Gatsas: Board defeats request for spending freeze
Well, as more snow falls on the Manchester area, there’s no doubt that municipal budgets are feeling its weight. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Mayor Ted Gatsas called for a hiring freeze in the hopes of offsetting a two hundred seventy thousand dollar budget overrun in line items associated with snow removal in the Highway and Parks divisions of the Public Works Department. That lead to some spirited discussion between His Honor and members of the board as Board Chairman Dan O’Neil questioned whether or not the proposed freeze would prevent the continued hiring of police officers, especially those already in the process. Gatsas said it would not.
O’Neil: Freeze not needed
O’Neil argued against the freeze saying the department heads understood where the city was at with the budget and could be trusted to manage their budgets accordingly. He referenced comments made by Finance Officer Bill Sanders earlier in the evening saying he was flashing a yellow light on the budget, not a red one yet. Gatsas replied saying red lights quickly follow yellows ones and that the city should put the breaks on spending now to prevent getting hit in the intersection. O’Neil doubled down saying that if there’s a hiring freeze, it ought to be an absolute hiring freeze, not one in which the mayor had the authority to approve filling vacancies, as had been the case in the past.
Shea: Makes not sense to cut mayor out of process
Ward Seven Alderman Bill Shea said that didn’t make any sense. The mayor’s the city’s chief operating officer and should have the authority, as all mayors have had in the past, to review department head requests and act in the overall best interest of the city. Ward Six Alderman Garth Corriveau stated he believed a freeze was unnecessary and that department heads would quote “hear from the board” end quote if they overspent their budgets. Oooo.
Craig: Says freeze could cost more money
Gatsas said the hiring freeze would last as long as it needed to in response to a question from Ward Ten Alderman Bill Barry. Ward One Alderman Joyce Craig opposed the freeze saying it could cause overtime expenditures to go up, ultimately costing the city more money than if it allowed departments to fill positions. Gatsas replied that he’d always worked with departments on a case by case basis to do what was the most cost effective thing and that he’d certainly not leave a position vacant if it was going to cost more in overtime than to fill it.
At the end of it all, only Alderman at-Large Joe Kelly Levasseur, Shea, Ward Three Alderman Patrick Long and Ward Eight Alderman Tom Katsiantonis supported the freeze in a city where the aldermen pledged, after voting to override the tax cap, to change the way the city did business. Nice.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Metzler: Will “censor of public comment” be added to his job description?
It was only a matter of time before the fun began anew in the Timberlane Regional School Distirct. As elections near, the Timberlane Regional School Board is considering a measure that would significantly restrict public input at board meetings. Currently, the board allows citizens up to five minutes to speak before the board on any topic they so desire. If a proposed policy change pending before the district’s Policy Committee is adopted Timberlane taxpayers and parents will have only three minutes to speak, unless waived by the board and, before speaking, must complete a comment card and submit it to the recording secretary at the beginning of the meeting. The only comments allowed will be those referencing items on the board’s meeting agenda. If a citizen, taxpayer or parent wants to address the board on an item not on the agenda, they must present the topic to Superintendent Earl Metzler in advance. He’ll alert the board and it, by some undisclosed process, will determine whether or not it gets placed on the agenda so it may be spoken about by the plebes who dare address their government.
Lyscars: Motion denied
Quote “Upon a parent or guardian submitting a notification to the Hooksett School District to refuse their child participate in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Test, the Hooksett School District is responsible for bringing that child to an alternate location with supervision for the duration of the testing period. Furthermore, no penalties will be assessed to children who do not participate in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Test.” That was the motion brought forward by Hooksett School Board Member John Lyscars at Tuesday Night’s meeting of the board. It failed with only Lyscars voting in favor.
Guerrette: Refusing to “sign or resign.”
Litchfield’s elected School District Clerk Jason Guerrette, who will be our guest tomorrow, was awaiting to be served papers by the Litchfield Police Department as we spoke to him yesterday. Gurette has refused to sign off on the district’s default budget, believing it contains spending that violates the law. The district and the attorney general’s office are demanding he sign or resign so that the ballots can be printed. He’s refusing. We’ll have the details tomorrow.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next!
