Newtown residents reject town budget

[lostinblue 1,989]

Newtown residents reject town budget with added school security

Voters turn down $72m budget proposal as town leaders suggest tax increases were a hard sell to 'fragile' community

Residents have rejected a budget that included money for extra school security in the wake of the December school shootings, with town leaders suggesting the spending and required tax increases were a hard sell.

Voters on Tuesday turned down the $72m school budget by 482 votes and rejected the $39m town government budget by 62 votes. Nearly 4,500 residents voted on the plans, which would have represented an increase of more than 5% next fiscal year.

First selectwoman Patricia Llodra said the killings of 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook elementary school had an impact on the vote, the first since the massacre.

"We're very fragile as a community," she said. "We've lost some of our confidence."

Officials had put an extra $770,000 in the school and town budgets to hire extra police officers and unarmed security guards in each of Newtown's public and private schools. The plan was spurred by the 14 December shootings.

Jeff Capeci, chairman of the legislative council, said the higher school budget also would have expanded half-day kindergarten to full-day and allowed for the hiring of a new high school administrator and for capital spending and technology.

"I thought it was an incredibly high increase for this economy," Capeci said. "At the end of the day, Newtown voters thought it was too much of an increase."

Llodra called the spending increases substantial.

"It's just beyond the ability of our community to grapple with," she said.

In contrast, the current budget is up by a fraction of 1% over the previous year.

Newtown's budget troubles are relatively recent and are due to the recession, the weak recovery that followed and an aging population on a fixed income, Llodra said. A revised budget will be presented for a second vote.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/24/newtown-rejects-budget-school-security

[Darnell 8,479]

recession? what recession? The Kenyan says we're all doing fine !

[ready4ONE 5,400]

recession? what recession? The Kenyan says we're all doing fine !

YES! His tentacles run deep, even into community level budget proposals!

[Penny Lane 8,159]

YES! His tentacles run deep, even into community level budget proposals!

He is to blame for literally everything.

[Teddy B 17,252]

recession? what recession? The Kenyan says we're all doing fine !

I'm better off now than I was 5 years ago. How bout you?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm better off now than I was 5 years ago. How bout you?

A lot better off now than I was in 2009. Interestingly, it's the "we built that" crowd that complains.

[GandD 5,966]

I'm better off now than I was 5 years ago. How bout you?

This is like when people completely dismiss global warming when there's a snow storm where they live in early spring.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This is like when people completely dismiss global warming when there's a snow storm where they live in early spring.

Odd. I keep hearing how those that don't succeed are just lazy. We built that, remember?

[Teddy B 17,252]

This is like when people completely dismiss global warming when there's a snow storm where they live in early spring.

Is it? What have I dismissed?

[GandD 5,966]

Odd. I keep hearing how those that don't succeed are just lazy. We built that, remember?

Naw, I mean I know what he means and we all typically care about ourselves above others. I guess the point was one's own life being better is not necessarily helpful in determining whether or not the Nation itself is in a better spot due to the current administration.

Is it? What have I dismissed?

The people's who's aren't

[Teddy B 17,252]

Naw, I mean I know what he means and we all typically care about ourselves above others. I guess the point was one's own life being better is not necessarily helpful in determining whether or not the Nation itself is in a better spot due to the current administration.

The people's who's aren't

So as a whole, the country is not better off than it was 5 years ago? Unemployment is not down, the stock market is not up, and the real estate market is not coming back?

[justashooter 430]

with school security already existing in more than 35% of all national districts, and a federal program to pay for it in place since klinton, how can these rich people think that the safety of their children is not worth 5% more than what they paid last year? oh, that's right, the rest of the world needs to change for them, so they can go on living the high life unencumbered. hypocrisy at it's finest.

[decocker 7,198]

with school security already existing in more than 35% of all national districts, and a federal program to pay for it in place since klinton, how can these rich people think that the safety of their children is not worth 5% more than what they paid last year? oh, that's right, the rest of the world needs to change for them, so they can go on living the high life unencumbered. hypocrisy at it's finest.

too bad it's their town, and their budget.

[GandD 5,966]

So as a whole, the country is not better off than it was 5 years ago? Unemployment is not down, the stock market is not up, and the real estate market is not coming back?

You said yours was as proof. That's why I said it was like when people use the weather where they live as a scale for the the global climate. Not saying your assumption was wrong, just bad evidence I guess.

As for the point? Well, I think things are getting better. Unemployment creeps up and down but seems to be trending down for the time being. You'll see here that its still higher than it was 5 years ago:

http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet

Dow is better for sure than it was 5 years ago

http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/dow/

I don't know that this means any administration is 100% to blame/thank for up/down turns in the economy. I think these guys are along for the ride in some instances even if they have economic tools at their discretion. I mean if foreign economies have a direct impact on ours what can any administration do to counter a negative effect from an unstable Europe? I guess diplomacy could make some impact, but not enough to claim 100% success or failure.

[mota bhai 2,675]

National governments matter less than we think. Which, of course, begs the question... why have one at all?