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Community Corner

BUDGET FACTS...TAX HIKE VOTE TODAY

  • FACT Taxes are going up this year.
  • FACT Taxes will go up next year.
  • FACT Taxes went up last year.
  • FACT Taxes have gone up for the past 20+ years.
  • FACT Taxes always go up but the lack of town services never changes.


The first referendum vote to approve higher taxes failed to pass.  Of course it did, it was supposed to, it was designed that way.  The first referendum is the “Feel Good Vote”.  It is the bone thrown to taxpayers who want to believe that the budget referendum process is fair. It’s absolutely not fair; in fact it’s rigged from the get go.

 

The cheating begins each year when Vavrek and his cohorts sit down to discuss how much money they can work out of the taxpayers. It’s never about what they need but rather what they can get. They know that an increase of over 3% is never well received so typically they will start in the 2.9% something range. Then Town Council and the Board of Finance have their feel good moment and vote to reduce the increase by a tenth of a percent. This is just so they can say they did something and that they are still good Republicans.  When all this playacting is over, official notices are sent out in the mail to inform the public that its time to vote. Oh boy!!! How exciting!!! We get to vote!!!

Find out what's happening in Monroewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Tax payers go to the polls, they vote and right on cue the budget fails.  Vavrek and friends are not surprised by this at all; they know this is what happens each year and in fact they enjoy it because now they can say the system works.  Next they have to adjust the budget, they would like to send it back unchanged but to avoid any complaints they make a token reduction to the proposed increase. Many refer to this as a deli-slice reduction.  This year the deli-slice is a bit more then 1/10th of 1%.  Oh yeah, that’s what we in Monroe call “Good Republicans Controlling Spending”.

Find out what's happening in Monroewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

After the increase is reduced by next to nothing, we go out to vote a second time, or should I say some of us do. You see the playing field has changed and I will explain. Remember that official notice you received from Town Hall for the 1st referendum reminding you that there was going to be a vote, well you won’t be getting that again.  That was only for the 1st referendum, you know the one that was designed to fail.  Without public notices sent out, without notification in the CT Post, subscriptions way down for the Monroe Courier and only six people still on Patch, a good deal of those who oppose an increase won’t even know that there is going to be a vote.  Who will be notified are parents of school children, they will be alerted by the school and by the PTO that they have to get out and vote because vital school programs are hanging in the balance.  Add to this the “I’ve still got my religion Republicans” that feel that by voting NO once before changing their vote to YES and thereby  keeping themselves in the good grace of their GOP God,  the Tax Increase passes in the second referendum as easy as rolling off a log.  This time it will pass easily by a margin of 350 to 500 votes.

  

 

And this is how Monroe taxpayers each spring bend over, assume the position and vote themselves a tax increase. And if that’s not enough they do it again in November when they vote for the same Republicans who have been sticking it to them all along. 

 

Start with a padded budget, tease the taxpayers with a 1st referendum designed to fail,  make minimal reductions, suppress the opposition vote, scare parents into voting for the increase, rely on all the want to be good Republicans supporting their man Vavrek and VIOLA you have your tax increase!  So…all good Monroe citizens (especially Republicans) on Tuesday April 22nd go out, bend over and vote yourself a tax increase and while doing so please repeat after me “Thank you sir may I please have another!!!”

Click on this Link to Watch a YouTube Video on How to Vote YES for Higher Taxes in Monroe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdFLPn30dvQ

 

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