Wednesday, June 16, 2010

west hartford, you made yet ANOTHER mistake

are you going to vote NEXT  year to increase taxes again? what about the year after and the  year after that. isn't ANYONE but me remembering how we were told black and blue square (if approved and built) would LOWER our taxes? why didn't it? why are they HIGHER NOW? why are our services being cut?

why?

why does the town have enough money to build those STUPID EFFING AND DANGEROUS islands (on asylum and even steele road) and have to raise our taxes? i know why, perhaps one of the tens of people involved in accidents caused by those UNSAFE ISLANDS is suing the town. i know i sure as shite would be. 

West Hartford Voters Approve Budget

5 comments:

Lucy said...

I am sorry you are so upset.

Our taxes in West Hartford would be higher without the income from Blue Back Square. No one ever told us that BBS would lead to "tax cuts."

I am nearly fifty years old and have lived in five towns in three states. Taxes have always gone up. Inflation is a big part of it. No sense blaming West Hartford for what happens everywhere.

I appreciate your concern about the costs of the traffic calming measures. I personally feel that public safety is one area of the town budget where we should not cut corners. 50,000 Americans die every year in automobile accidents.

West Hartford is a great place to live. The people who voted “Yes” yesterday just want to keep it that way.

Thanks

Unknown said...

thanks for stopping by lucy. i respect your opinion but disagree with almost everything you have said.

i have lived in west hartford my whole life (well a couple of years in hartford right after i was born). i have seen what west hartford was and what it is now. i know in my heart what it CAN be.

it's chuck full of hipsters and posers and yuppies (is one even allowed in the center if one doesn't have a designer GIANT suv, a designer dog, a designer kid and $500.00 shoes?). people just seeing and wanting to be seen. pathetic. my knitting shop (sit-n-knit) moved to bloomfield (a place with ACTUAL FREE PARKING). my florist (lane and lenge) moved to park road (a place with ACTUAL FREE parking). what's the turnover rate of stores in the center these days i wonder?

i can't say about black and blue. i've NEVER BEEN (except that one time i went to the doctor with my father) and i VOW to NEVER go.

why would anyone in the center or black and blue WAIT an hour for shitty food at an overpriced over hyped joint (there ARE a couple of GOOD restaurants in town. i'll exclude those)?

as for traffic 'calming'...well let me assure you things on asylum avenue are far from calm. to get out of one's driveway (even if you back in so you're pointed nose out) is a chore. goddess help you if you park on the street. you have to stand on the curb for a mighty LONG time before you can even get to open your car door due to the traffic. did anyone consider the GIANT commuter buses that go up and down asylum avenue each work day? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. no, i'm betting they didn't. did anyone do a study of how many accidents were on asylum avenue between trout brook and steele road PRIOR to the islands, then after the installation (or as i like to call it, the lunacy)? yeah, that's some safety. living in the area my whole life, i've seen fewer accidents the whole time up to the building of the lunacy (that's MANY MANY MANY MANY years. i've seen less than the fingers on one hand) then the number of accidents i've seen in the first year they were up (i've seen MORE than 11 accidents on asylum avenue in the first year the lunacies were up). please tell me how that is safer for the fair citizens of west hartford? please. please.

also, i am NOT averse to paying taxes. i WANT to support my police department and my fire department.why is it then our mill rate is so high?

these are 2005 figures but they'll do for now. why is west hartford in the TOP FIVE HIGHEST MILL RATES IN THE STATE? WHY?

http://www.courant.com/classified/realestate/hc-class-real-millrates0501,0,4623522.htmlstory

oh wait, i did find 2009 figures, they're in excel or pdf form: http://www.ct.gov/opm/cwp/view.asp?a=2987&q=385976

west hartford is turning into the RIGHT side of the tracks and the WRONG side of the tracks. i don't want that to happen, but it appears i may be too late

Lucy said...

You make a lot of good points. I can't afford much of West Hartford Center or BBS either.

But we will never have 1950 again. Or 1960. Or 1970. The American economy, the world economy, the world itself have changed much too much.

And there's nothing a local town government can do about 99% of that.

Certainly, reducing town services with tax cuts won't make any dents in the problems you describe. Sure -- you may end up with a few extra dollars in your pocket,

but they won't change your life,

and they certainly won't change West Hartford.

Unknown said...

we'll just agree to disagree!

Lucy said...

Agreed!

Have a great weekend!