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Sunday, April 12, 2015

Town Council meets Monday night

CCA-controlled Council to advance town budget that raises taxes for the seventh straight year
By Will Collette
Source: Charlestown Tax Assessor web page. The CCA took
over control in Charlestown in 2008 and raised taxes every
year. The new rate of $10.10 wil be the highest since 2004.

The new, improved Charlestown Citizens Alliance Rump Committee, also known as the Charlestown Town Council, meets on Monday. This is a meeting they could have phoned in, since as you can see in the official agenda below, there’s almost nothing there to discuss. But since the CCA Party took control of every elected office in Charlestown, they can get away with stuff like that.

At the front end, the Council will issue a resolution marking the recent death of Henry Walsh, a man they did not respect in life but who will now be “honored” with a document oddly labelled “Walsh Reso Respect” in the town’s on-line version of the agenda. I am not making this up. Stay classy, CCA.

They will discuss the proposed budget and while would normally be a big deal in other towns with other political dynamics, here in Charlestown it is what it is. Taxes will go up again, for the seventh year in a row, as I predicted. Under the proposed budget, taxes will go up by 2.36% to a new rate of $10.10 per $1,000 of valuation. The budget calls for raising more than half a million dollars more.

Every single year the CCA has controlled Charlestown town government, they have raised taxes. Every year. And every year, they claim they are saving the taxpayers money. Watch them do it again this year.

And every year, town taxpayers swallow that bullshit whole. I don’t expect this year to be any different and I doubt there will be much of value said about this budget at Monday’s meeting. So it goes.

This new budget package will also include a new $2 million bond issue solely for open space acquisition and excluding recreation. We’re not really going to need any new recreation money since, signaled by the ouster of Parks & Recreation Director Jay Primiano, the CCA Party plans to padlock Ninigret Park for active recreation use after this season.

There are a number of recreational events on the agenda, including Rhythm and Roots, but according to the advance agenda, they will not be discussed and will instead be largely considered under the “consent agenda.”

After disposing of the numerous consent agenda items with one vote and no discussion or debate (simply reading off the consent agenda items will take longer than the Council’s actual action), the Council then moves on to the weighty matters of the evening. 

Namely, they will discuss their outrage and/or support for several measures being considered by the General Assembly, including my favorite, the “Taylor Swift Tax.” That’s a state property tax on $1 million-plus properties owned by non-residents.

I love the idea of the Taylor Swift Tax so naturally, the CCA-controlled Council hates it, especially since they get most of their campaign funding from rich non-residents with those million dollar properties.

Anyway, they will get a chance to do a little partisan blustering and political show-boating. Then they will pass a resolution ordering the dispatch of a letter expressing their outrage and/or delight at each item to every member of the General Assembly, the news media and all the ships at sea.

Hey guys, let me tell you a little secret. NOBODY in the General Assembly gives a Flip about what the Charlestown Town Council thinks about ANY issue. Except maybe Flip Filippi. Or maybe alleged police impersonator state Senator Elaine Morgan.

Ah, that’s feels better now that we’ve cleared that up. So, without further ado, here’s the Monday agenda. The links are all developed by the town and tie into the new IQM2 public access system that replaced the cranky old Clerkbase system.



Charlestown Town Council
Regular Meeting
4/13/2015 7:00 PM
Council Chambers
Town Hall   4540 South County Trail   Charlestown, RI 02813
Downloads:
http://charlestownri.iqm2.com/Citizens/images/PublicAgenda.jpg 
Agenda http://charlestownri.iqm2.com/Citizens/images/FullAgenda.jpg Agenda Packet 
CALL TO ORDER, Moment of Silence, Pledge of Allegiance
ROLL CALL
Roll Call
PROCLAMATIONS
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FISCAL MATTERS
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PUBLIC COMMENT for items not on the Agenda
COUNCIL COMMENTS
ADMINISTRATOR and COMMISSION REPORTS
A. Town Administrator
B. Commission Reports
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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CONSENT AGENDA All items marked with "CA" are to be considered consent agenda.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Vicky has been serving as Jay Primiano’s deputy. Now that Jay has been forced to resign, Vicky gets a “promotion” meaning she gets to do Jay’s work too with no additional staff support. There’s no mention in Stankiewicz’s memo about any additional money, either. Best of luck to you, Vicky, under awful circumstances.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: What do you think the chances are that this will keep Uncle Fluffy occupied so he can do less mischief? Yeah, not so good.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Sole source? For bug control? Really? There are no other pest control companies who service South County? This is an emergency where we couldn't solicit other bidders? Would really like to see the paperwork on this. It seems to be missing.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: Now that Jay Primiano has been forced out as Parks & Recreation Director, these are probably the last recreational improvements we’ll see at Ninigret as long as the CCA Party controls Charlestown.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The CCA and in particular CCA Party leader and Planning Commissar Ruth Platner HATES signs. We’ve driven businesses out of Charlestown over signage.

But Earth Care is likely going to get the signs it needs only because it is a protected right under the RI General Laws, referred to in town planner Jane Weidman’s memo as The Right to Farm Act. Ha!

Maybe the Council needs to engage our nullification/secession expert state Representative Flip Filippi to provide the rationale for ignoring state law.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: After months of vilifying the RI Water Resources Board, now Boss Gentz is introducing a resolution to call for a partnership with the Water Resources Board. Because now we need them. Hypocrites!
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LICENSES AND PERMITS
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EDITOR’S NOTE: There must be something funky about this request that led it to be put on the agenda for public discussion and vote while many other events, including some that have been controversial in the past like Rhythm & Roots, are on the consent agenda.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
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ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

EDITOR’S NOTE: this is a controversial builders’ bill that benefit developers with unsold or unoccupied properties on their hands. Some critics say this bill will spur more residential construction on spec, a practice that virtually stopped during the recession. Others say that’s all the more reason for the bill – to revive the home building industry. Obviously Charlestown, which doesn’t like to see anything get built, opposes the bill, not that Speaker Nick Mattiello or anyone else with power really cares.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a bill absolutely no one likes and that will not pass. It was introduced by top Republican curmudgeon Joe Trillo because he is feuding with his local yacht club. This legislation reminds me a lot of the Ordinance Council Boss Tom Gentz introduces to impede the Ocean House Marina which was feuding at the time with a CCA Party supporter.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the “Taylor Swift Tax” I described above that would impose a state property tax on million-dollar plus houses owned by non-residents. The CCA/Council hates this because it would tax their principal political supporters. I think the tax is a great idea.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an innocuous resolution asking for support for the notion of municipalities buying streetlights from National Grid.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The CCA Party and in particular Budget Commission boss Richard Sartor are all jacked up at Dunn’s Corner Fire District because they no longer want to rent space to the public because of maintenance problems. The CCA/Council seems to think it can force Dunn’s Corner to let the town use the property. Lots of luck with that. Hey, how about shifting those activities down to the Central Quonnie or Shady Harbor Fire Districts?  
ADJOURNMENT