Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Kudos to Flo Stahl, flostahl@snet.net , President of the Avon Taxpayers Association and FCTO Board Member for her excellent letter to the editor which appeared in a December edition of the Hartford� Courant regarding �Appointees Have Done Well With Rell�.� Flo in her message to me also makes an excellent point regarding concerned taxpayers also writing letters to the editor on issues of importance.� Please read Flo�s comments and her editorial.� Please click the following website for Connecticut Daily Newspaper Contact Information. http://primerct.org/index.php?content=newspapercontacts .� If you require any assistance in this regard, Flo or I would be happy to assist you.�

Also, remember to include FCTO in your distribution of letters to the editor.� We will include your comments in our Tax Talk publication.�� Susan Kniep

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From Flo Stahl - Hi Susan,� The following was printed about a week after submission. Susan, this is a good opportunity to encourage all those receiving Tax Talk to think seriously about responding to issues that affect our cause. It's very important for us to reach a wider audience and the newspaper can do that.� Also, the reporter usually prints his or her email address for comments. Most newspapers will allow a letter every 3 months or so, but obviously it is better to have many different people responding.�� Thank you.

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Hartford Courant, Letter to the Editor, Dec. 13, 2006 by Flo Stahl:

Dear Editor:�� Thanks to The Courant (Appointees Have Done Well With Rell � Dec. 11) we know what decks the hallowed halls of the State Capitol. Lard.

Incredible as it seems, add another 40% to the salaries listed for commissioners, deputies, directors and executive assistants for a rich offering of health benefits, retirement plans, expense accounts and perks. But the story doesn�t end there. This kind of largesse is repeated in every city and town throughout the state, especially for those in top-tier municipal positions and most particularly for those involved in public education bureaucracy.

Unless we deal with this drain on resources at every level, we�ll never stop the cycle of revenue desperation. It may be a good gig for the well-connected, but to paraphrase Mayor Eddie Perez, �the well is not bottomless.�� Florence Stahl

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If you click the following it will take you to the Hartford Courant article referenced in Flo�s letter to the editor.�

Appointees Have Done Well With Rell Collective Pay For Political .....

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State Faces Daunting Issues In Legislature

January 1, 2007
By CHRISTOPHER KEATING, Courant

�http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-legissues0101.artjan01,0,5439758.story

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A SPECIAL ONE TIME TAX CREDIT ON YOUR 2006 TAX RETURN

http://money.CNN.Com/2006/05/25/news/telephonetax_refund/index.htm

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COMMENT FROM FCTO MEMBER RE FCTO�s PRESENTATION BEFORE GOVERNOR�S COMMITTEE ON UNFUNDED MANDATES

Peter Arcidiacono, PJArcidiacono@aol.com

East Hampton

Susan, I thought your presentation was very powerful. How can they resist the logic? But they no doubt will. Keep up the good work. Until something is done, the taxpayer has no choice but to vote down budgets. Raises for employees may be there, but some employees may have to go if the taxpayers cannot afford them.� Happy New Year.

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IMMIGRATION

Len Chaponis, lchaponis@earthlink.net, a FCTO Board Member and also a member of the oldest Taxpayers Group in Connecticut, CPOA of New Britain, will be keeping us current on issues involving Immigration.� Below are links which you will find of interest on this very controversial issue.�� Lou Barletta, the Mayor of the City of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is emerging as a leader in attempting to have our Immigration Laws enforced.� What is hard to believe is that illegal immigrants challenging Mayor Barletta are now protected from identity disclosure by the courts.� Read on �..

Illegals crackdown top story of 2006 By L.A. TARONE
tarone@standardspeaker.com May 10. 11:40 p.m.�� Derek Kichline is shot at point-blank range and killed outside his home on East Chestnut Street in Hazleton. A few days later, four people are arrested in connection with the crime, along with a 14-year-old who�d fired a gun at Pine Street Playground earlier that day. Some witnesses said he made references to something that was supposed to happen that night.
All those arrested were in the country illegally. http://www.standardspeaker.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3919&Itemid=2&PHPSESSID=d5ac6490f68afce4e12be898d3298ec7

Americans for Legal Immigration

http://www.alipac.us/

A message from Lou Barletta, the proud Mayor of the City of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, who is standing firm in fighting to protect his city from illegal immigration. http://www.smalltowndefenders.com/public/

Illegal immigrants challenging Mayor Barletta are now protected from identity disclosure by the courts.� �The eight-page order exempts the plaintiffs in the case listed as �John Doe� and �Jane Doe� from being involved in the discovery phase of the trial.�� Welcome to America!� Would an American citizen receive this protection?�� http://www.smalltowndefenders.com/public/node

Health-Costs for Immigrants Have Become National Issue
More than 100,000 undocumented women each year bear children in California with expenses paid by Medi-Cal, according to state reports. Such births and related expenses account for more than $400 million of the nearly $1 billion that the program spends annually on health care for illegal immigrants in California, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing official records. http://www.forthecause.us/000ftc-newstopic-immigration.shtml

BUSH PARDONS FIVE DRUG DEALERS, IGNORES WRONGLY CONVICTED BORDER PATROL AGENTS� http://www.forthecause.us/index.shtml

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GROUP HOMES

Group Homes financed by the State could ultimately be located in your neighborhood without your knowledge. These homes can house troubled teenagers, sex offenders, hard core criminals and others.� You may not be aware of this issue until the home is actually purchased (generally by a non profit) and occupied.�� At least two investigations resulted in the recent disclosure of questionable bidding practices for two homes.� One home would have been purchased at $1 million to house 7 people.�� For further insight, please refer to the Group Home section on our website.� Also refer to the following news article.�� FCTO will ask the Governor and the State Legislature for a review of this matter with the intent of providing greater oversight to protect the public�s interest.�

To learn more about this issue you may wish to contact Arlene Lucien at� stonewall1978@aol.com ��and refer to the following articles!�

Click to read:�

Plan Would Open Home To Inmates

By STEVEN GOODE / Courant Staff Writer
An agency that for years has operated a residential program for troubled youths on Blue Hills Avenue is seeking permission to convert the facility for use as an adult halfway house. The proposal, by Windsor-based Community Solutions Inc., comes as the...

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Seeking Help For Teen Girls In Prison, Jan 1, 2007, Courant
�Nine were charged with violent crimes, ranging from second-degree assault to murder.�� Advocates �.. argue delinquent girls need the kind of treatment that can be found only in small group homes.�� Read the entire article at http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-yorkgirls0101.artjan01,0,4956775.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

and on FCTO�s website under Group Homes.�

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Riverview Still Lacks Order, Courant

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 05:36:56 -0800� �A new report by the state Department of Children and Families, which runs Riverview, has confirmed a host of fundamental problems and systemic breakdowns at the hospital, where the annual cost of caring for one child exceeds $500,000.�� Continued at the following website:�

http://www.mail-archive.com/kids_counsel-l@listserv.uconn.edu/msg00780.html

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Country Club neighbors win ruling in Waterbury

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

BY MICHAEL PUFFER

�� In an opinion issued Monday, Blumenthal chided DMR for abandoning procedure by picking New Haven-based HART Inc. to establish and manage the group home without a competitive bidding process known as a "request-for-proposals," or RFP.�� Continued at the following website:� http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=14719

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Waterbury neighbors say group home out! �Thursday, November 2, 2006, BY MICHAEL PUFFER Continued at the following website:� http://www.rep-am.com/story.php?id=14806