Rudy Magnan Letter to Newtown Bee

As a relatively new resident, I am pleased to be a candidate for the Board of Finance with the Independent Party of Newtown. My wife, Maria, and I moved to Sandy Hook after I retired. We believe that we made the right choice when we decided to move to Newtown, truly "a great place to live'.
 
We love our home and new town, however the transition to retired life has not been easy. I, like many in Newtown, are concerned about the increased tax burden in these difficult times when the price of gas, food and services continues to increase.

As a seniors, we too bare the same burden as other Connecticut  residents -  some of the highest taxes in the country.  Many Americans throughout the nation believe government spending is too high and should be reduced because we simply cannot afford it any longer.

As I speak to my fellow residents, especially seniors, they want to know when will we get our spending under control? How do we use our taxes more wisely? Can something be done to lessen some of the tax burden on retired couples?  In speaking to colleagues in the private sectors, many have not had pay raises in years. Some are accepting cuts in salary to remain employed. Surely our municipal government can work harder to be more productive. 

I decided to seek election for the Board of Finance because I believe I can bring some "new thinking" to the table. We need to challenge our decisions and our existing "mindsets" related to our expenditures. How can we increase our efforts to attract new businesses to our area to generate more revenue?

We are living and operating in a new millennium where elected officials need to collaborate and think in parallel so as to avoid adversarial relationships.  As fellow Newtowners, we need to work together. It is disappointing to see one group try to discredit another or a new idea or point of view because it comes from someone not of their own party. We all live together, let's work together to help our town, not put down  each other or a new idea before we have a chance to vet it.

During my many years working, in the US and abroad, I have helped  many  organizations and companies work more efficiently and effectively. I have also developed skills  that will help me act as a conduit to bring people together.

I believe that with my many years of experiences, in the corporate and educational field, I have developed skills that can bring new ideas and ways of spending to our town to make our home "nicer for all".

If some of these question and observations resonate with you then I ask for your support on election day. If you would like to learn more about me or any other candidates with the Independent Party of Newtown, please visit our website at www.independentpartyofnewtown.com

Thank you !
 
 
Rudy Magnan Ed.D
60 Watkins Drive
Sandy Hook    

Let’s Not Take Anything For Granted On Tuesday

To the Editor:

Tuesday's referendum will present a budget that both the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council voted to approve without any cuts. Our First Selectman Pat Llodra and our Board of Education Chairman Bill Hart wrote a joint letter last week in support of the budget as well.

However, with every budget referendum at least 2,000 people will vote No, and in this difficult economy, the number may be even higher.

I am concerned that because this budget season has been very quiet as compared to last year, many taxpayers may not realize that there are no guarantees that this budget will pass. The usual number of referendum voters may not be enough to overcome the No votes.

However, if we can all raise enough interest so that we get as many voters to this first referendum as we did to last year's third referendum, then I would bet we would not have to return for another budget referendum until this time next year.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown

Different Charter Question Will Bring A Different Result

As a taxpayer (and as the District 1 representative on the Legislative Council, but this opinion is my own), I am hopeful that the council will convene a new charter review commission soon so that by this time next year we can vote on the charter change that I and that I believe most taxpayers have been asking for — a bifurcated (split) budget with advisory questions ("too high" and "too low") assigned to both the municipal and the education budgets individually.

This is the best way for voters to make clear to the council their intentions. Anything less leaves it up to 12 people on the council to guess what the voters want, and we all know how well that has worked for us in the past.

I'm certain that Newtown will see a very different outcome at the charter change vote the next time around.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown

A Missed Opportunity Or Predetermined Outcome?

To the Editor:

If you are like me and were hoping this would be the year that you can cast separate votes for the town and schools budgets, you'll have to wait at least another year and hope that in the meantime, the Legislative Council convenes another Charter Review Commission to restudy the bifurcation question.

It seems that last week, under the wrong impression that Newtown cannot legally bifurcate a budget without a passed budget being binding, the Legislative Council, by a vote of 11-1 agreed to accept the recommendation of the Charter Review Commission. I believe this falls very short of what the public has been asking for year after year.

Meanwhile, towns like Simsbury and our neighbor New Milford (for the past ten years) have been successfully splitting the budget and providing advisory questions without any risk of tying the council's hands if one budget passes and the other fails.

Why, after months of work and research by the Charter Review Commission, did the commission and the council get to this point not believing or simply ignoring that such a referendum model was possible? I'm not sure, but it was certainly a missed opportunity on a very important issue.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 ld Farm Hill Road, Newtown

Vote Yes on June 8

To the Editor:

After voting No at each of the past two referendums, I will be voting Yes on Tuesday, June 8.

My decision comes after the Legislative Council, of which I am a member, reversed direction and agreed to recommend that the proposed education budget be increased. This dramatic, long-awaited change of events by the council came in response to the growing call for recognition by school supporters, who until now had been all but ignored. This is a first-ever, bold, and conciliatory gesture by my colleagues, and I commend them for arriving at a proposal that addresses the needs of those taxpayers who want lower taxes by reducing the originally proposed increase from 3 percent to 2.5 percent while also attempting to balance the wishes of education supporters with a small increase in schools funding. It was clearly a decision made by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to bring our community together before Tuesday's referendum.

Two-hundred-thousand dollars is a lot of money, and while it certainly does not close the gap in education funding that many school supporters have joined together this budget season hoping to fill, it is a dramatic gesture on the part of the Legislative Council to recognize that we must change course and do better in order to return our schools to Blue Ribbon status. That is an important message that I want to support because this change in course ultimately benefits every homeowner in town.

This $200,000 decision by the LC is worth many times that amount to Newtown and to Newtown's education program because with this decision, some major barriers for voters came tumbling down. This is especially true for those taxpayers who used to vote out of fear that if the budget did not pass it would be reduced, endangering services and programs. That was the only way the Legislative Council would respond after a failed referendum, until now.

Regardless of whether you support lower taxes or funding for schools, voting out of fear on a mass scale should never be tolerated in Newtown. And with this latest budget offering from the council, Newtown is finally turning the corner and headed in the right direction, one step at a time. And last week's $200,000 decision was clearly the biggest step of all.

Please support the budget on June 8.

Kevin Fitzgerald

24 Old Farm Hill Road, Newtown