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For the people of Wallingford...

For the People of Wallingford - It's your town; get informed, get involved

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

What does the Mayor of Wallingford earn?

A number of search hits have come into my two blogs (this one and Wallingford Politico) regarding the salary of Mayor William Dickinson of Wallingford as people are looking for this information.

http://www.woodingcaplan.com/images/2008-2009%20Budget/2008-2009_Salalry_detail.pdf from the Wooding-Caplan Citizens Group site provides a quick review of the Mayor's salary detail

The Mayor's salary was $73,140.00 in 2009 and unless I am mistaken he's refused a raise since so I would believe it is still the same. I can get a more up to date posting once I have the new personnel details out in the upcoming budget.

What you can see is that the Mayor's administrative aide makes nearly what he does at $67,219.00 (again - as of the 2009 salary data).

The town's adopted budget for 2011 - 2012 is available at http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/images/customer-files//AdoptedBudgetFY12.PDF but I do not see the salary detail there.

I will see if I can get a hold of it to post.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wallingford Fireworks 2012 campaign: Week three collections net another $1,194.68; the 2012 campaign total stands at $4,567.07

Good morning everyone.

This week is going to be an exciting week for the Wallingford Fireworks Fund and all her supporters. Please keep an eye out on the blog this week for additional announcements.

Until then, totals are in from our week three collections are in and we collected an additional $1,194.68.

Our full 2012 campaign is to collect $30,000.00 before the Mayor’s deadline of 5PM on Friday May 25th 2012.

Our current totals for the event stand at $4,567.07 (oh for the want of an additional eighty two cents to make that a sequential total; had I known that was going to be the remaining balance ahead of time I would have thrown it in).

I am still waiting on Mr. Bowes, Wallingford’s Comptroller, to let me know what the costs to the town services are as that is the first of the totals we need to take care of before we can even consider paying for the fireworks themselves.
In 2011 those costs were:

Police Dept. Overtime $7,750.00
Fire Dept. Overtime $1,900.00
Port-o-lets $990.00
Fire Marshall $850.00
Public Works $330.00
Board of Ed $330.00

Town Services 2011 total $12,150.00

I am sure that amount is probably 2 to 5 percent higher this year so I am planning for about $13,000.00

So that is where we are right now.

Today is Tuesday the 20th and my father is supposed to be out at the Yalesville Dunkin Donuts on Main Street (Route 150) to collect for us. Stop by and see him.

I am working all this week in New York City (I am on the train as I write this) so I am unavailable to help until the weekend. Over the weekend we are again planning to be at the Wallingford Landfill and the Wallingford Recycling Center.

We are always looking for additional volunteers to stand out and collect donations.

We have slots available at the Dunkin Donuts here in town on most mornings. While we like to cover a full morning rush hour shift from 6:30AM to 9:30AM if all you have is an hour to spare and want to help we’ll take it.

We’ve also sent out the letters to all the donors from the past two years and we have gotten a few checks to date (they are already deposited and in our running total).

If you’re a newcomer and want to donate you can by sending your tax deductible donation to:

Wallingford
Fireworks Fund
c/o Jason Zandri
35 Lincoln Drive EXT
Wallingford, CT 06492

As always, if anyone has any questions of me please feel free to reach out by calling 860 614 6069 or via email at Jason@Zandri.net. (Generally speaking, I can answer email faster than a phone call because of my work schedule).

 

PLEASE – stay tuned this week for a major announcement here on the blog and I would expect in the Record Journal as well.

Monday, March 19, 2012

This week in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal Monday March 19, 2012
WALLINGFORD — These are the meetings scheduled for this week.

Monday : 
Board of Education, 7 p.m., Drama/Lecture Room, Sheehan High School, 142 Hope Hill Road
Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m., Auditorium, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St. 


Tuesday : 
Board of Assessment Appeals, 6 p.m., Room 315, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.
Public Utilities Commission, 6:30 p.m., Electric Division, 100 John St.
Wooding-Caplan informational session, 6 p.m., auditorium, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St. 


Wednesday : 
No meetings scheduled.

Thursday :
 
No meetings scheduled.

Friday :
 
No meetings scheduled.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Follow up regarding AGENDA - REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING–WALLINGFORD: Tuesday March 13, 2012

Councilor Fishbein has requested that Consent Agenda item #3c Consider and Approve a Resolution of endorsement for a proposal to be submitted by SCCOG for a Regional Performance incentive grant pursuant to §5 of Public Act 11-61 (An Act Concerning Responsible Growth). The proposal is for a Regional Web-Based GIS Program – Mayor be pulled to be reviewed separately under item #4 Items Removed from the Consent Agenda.

By doing this, it allows for Councilors and the public to discuss the item.

Councilor Fishbein beat me to the punch on this but I thank him all the same as this item does need a discussion and not simple passage under the Consent Agenda considering all the press on it lately.

Please see Mayor backs regional database, but without property data and MY TAKE - Mayor backs regional database, but without property data for more details.

AGENDA - REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING–WALLINGFORD: Tuesday March 13, 2012

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING

Town Council Chambers

TUESDAY

March 13, 2012

6:30 P.M

AGENDA

Moment of Silence

1. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call

2. Correspondence

3. Consent Agenda

3a. Consider and Approve Tax Refunds totaling $11,033.25 (#524 - #540)Acct. # 001-1000-010-1170 - Tax Collector

3b. Consider and Approve the Appointments of the following individuals to the Public Celebrations Committee for a two-year Term effective immediately and expiring February 1, 2014

Robert F. Parisi, Chairman
Michelle Bjorkman
Patricia Combs
Samuel Carmody
Lorraine Devaney
Roz Gallagher
Barbara Kapi
Dawn Lindauer
Carolyn Massoni
Ruth Palmer
Joan Ives-Parisi
Jane Rizzo
Raymond Ross

3c. Consider and Approve a Resolution of endorsement for a proposal to be submitted by SCCOG for a Regional Performance incentive grant pursuant to §5 of Public Act 11-61 (An Act Concerning Responsible Growth). The proposal is for a Regional Web-Based GIS Program – Mayor

3d. Approve Minutes of Town Council meeting of February 28, 2012

3e. Approve Minutes of Special Town Council meeting of March 6, 2012

3f. Consider and Approve corrected Minutes of Regular Town Council Meeting of February 14, 2012

4. Items Removed from the Consent Agenda

5. PUBLIC QUESTION & ANSWER PERIOD

6. Discussion and possible action on posting budget information on the Town of Wallingford website – Robert F. Parisi, Chairman

7. Consider and Approve request for bid waiver for retaining Gara, Markowski LLC for assistance with Phosphorous Regulation issues in the amount of $6,000 – George Adair, Director, Public Utilities

8. Report out from the Wallingford Housing Authority with questions to Chairman Michael Misiti and Vice-Chairman Robert Wiedenmann, regarding:

- Report on the new management company
- General operational items

- Councilor Nick Economopoulos

9. Discussion and Possible Action to recommend the removal of Robert Prentice from the Housing Code Board of Appeals – Councilor Nick Economopoulos

10. Discussion and possible action on re-formatting our local tax bill(s) to reflect, by major department, anticipated application of those tax dollars - Councilor Craig Fishbein

11. Executive Session pursuant to §1-200 (6)(D) of the Connecticut General Statutes with respect to the purchase, sale and/or leasing of property – Mayor

More thoughts on the regional property database and State Supreme Court case, Commissioner of Public Safety v. Freedom of Information Commission.

As a follow up to the Record Journal story Mayor backs regional database, but without property data (cross posted to my blog) and my response follow up on my Town Council page where I offered my own take on the subject and just how much information is already out there, I have been discussing this with a number of people to get their thoughts, feedback and input.

On person I had an email exchange with offered to me a link to the SUMMARY OF COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY VS. FOIC which I am going to review. (A quick “thank you” to them for their thoughts and these points of reference; we have different mindsets here but I need that to remain as objective as possible).

The full majority opinion is available at the following link: http://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR301/301CR37.pdf. The concurrence is available here: http://www.jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR301/301CR37A.pdf

One point that was made to me was “suppose you're a member of a protected class under the statute (also referenced in the Supreme Court decision I sent you). If I, as a private citizen or corporation, make your home address public, nobody can do anything to me as far as I know. If, however, I am the town assessor and make your address public, I'm violating state law.”

So I am going to see where my thoughts are to issues like that after I read the ruling. The bottom line here – I believe that currently I could walk into the town assessor's office right now and get data relative to those individuals that are part protected class under the statute (I might be mistaken – I am going to review and I will let you know). The town assessor is already making that information public if I walk in – if my thought process is correct, how is he or she suddenly in violation if that information is available online?

I suppose this is one of those situation where “the devil is in the details.”

I’ll have to look at it and follow up.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

MY TAKE - Mayor backs regional database, but without property data

There was an article published in the Record Journal on Saturday March 10, 2012 By Dan Ivers Record-Journal staff titled “Mayor backs regional database, but without property data

The article reads that the Mayor is recommending that the town endorse a grant application that would help create a regional property database, but he will not allow the release of the town’s records.

“The South Central Regional Council of Governments is applying for the $591,028 grant from the state’s Office of Policy and Management, with the intention of creating a central database for property information in its 15 member towns.

Dickinson has recommended that the Town Council endorse the agency’s proposal, but said Friday he objects to the posting of information on individual properties in town.

“I’m not sure why people in Russia or China should be able to look up what your property looks like. I just don’t see the benefit,” he said.”

The article goes on to read:

Eight of the regional council’s 15 member towns, including Meriden, already provide online access to property records through technology called Geographic Information Systems. The systems have details on each property, including photos, assessed value, owner information and year of construction. In Wallingford, however, people have to go to the tax assessor’s office to get the same information.

Dickinson said he recommended that the council endorse the grant so the additional information on demographics, transportation and economic development could be included, but he said he will not release any data on individual properties for inclusion.

So as an intro to my thoughts here – I was a “victim” of this when I wanted to get an appraisal on my house for my recent refinance. I had wanted to have the agent come out on Martin Luther King Day as it was a bank holiday and Bloomberg (where I work) was closed because the stock market was closed. Because the background information on my home, the details on my property, the assessed value, owner information and year of construction and so forth was not available online and locked up in the closed Town Hall I had to reschedule for another day.

This information is public already – any of you reading this can go into Wallingford Town Hall and request the information on my house. You could go online and research it for anyone’s homes in all of the surrounding towns.

The Mayor indicated “I’m not sure why people in Russia or China should be able to look up what your property looks like. I just don’t see the benefit.”

I just explained one benefit. As to his Russia / China comment it is just silly.

Let’s take a look at what they could already get on the Mayor – someone we know who abhors technology and who probably has resisted entering any information on himself and his property as much as possible.

I’d like to preface that I am using the Mayor as an example because of the point that I outlined above. I could have (and would have) used my grandmother as a better example had she still owned her own home. I KNOW for a fact that she’s NEVER touched a keyboard or a mouse.

So for this discussion let’s say I know nothing more about the Mayor than his name and that he lives in Wallingford. (By the way – I am doing this right now at 8:30AM Sunday morning when the Wallingford Town Hall is closed).

So I do a BING / Google search:

William, Dickinson, Wallingford, address,

http://www.bing.com/search?q=William+Dickinson+Wallingford+address&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=william+dickinson+wallingford+address&sc=0-30&sp=-1&sk=

image

OK – so now I know where he lives. Let’s take a look at the property:

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?encType=1&where1=112+Grieb+Rd%2c+Town+of+Wallingford%2c+CT+06492&cp=41.475109~-72.787666&qpvt=112+Grieb+Road%2c+Wallingford%2c+CT&FORM=Z7FD 

image

So let’s see what else in already online regarding 112 Grieb Road:

http://www.zillow.com/homes/112-Grieb-Road,-Wallingford-CT_rb/

image

112 Grieb Rd Wallingford, CT 06492

Zestimate: $236,900
Rent Zestimate:$1,596/mo

Beds:     3
Baths:     2
Sqft:     1,536
Lot:     35,000 sq ft / 0.80 acres
Type:     Single Family
Year built:     1977
Parking:     --
Cooling:     --
Heating:    
Fireplace:     Yes
This 1536 square foot single family home has 3 bedrooms and 2.0 bathrooms. It is located at 112 Grieb Rd Wallingford, Connecticut. This home is in the Wallingford School District. The nearest schools are Rock Hill Elementary School, James H. Moran Middle School and Mark T. Sheehan High School.

image

image

And finally, just to put a cherry on the top of this:

http://www.whitepages.com/name/William-W-Jr-Dickinson/Wallingford-CT/75mzy9c?site_id=10583

image

I could do this all morning but I want to get the gym and I promised my kids I’d go out and throw the baseball with them.

The bottom line is all this information is already out there in one informal fashion or another; why prevent the legitimate, proper, and professional use of public information by simply making it harder to get “just because”

This is a grant to allow us to do it at relatively low to no cost to the town and to me it is a no brainer and it appears at a limited level the Mayor agrees but let’s be rational about it – suggesting we only provide PART of the PUBLIC information is silly and counter productive.

And honestly – if the Chinese and the Russian nationals want to spy on us here in little old Wallingford and get all our “state secrets” (which are in fact already public), let’s face it, they are going to use much more sophisticated means than what I am doing on the internet.

And it is as I said – the information is already out there.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Town of Wallingford Tax Mill Rate by Major Functional Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

For a full color version of Revenues, Expenditures and Mills, go to:
http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/Content/Finance_Department.asp

Town of Wallingford Tax Mill Rate by Major Functional Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

Town of Wallingford Summary of Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

For a full color version of Revenues, Expenditures and Mills, go to:
http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/Content/Finance_Department.asp

Town of Wallingford General Fund Adopted Budget - Summary of Expenditures: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

Town of Wallingford Summary of Revenues: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

For a full color version of Revenues, Expenditures and Mills, go to:
http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/Content/Finance_Department.asp

Town of Wallingford General Fund Adopted Budget - Summary of Revenues: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

Town of Wallingford Adopted Budgets: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

For a full color version of Revenues, Expenditures and Mills, go to:
http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/Content/Finance_Department.asp

Town of Wallingford Adopted Budgets: Fiscal Year 2011 and 2012

Monday, March 5, 2012

This week in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal Monday March 5, 2012

WALLINGFORD — These are the meetings scheduled for this week.
Monday : 
Public Celebrations Committee, 6 p.m., Room 205, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.
Economic Development Commission, 6:30 p.m., Room 315, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.
Board of Education Instructional Committee, 7 p.m., Conference Room, 142 Hop Hill Road 

Tuesday : 
Personnel and Pension Appeals Board, 6:30 p.m., Room 315, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.
Public Utilities Commission, 6:30 p.m., Electric Division, 100 John St.

Wednesday :
Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission, 7 p.m., Room 315, Town Hall, 45 S. Main St.

Thursday : Conservation Commission, 7 p.m., Town Hall, Basement Conference Room, 45 S. Main St.

Friday : No meetings scheduled.