ALL-TIME RECORD BUDGET SHOWS OFFICIALS’ DISCONNECT FROM ORDINARY CITIZENS AND THEIR STRUGGLES
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY JULY 12, 2016) — After Mayor Linda Tyer submitted an all-time record high budget for the FY17 fiscal year now well under way, she did not seal the city’s economic fate. Once again, We The People had too few allies in the city council. The Suits, however, had majority representation. Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski had virtually none. THE PLANET wasn’t surprised, and neither were any of the growing number of folks who have become aware how the game of politics plays out in Pittsfield.
The mayor proposes. That’s her job. The council disposes. It was their job to tighten the belt after the mayor showed no interest. They failed. Consequently, the major share of the blame for this budget lies with the council. As a group, the council has continued the unimaginative, compromised “representation” that it now taken as routine in the city. Trust us. We’ve been all over this country and still do our share of traveling. It’s not like that in many other communities.
“Counciloids: — That’s the word THE PLANET uses when our Right Honorable Good Friends are a body are neither right, honorable, good, or friendly. “Counciloids” had a kind of robotic, monstrous connotation, like an alien machine out of a cheap 1958 sci-fi movie. “Couciloids:” That’s what you’re stuck with, dear friends, when it comes to your interests.
This budget callously feeds the Special Interests (particularly Pittsfield School Department) at the expense of the Kapanskis, the taxpayers who were once just beaten down. Today, they are simply beaten.
The electorate of Great Britain proved with their Brexit vote what an aroused citizenry can do under the principles of democratic rule, but don’t count on that happening in Pittsfield. There’s simply too much of a witch’s brew whose ingredients consist of the following:
* Apathy — Engendered by what is now a full generation (1986-2016) or corrupt rule.
* Poverty — The destitute but also the “working poor,” the people who hold down three, four, five, or six jobs a household working the city’s low-pay, no-benefit service jobs.
* Age — The city’s population is aging out, particularly the final enclave that holds the last, large reserve of disposable income. We speak of GE retirees. Many are in the 80s and 90s. When they die, their heirs get the money, and most of that money leaves the city.
* Gangs, Crime, and Violence — Each day shootings, stabbings, muggings, domestic violence, robberies, break-ins, and all manner of civil disruption plague Pittsfield. The effect of this daily onslaught is cumulative, causing those who have the ability to flee (either actually moving out of town or, for example, pulling their children out of Pittsfield schools).
* Ignorance — While the city experiences both a brain and resource drain, it has seen a huge uptick of influx of deadbeats, scammers, chiselers, welfare cheats, and unwanted human refuse of other communities, particularly well-off towns that ship their flotsam to Pittsfield because of the riders attached to all that “wonderful” grant money the city receives. The grant money evaporates, but the refuse remains.
* Arrogance — The city’s elected officials — the mayor, city council, state reps, and school committee — live apart from the people they allegedly “serve.” Nothing exemplifies this over-bearance better than the proposals made and votes taken on budgetary matters. Because of a generation of inbreeding, elected officials have lost touch. They see themselves as apart and above. It would serve no useful purpose at this point in breaking down the record $151 million budget plus $12 million in capital spending. All of that is there to see for anyone with the stomach and the time to punch them up from the internet.
These are indefensible figures.
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“It is difficult to get a [woman] to understand something when [her] salary depends upon her not understanding it.” — Upton Sinclair.
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Dear Dan Valenti,
You forgot to include the new Taconic High School project that will cost city taxpayers at least $45 million over the next 3 decades, which was not included in Matt Kerwood & the lovely Linda Tyer’s fiscal year 2017 municipal budget for Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Once the bond payments begin, Pittsfield politics will be near its levy limit and ceiling under Proposition 2.5 next fiscal year (2018), which begins next summer on July 1, 2017. That means that Matt Kerwood & the lovely Linda Tyer will be asking Pittsfield voters to approve an override under Proposition 2.5 within the next 11 months!
If voters reject another $6 million tax hike, then Pittsfield politics will begin to go financially insolvent and will have to start making cuts in its budget to avoid another round of state government receivership after the Gerry Doyle debacle in 2001.
I wonder what Matt Kerwood & the lovely Linda Tyer would say to all of my facts and forecasts?
Sincerely,
Jonathan A. Melle
When the good old boys/special interests pick a mayoral candidate to back, promote and control they also pick and promote city councilors to support the agenda they give to the mayor.
In other words there is very little representation for the taxpayer as special interests hold most of the voting positions. Here and there you may see some dust being kicked up but when it comes time to vote most councilors often seem to vote contrary to common sense. This indicates to me that someone is pulling their puppet strings. The, in your face, Stanley corporate welfare handout was a prime example of this. Made no sense what so ever but they all voted for it anyway.
Allendale school is built on a toxic dump and Yon..Tyer..Amuso…Mazzeo…Tayor…Curtis …Kroll….Caccamo….Connell…..Bouvier allow this.
I would also add to that list, the school employees themselves. There are so many of them that live in Pittsfield and they easily sway the vote in their favor by voting for candidates who will give the schools all the money they want. If more people not connected to the school system would vote, that could change, but with all the other issues you mentioned, especially apathy and ignorance, this isn’t likely to change soon. Under these same conditions, the city could also easily pass a tax override when the city reaches the tax ceiling, which will again favor the school employees and school system.
It’s a real shift in power, though the taxpayers are the majority they are struggling to get by, while the union minority has expanded and become wealthier to the point where they have more disposable energy and money than the majority.
when Government workers tell you theirs are “good, middle class jobs”, they neglect to tell you these jobs come at the expense of the rest of us.
A union plumber or mason or electrician who works fore a private firm and happens to be unionized needs to recognize that if the rate or benefits package is too generous, they will spend more time unemployed and not earning those good wages. Government workers don’t worry if their package is too generous since we the taxpayers are like an ATM.
I can’t wait til the override vote. What will they do when they get the message “account overdrawn”?
When is this override supposed to happen? Is there one scheduled for us to vote on or are you just guessing there will be one?
There is supposed to be a vote on an override, but this being Pittsfield, who knows what will happen. So much participation in our local government keeps being taken away from citizens.
it will take $39 million in growth I remember hearing to produce $1 million in new local tax revenue. I may be wrong on the exact amount, but what I see is that we will see us hitting the levy ceiling before we hit enough growth to avoid it.
Since so much of the budget, is “fixed” according to the budget gurus, we will be looking for an override next year.
That is how we will be able to start to tame the beast.
Again Dan you have said it like it is.
The mayor has appointed someone to inproveTyler Street. While W. Housatonic St. get storage units.
The Mayor did not appoint anyone. Miss Sedzro is working in the city through MassDevelopment’s TDI program. She is the States pick.
Really?
Cat…Painter seems to have a hard-on for the Mayor or anything positive.
Painter arrived on the Planet just after the Mayor took office, leading me to believe they are either a Bianchi or Mazzeo supporter, or actually one of them.
Thank you
I find it interesting the State had to appoint someone to represent the interests of first the neighborhood and the businesses in that area. Silly me, I always thought the ward councilor was supposed to do that type work. To go out and talk to the business and see what they need to succeed and to bring that input back to the Mayor and various City Departments to work with and for.
So I guess the State voted no confidence in leadership and the Counciloids So why does the Ward and the City in general keep returning and installing “leadership” based upon My brother knew his babysitter, who was the Aunt to the guy who cut the grass at the country club and he said that he’s a good guy ?
Once we as residents demand more and stop accepting things, that’s when they will start to get better.
just sayin
Excellent observation Joe. Perhaps this guy is a consultant and will draw a hefty little fee and then can dictate contractors and suppliers blah blah blah to keep it all in the family?? I l dunno
The owners of that plaza on Rt 20 have tried for years to revitalize it. They haven’t been able to put an anchor tenant in there. Big Y thought it would be a good idea to move there and for some reason, decided against it – and then got the owner to put a deed restriction on the site.
At some point, if a DD is OK for Tyler St and Wal Mart is OK for the PEDA site, why is a tax paying U-Haul center with self storage units not OK? It’s a commercial site, there won’t be live entertainment which the neighbors don’t like, and it will be fairly quiet with little traffic impact.
I don’t see a down side, but maybe I need to be educated.
As I recall the city took the original U Haul property on south street by eminent domain after a court battle. And they gave it to the Colonial theater.
U Haul needs to heel to the powers if they want to set up in this burg… just like anyone else.
Maybe the U-Haul should go on G E also
Great analysis DV. You are spot on about these observations especially about the city council.
he’s been spot on. The key word is oid as in void to the taxpayer.
I have to say this with all honesty, the boxes that I’ve seen so far are pretty nice! Sorry.
Is anyone aware that on Sunday, July 24, 2016 Pittsfield’s own
Tom ” Skip ” Mooney shared the stage at the Baseball Hall of
Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. for the induction of Ken Griffey,Jr. ? It seems that Tom was the professional scout for the Seattle Mariners who in 1979 signed Griffey in the first round. Tom went on to a long career as a professional baseball scout with many teams in the Major Leagues. Griffey pointed out at his induction that the best team in his long career was his first team, The Seattle Mariners…..thanks to Tom ” Skip ” Mooney.
In the end business wanted to pay 3rd world wages
I hope you’re not suggesting that high wages translates automatically to competence and high degree of dedication to the mission or organization? Doesn’t the Government at all levels have mandatory minimums for pay? Don’t you get a raise for merely not cutting your own throat when you shave over a period of a year as a Government employee?
Business pays by value and need. If you make yourself more valuable you are paid more, if you don’t feel you’re being compensated fairly for the value you add then it is up to you to either point that out to the employer or move on. In the business world you can never stand still. Push yourself, learn dedicate yourself, and build be more do more leverage your attributes and beat your weakness’s I assure you that you will earn more and feel better about your situation. Be a Victor not a Victim.
just sayin
Pittsfield: Democratic State Senate candidates to debate
The Berkshire Eagle, 8/1/2016
The Whitney Center for the Arts will be hosting a debate for the Democratic State Senate candidates at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2.
The candidates include Rinaldo Del Gallo, Andrea Harrington and Adam Hinds. James Arpante, former Ward 2 city councilor, will moderate.
The Whitney Center is located at 42 Wendell Ave.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/community/ci_30194066/pittsfield-democratic-state-senate-candidates-debate
Unions are evil to you im guessing you grew up in a a poor non union town.Generel Electric and all pinhead managers got rich in this union town…..PCBs are the grossest of all mismanaged products and proves irresponsibly pays big dividend s to those at the top…Trump
I believe Pittsfield is still a union town. Unions nationally do not make up a large percentage of the workforce but in Pittsfield it seems to be the majority due mainly to government(both education and citywide) and the hospital workers. So to suggest the “little guy” can rise up and stem the decline is ludicrous. Unfortunately I don’t even see the state taking over really helping. The best advice I would give to others is to look elsewhere. I believe this is the reason MA state population growth is stagnant.
Every small city in ma sucks….they are dead…pittsfield future is a nursing home community
Well aren’t we a little ray of sunshine, I am not certain where or how the union or the pinhead managers got involved. I would guess a lot of union workers made a good living and a lot of non-union people did as well. I can think of the hay days and I think of restaurants shops and stores where people where successful based on being hardworking owners/ employees of these places.
Small towns and Cities in Ma are in decline for a number of reasons. Have we adapted to the “new economy”? Have we regulated or over regulated? Have we capitalized and exploited the information age?
I think it fair to say all of us have had family move away for better opportunities have they all moved because it was union work? Or have they moved simply because they recognize that they themselves are responsible for their happiness and success and they won’t be denied?
just sayin
Joe no use in reasoning with a dope. I love your posts. Agree totally. Make yourself valuable. Work hard, learn new skills. Too many have the victim mentality, not enough have the Victor mentality. You sound to me like a guy who controls his own destiny. You sound like a Man not a victim.
K E Double L,
Thanks for the kind words and the great advise.
Just sayin
I love how some believe … no one earns their money unless they are underpaid.All union employees dont work……I paid a guy a union wage tod as y for a service and he earned every penny.
Unions stopped abuse and intimidation …many real men then respectfully stood on equal ground to negotiate labor for money and a capitalist idea is born.
Powerful stuff when great union men sent their children to college only to become weak mid managers .
Good lord! $151 million in annual spending breaks down to $3600 per man, woman and child! Considering that at least half the current population pays little or nothing in taxes that leaves a staggering burden for those who do pay taxes.
Not only are the GE retirees dying off, so are the professionals they supported. The doctors, lawyers, accountants, et. al. who thrived during Pittsfield’s heyday, when GE supported a prosperous population of nearly 70,000, are disappearing. Likewise the small business owners. Southeast Pittsfield will become a ghost town. Property values are dropping like a rock as there are no buyers to replace the dying.
The only good jobs left in P-town? Working for the government. Those folks are doing very well.
You want to see the future of Pittsfield? Visit Detroit. Or closer to home – Providence.
The Banks, GD, Berkshire Life, Many of the retail and restaurant positions are paid very well, there are many institutional positions and medical positions that pay really well. you are way selling Pittsfield short, not to mention that there are still many of the professionals and government employees you mention.
Also: large portions of the City’s budget are comprised of state aid and Federal Aid. Maybe a pie chart showing the break down by department of expenses and revenues would shine a light on the true taxing climate?