Ryan 289-9097.   Email fctopresident@aol.com for questions or comments.