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Showing posts from February, 2024

The 7% Budget Referendum: A Political Weapon, Not Reform

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This was the budget data the Charter Revision Commission examined. It shows the percentage of budget increase by year. The budget increase does not translate to a tax increase. In 2023, the Democrats for instance, lowered spending but taxes still increased. The party and COLA columns were added by author.  The Charter Revision Commission’s 7% budget referendum proposal isn’t reform — it’s a political weapon. It's disguised as fiscal responsibility, but it’s engineered to shift blame, confuse voters, and lock Enfield into bad policy. There are some good ideas in the commission’s package. But this one? It shouldn’t go to the ballot. Here’s what the proposal says: If town expenditures increase by more than 7% over the current fiscal year, it would trigger a referendum. That sounds reasonable — until you understand the facts. The 7% Fiction First, Enfield hasn’t approved a 7% budget hike in at least 15 years — likely far longer. No council, Republican or Democrat, proposes a 7% hike u...
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Enfield Democrats are in big trouble

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Despite leading in voter registrations, the Enfield Democratic Town Committee seems to lack a winning election strategy. Until the 2021 election, the Republicans had controlled the Town Council for 14 years straight. But in that year, the Democrats secured seven of the 11 council seats, a significant victory. However, last November, voters reinstated the Republicans to control the Town Council. The Democrats have not fully come to terms with the magnitude of this loss. Some Democrats claim they lost the election by about one percent—a figure apparently obtained by aggregating all votes cast for every candidate, from Council to Constable. This perspective, however, amounts to self-deception. The Democrats were decisively defeated in the Town Council election, with a voting margin exceeding 8%. In essence, they were soundly beaten, but the situation is even more dire. In their most recent campaign finance filing, the Democrats reported contributions totaling $12,485. In contrast, the Rep...
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