Town Government Outsourcing School Bussing Irresponsible

In a Hartford Courant article dated today (Click the title of this article), you can see the inept town government and school board attempting to react to a situation that was brought on themselves. Two incidents recently have prompted the town to write a letter to the contractor (Double A transportation) chastising them for their hiring practices.

Shouldn't our school government know what their hiring practices are? Shouldn't our school government be involved in shaping those hiring practices? Why does it take the death of a pedestrian at the hands of a coked up felon (driving our kids to school) to prompt a letter on the hiring practices? Why isn't the contract cancelled on the spot? FIRE THE COMPANY!

This is a failure on many levels. The continued outsourcing of town services (trash, leaf collection, recycling, and more that I don't even know about) is at the core of this problem. Outsourcing may save tax dollars in the end, but it is well known that if the town is not diligent in its oversight of these companies, then incidents like this will occur.

Parents of students in this town expect the school administration and the town government to have the safety of their children at the top of their priority lists. Outsourcing the bussing of students and not being intimately involved in the hiring of drivers does not send the message to parents that the school administration and town government care one bit about the safety of children in this town.

But, make sure you cover up your commercial vehicle signage, because someone might see it.....

Am I the only one in this town that sees through the BS?

Have a great day.

Ban on Commercial Vehicles Ridiculous

NOTE: Please check back often as I've decided to broaden the scope of this blog to more general town criticism.

The article, "Commercial vehicles banned from overnight parking" in the West Hartford News dated November 30, 2006 (Vol. #75 Issue #48), speaks volumes of the mentality of this town government. I've never heard consistent double-talk from anyone like I have from everyone at the executive level of this town. We hear a lot about affordable housing...wanting to ensure that our teachers and police officers can live in this town. What about our small business owners?

The thought that the people who drive these trucks are working for the company with the signage is irresponsible. Sure, there may be a few in town that do this, but the majority of people with signage on their vehicles are hard working, tax paying business owners in this town. The not only run the business out of this town, but they do most of their work in this town.

Come on, Town Council and Management, don't you have anything else to worry about?

quig

The Town Brown

In the first edition of the series I’m calling “West Hartford Perspectives,” what would you expect, but the topic of Blue Back? What I'd like to do this week is show you what it looks like from across the street from the construction site. Let me start by saying that yes I do understand that construction sites are dirty, loud and a necessary beast in this age of development. Building the biggest and best is what every person dreams of, especially people who devote their lives to development.

My West Hartford Perspective of this week is from Burr Street. Burr Street, if you aren't familiar, is a small cut-over to Raymond Road lined on the South side with homes, some single-family and some multi-family and before the debacle that is Blue Back, lined on the North side with the West Hartford "Town Green." Some of the homes on Burr Street date back to the early 1900’s. The town green has been used for a great number of years (how many I haven't researched) for town events and gatherings for the enjoyment of the community. The open space provided by the green provided hours of pleasure for residents who live close to Town Hall and residents who have to walk or drive from outside the center.

Below are a few photos taken after the sesquicentennial parade in 2004. As you can see our children had a great time playing on the green that day. Take a look at these and remember what the green looked like not too long ago…

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Fast forward to January/February 2006, after months of construction, the area where the green once was is now what I’d call the junk area of the construction site. The area where the builder and employees park their cars, maintain their huge mound of earth and store materials for construction. That’s right, the portion of the site adjacent to the neighbors who live closest to the development is what I’d term the ass end of the development. Not only have the residents of Burr Street been promised the ass end of the completed project by having a parking garage and open air parking lot directly across the street, but they get the moon shot during construction as well. Neighbors across Burr Street wake to the tranquil sounds of bulldozers and backhoes at 6:30 AM. Throughout the day, their children have trouble napping with all of the noise pollution. Does anyone really wonder why some of the residents have taken the town and the developer to court?

See how you feel when you view Blue Back from the perspective of a Burr Street resident…

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Slifka Knowingly Breaks Federal Law?

The upcoming weekly West Hartford Perspective will be online Monday, but I felt the need to get this out as soon as it came to my attention. 3 This link (http://www.audreyblondin.com/Nbysiewicz.html) takes you to the full story, but I will summarize. It's apparent that Mayor Scott Slifka broke the law (The Hatch Act - 5 U.S.C. §§ 1501-1508) when taking a position in the Secretary of State's office. The Hatch Act prohibits state employees who work for agencies funded in whole or in part by Federal funding from, "being candidates for public office in a partisan election." 1 Most would say let's give him a pass because he probably didn't know that this law existed. How about we don't...."Slifka said the Secretary of the State office receives federal funding through the Help America Vote Act and that they determined it would not be appropriate for him to continue. The West Hartford mayor added that they thought this might be a problem when he signed on with Bysiewicz last year, but decided to take the job with the understanding that it could be a short-term appointment."2 I'm not one to point fingers, but if the Courant and Mayor Slifka are going to point fingers at Mark Sinatro for requesting public information from the town manager who works for him, then it's time someone point a finger or two back (and I don't mean the index finger). The Courant's blatant disregard for balanced and fair journalism is despicable. Thanks, Quig

1. United States Office of the Special Counsel. Hatch Act for State and Local Employees. http://www.osc.gov/ha_state.htm
2. Audrey Blondin for Secretary of the State of Connecticut. BYSIEWICZ MOVE UPSETS CONTENDERS. By Dan Levine, 2005. http://www.audreyblondin.com/Nbysiewicz.html
3. Thank you, once again, to Judy Aron for bringing this to my attention.

Coming Soon...

Hi everyone, sorry for the extended absence, but busy is as busy does. I've been asked by multiple people around town if I am going to continue the blog and the answer is yes. Starting Monday February 6 look for the first weekly installment of what I'll initially call West Hartford Perspectives. I'll take a look at varying aspects of West Hartford from different angles of the human perspective. Look for topics that relate to development, kids, sports and of course, politics. Talk to you soon....... quig