Republicans Pledge To Work With Mayor; Landslide Against Dems; Turnout Low

**Updated Thursday 8:30 am**
The VFW hall was filled with celebration as Republicans arrived from their Wolcott Rd. headquarters, learning what the next two years would bring. Across town at the East Street eatery, the mood was more somber as Democrats questioned what happened. For the first time in many years, long serving Democrats were ushered from office and replaced by a cadre of newcomesrs who pledged to work closely with Mayor Dunn. It is also the first time the Council has had a six member majority in at least a decade.

Dunn beat Democratic challenger Steven Olmstead 4180- 803.

The newly formed Town Council will be seated next Wednesday and have an entirely new dynamic. For the past two years, Council headed by four member minority Democrats Michael Santogatta and Steven Olmstead will see neither of the leaders. Fellow Democrat Michael Perrone lost re-election in a Row C gamble and even the fate of Charles Marsella hangs in the balance with a recount.

How Much Will Wolcott Lose in ‘Plan B’?

After last week’s union rejection of an agreement with state government, the pointing of fingers has begun. Yet, those fingers aren’t willing to plug the $1.4 to 3 Billion leak in the state budget’s dam. But what exactly will change is yet to be seen. Constitutionally, it seems that the legislature is in control of the state budget still. Even after adjourning their session on June 8th, it is that branch of government who controls the state’s purse strings. Last Friday the Governor ordered them back into session. If he could make budget cuts – or at least budget cuts to the extent necessary to balance the budget – himself, he could have done so without summoning them back to the Capitol.

The Tax Man Is On The Way

Taxpayers won’t notice the new income tax increase immediately, but that’s because the increased withholding, which is retroactive to January won’t be taken out of their checks until Aug. 1.
As part of the two-year, $40.11 billion state budget that still has to be ratified by the state employee unions, income taxes were expanded and increased and the property tax exemption was reduced for middle income earners.
The income tax click to continue reading at CTNewsJunkie

Poll: Voters Unhappy With Malloy

HARTFORD – Gov. Dannel Malloy’s job approval rating has dropped to 42 percent, and a majority of voters say they would not vote to re-elect him in the wake of the legislative session that saw passage of the largest tax increase in state history, according to a new survey of likely Connecticut voters conducted by Pulse Opinion Research on behalf of the Yankee Institute. Opposition to the Malloy administration initiatives is driving poor ratings for Governor Malloy. His job approval rating fell to 42%, while his re-elect rating stands as just 39%. A majority of voters – 51% – say they “probably” or “definitely” would not vote to re-elect him.

Town Council Approves Budget; Tax Rate

The Wolcott Town Council passed the fiscal 2011-2012 budget at last nights meeting – June 7, 2011. In addition there were several other items of significance on the agenda.

The budget passed with little discussion and many congratulatory speeches.

 The mill rate was set at 22.68, the same as last year, so individual tax bills will be unchanged barring any changes to the property.

In addition, the Town Council appointed the current Deputy Police Chief Edward L. Stephens to Police Chief. It was mentioned that there would be no Deputy Chief and Councilor Masi noted that the hierarchy would be changed with just a Chief and a Captain.

Mayor Dunn gave a presentation on

Tuesday’s Special Elections Could Impact Governor Malloy’s Tax Hike Proposal

Special Elections will be held in the shaded areas. State House races are in yellow, Senate in green

Shortly after taking office, Gov. Malloy needed additional staff to run his administration. Being the first elected Democrat to the office in 20 years, he looked to those with experience within his own party. This prompted a tidal wave of resignations of 8 of the most prominent legislators from the state house and senate. A 9th legislator – Sen. Tom Gaffey of Meriden – resigned for unrelated reasons stemming from larceny charges where he double billed the state for expenses for himself and his girlfriend.

Special elections will be held this Tuesday to ensure that the 18 towns affected have proper representation. The legislature has been in session for just over a month, although no meaningful legislation has been voted upon except in committees which are currently reviewing bill proposals. Once the new legislators are elected though, they will hit the ground running to analyze Gov. Malloy’s budget proposal. How many seats Republicans pick up could have an impact to whether Malloy gets what he wants, or an alternative plan is approved.

Town Council Holds Budget Workshop

Tuesday the Wolcott Town Conucil held a workshop to review its budget. The newspaper had an article the next day saying “Police and Fire Budgets Criticized”. The headline was overstated the cordial discussion that actually transpired. Present that night were the nine members of the Town Council, Mayor Dunn, Superintendant Macary, both the business and finance managers of the Board of Education and Town, Town Clerk Debbie Slater, and one member of the public. There are no minutes kept at this meeting because it is a workshop and the rules for discussion are more informal than if it were a regular meeting. This allows for more open discussion and questioning between Council members and those in the audience with particular expertise, particularly the business and finance managers.

The reporter arrived just after an opening statement by Chairman Mark Wagner, and left just before perhaps the most important discussion of the meeting dealing with the balancing of the budget.

The first half of the discussion included areas explored for clarification in the Town budget. Some members asked if certain items could be cut or eliminated in such a tough economic year. These included delaying the purchase of a fire truck, police cruisers. As reported, the fire engine at Co. 1 has difficulty getting up to reasonable speed even on a straight roadway. The Fire Department also has a lease on equipment which shifts from one unit to the other as they are replaced or refurbished. One question was asked about the library repairs, which need to be done this year. Some minor line items were examined with the Emergency Planning Commission and those likely will be only lines to be reduced.

As reported, Dave Gentile suggested that the town look at how we spend computer funding. Only recently has the town had an official website, e-mails, and various offices have been interlinked by a new server in the past year or so. There’s still quite a bit of work to do to upgrade the town website and to allow things such as GPS of assessment records. The Board of Education has on site tech support which he hope to work with in the future so that we can make informed and enhanced improvements. One of the enhancements to the Town websites is the ability to look up meeting minutes. The website is www.wolcottct.org. The Board of Education has a website at www.wolcottps.org .