| Your article on trash and the truth was way out in left field. Start with #3. Mayor Ryan has changed from a representative elected to serve the residents of Springfield to the voice of doom speaker for the FCB. Anything that does not go the way the FCB decrees becomes a very serious situation that requires "fear factor" #1 to be implemented. This means layoffs, etc. Mr. Puccia talked of cutbacks in other areas. On July 1, 100 school custodians were laid off. Forty were rehired back in newly created jobs as building coordinators with an increase in salary and decrease in work. When the DPW was up for outsourcing, they received the contract. To lower their bid they transferred 42 people to the Water Department removing costs from their budget and winning the contract. Truth #4. The FCB never explained the fee set-up. An article in the local paper attributed to the city CFO and the head of the DPW did. This trash fee plan is only the first step towards a "pay as you throw" plan that is the real goal of the city. The $90 fee that you say most taxpayers could afford is not their only bill from the city. Taxpayers have been informed that their taxes will increase as the value of their property has increased. This increase is on top of the added trash fee. Did you take a look at how the new "balanced" budget was reached? The new balanced budget increased a whopping $33 million $9.7 million of this came from robbing Peter to pay Paul, $6 million from the surplus funds the Board of Assessors had set aside for property abatements, $3.7 million from free cash and unspent funds from various accounts. Although over $34 million in the budget is listed for debt payment, I doubt if one nickel in this balanced budget money is going towards the $30 million owed to the state. I don't think that repaying the state is part of the FCB game plan. Mayor Ryan stated in March that the FCB establishment means that the city is no longer hopelessly insolvent, but is still very fragile. He, too, forgets the $30 million state loan. State Rep. Rivera was right when she said that both he and the council member who sit on the FCB should "really step forward" and advocate for residents. We elected them, not the FCB. We may win in court, but I am sure that the FCB will get their way eventually. All they have done so far is to create a new and more expensive bureaucracy to run the city the way they choose. Call us Boston II. John Hennessy Springfield |
