SpeakUpLinkPage

LWV of Weston Speak Up 2011 - The Town's Business Is Your Business: Direction From the People to Their Government

And they took aim, or "A.I.M." at the Columbia University Teacher's College $350k project to update teaching in the system systemwide.

And then there is the size of the school budget, which many looked skepticle about...and how the Madison, CT system works;

The Cemetery Committee Chair. explained that there would be a Public Meeting on March 30 at 7:30pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room, and the Planning and Zoning Chair and the First Selectperson were each asked to say what they thought about a non-denominational cemetery owned by the Town. Another speaker asked for a more complete explanation of how a discussion of the Cemetery proposal would work re: ATBM...answer: no discussion allowed at ATBM, since the item that appears on the Referendum has nothing to do with FY2012's budget.

Continuing on this subject and easing into Planning and how it relates to the needs of the Weston population now and in the future...how is the Town Plan being implemented? P&Z explains how they are going from Board to Board and trying to influence others. How about the needs of the elderly? How about walking and biking experiences?

State Senator and Representative answered a general question about Hartford; Police Chief answered about shooting range use...

First Selectperson explains the Referendum questions, yet again. Town Administrator answered to question about the condition of the roads after the winter.

So all in all it was a wide ranging Speak Up and one that, as mentioned by the First Selectperson, was better than she had expected (considering that it had had to be rescheduled). She credited the more “intimate” setting for putting people at ease.

1.    Reval: how come assessment went up if nothing was done?
2.    Class size: if it increrases, families will leave town.
3.    Taxes: if taxes increase, no one will move here.
4.    School budget: how about zero increase? Questioned budget approach. (Superintendant of Schools and Vice-Chair. of the Board of Education answered; Chair. of the Board of Finance as well - pointed out that the suggestion was the approach that had been taken.)
5.    School budget: zero increase or people will have to move.
6.    School budget: "arrogance of denial" by administration to financial crisis.
7.    School budget: other towns are cutting down on school expenses - can we?
8.    School budget: what would it take to get to zero increase? (Superintendent of Schools explained the 2.62% increase - which might go down when insurance contract bids come in - is only 0.3% for school program [$900k for insurance at present or estimated prices and $100k or more from reduced special education aid rate.)
9.    School budget: supporter of schools says maybe the time is right to take another look at class size?
10. School budget: philosophic remark.
11. Schools: contract negotiations-binding arbitration question: (Legislators responded, short version, "not likely.")
12. Budget general: time for "Weston first" programs only?
13. Flag: it still flies 24/7 with no light at night been asking for three years); no one seems to care.
14. Financial melt down: general observation of loss of wealth.
15. Cemetery: will we ever get one in town? (First Selectman responds that he hasn't been able to find enough volunteers for yet another try at this - asks if the questioner would care to join...)
16. FAA-air traffic-noise: what's happening? (First Selectman reports that 13 towns are employing the 2nd best attorney to fight the FAA - first best attorney taken by FAA - New York politicians are pushing the flyover routes in our direction, but recently the FAA officials in charge of that agency have been removed because of their bias...)
17. Economy: what will happen when there is hyper inflation (after all the bail-out $$ kicks in)? No answer.
18. Economy: needs v. wants - example of Food Pantry user increase.

In his professional life, Dr. Gilbert retired from General Electric Corporation 2003, where he served as a consultant to GE’s corporate staff and their many different businesses, in the area of employee compensation for its non-executive workforce. He had been with the company since 1986, when GE merged with RCA, where he was the director of salary administration.

Dr. Gilbert holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Penn State University, an MBA from the University of Scranton, a master’s degree in personnel psychology from Columbia University, and a doctorate in educational psychology from Fordham University, where he also served as a member of Fordham’s Educational Psychology Advisory Board. His broad expertise in the area of compensation and labor relations has also led to chairmanships on numerous professional advisory boards, as well as speaking engagements at national compensation conferences in the U.S. and abroad.

He has contributed articles to several professional trade journals, including ACA Journal, The Journal of Compensation and Benefits, and the Compensation and Benefits Review, and has served as a reviewer for the American Compensation Association and the American Management Association.

Weston's 16th annual "Speak Up" was held on February 3, 2007. If you missed it, and your computer is of recent vintage, you can watch it here! Or you can go to the Weston Public Library, and borrow a DVD or VHS copy.

Weston's 15th annual "Speak Up" was held on February 4, 2006. If you missed it, and your computer is of recent vintage, you can watch it here! Or you can go to the Weston Public Library, and borrow a DVD or VHS copy.