What About Derby?

I went to the Board of Aldermen meeting last night to see what was up. The room was filled to the max and beyond. I understand that the Mayor has supporters and non-supporters. That's why we have an election every 2 years. When someone doesn't have enough support then they lose the election and the new person steps in. It didn't bother me that some Staffieri non-supporters were there and gave their opinions. What got to me was their display of raw hatred for Tony and their contempt for the office of Mayor. One person was so worked up that she was pacing at the back of the room actually shaking. Another person leaned over the back of the chair in front of her and raised her fist and made catcalls. I wanted to take pictures of this but was a little afraid to do so. Our Aldermen didn't fare much better. They were dignified for the most part but they were not looking out for Derby in my opinion. They want to force Domurad back into his position. So we're going to have a City within which two major players aren't on the same page, at all? Is this good for Derby? Joe Coppola, our corporation counsel, who is paid to protect Derby, repeatedly advised the Aldermen to not discuss the details of Domurad's departure in public because of likely civil litigation. He advised them that it was not in the best interests of the City. They didn't listen - in fact they laughed and made jokes about this. They don't care if Derby is sued and our taxes go up as a result? Really? I must liken last night's "performance" to a bunch of school yard bullies trying to get their way and not caring who they hurt to do so. And, much like school yard bullies, enjoying the whole thing way too much. I apologize if the above comes across as partisan. I've often said that both parties in Derby, and the independents as well, are fine people and I will say that again, but I cannot keep quiet about what I saw last night. The Mayor(s) of Derby, past and present, don't hold us back - this kind of behavior by a handful of those lusting for power is what holds Derby back.

Our Love Affair (with Dogs)!

Yup, just keep up with the news - dogs are everywhere! Remember the old Kevin Bacon "degrees of separation" thing? I think the dogs are easily ahead of Bacon at this point. I had dogs when I was little and living on a farm. We had Australian Shepherds which were quiet, gentle, and hardworking, but now I'm too busy to take care of dogs and I think they take a lot of care and loving to be happy campers. So, since I don't have dogs now, I thought I might be a good test subject to see how many degrees of separation an average, non-dog-owner has with what's in the news. Let's give it a try: 1. Dog sitter suspected of burglary. 1 degree! I do dog sitting sometimes for my daughter's pet care business. 2. Dog bites person (multiple stories). 1 degree! My mother was once attacked by dogs while riding her bike. 3. Dog bites other dog (multiple stories). 2 degrees! I haven't seen this but have heard about it first hand. 4. Dogs can walk "here" but not over "there". 1 degree! I walk. 5. Dog trouble at the pound(s). 1 degree! I get cats from pounds. 6. Lost dog (multiple stories). 1 degree! My in-laws found/adopted a dog. 7. Dogs take part in weddings (multiple stories). 1 degree! Our daughter used her dog, Jack, as the ring bearer. 8. Dogs protect us (multiple stories). 1 degree! I interviewed the new Derby police dog after he was sworn in. ... and the list goes on. Dogs, you gotta love em!

Clearly Upset

See this guy? He's clearly upset. When we hear about stuff that hits us in our heart we get upset. The problem is that we get emotional without knowing the facts.

In all this mess about the Derby Dog Pound I'm not seeing many facts. I'm seeing a lot of allegations and innuendo. The most important question is whether the animals were being cared for properly. We need facts about that.

It's not about how modern or elegant our Dog Pound is. One comment was that it smelled like urine inside. Really? Animal "places" - like zoos too - smell bad.

It's not about Klapcik's people skills. He may not be a people person - anyone can tell you that. But he is a person of integrity, a hard worker, and a responsible person who took good care of the animals given the meager resources he had.

Here's an idea for all of you who are upset. Why don't you show up at one of the Tax Board meetings where we are putting the City Budget together. There are 2 more workshops, a prelimary budget vote, a Public Hearing, and a final budget vote all taking place on subsequent Tuesday evenings at 7pm at City Hall. Come tell the Tax Board, tell the Police Department, tell the Mayor, that you would like more funds dedicated to the Derby Dog Pound!

The teachers and school administrators show up to ask for more money for the schools. They, along with the parents, are the children's advocates. Where are the animals' advocates. That's clearly how it works folks.

No Dogs in Derby!

I was very sad about the decision last night, made by the Derby Board of Aldermen, to ban dogs from our Greenway, but I commend alderman Gerckens for sticking to his guns and casting the dissenting vote.

Hey, I'm not worried about the dogs - they'll get their exercise one way or the other.

I'm not worried about the people who own dogs - they'll find a place to take their dogs - in fact, it looks like there is a dog park on the horizon very soon.

I'm WORRIED about the fact that the majority of Derby's citizens love dogs and have dogs, yet we can't all get together to find a way to share the Greenway. This is not the Board of Aldermen's fault - they are reacting to the problem with the only tools they possess ... ordinances.

And I hear you muttering under your breath that there is too much attention being paid to this issue of dog poop. NOT! This issue is just an example of how difficult it is to get everyone to do the right thing, to enforce laws that we shouldn't need in the first place, and in general work together as a community should. I'm not just picking on Derby either - this problem is universal.

Do we have to put cameras up at every traffic light to keep people from running red lights and endangering our lives? Is our inner compass somehow so skewed that a lot of us just don't care about how are actions affect the rest of the world?

How Education Works

I reported to my first bingo duty last night at St Mary/St Michael's school in Derby. I'm a volunteer there to support my 2 grandchildren who attend this fabulous school.

I'm always blown away every time I go to the school to pick up the girls or attend to some chore. They have found the answer to what a school needs to be to get results.

First of all, everyone at the school, whatever their involvement, cares about these children very much.

Second of all, there is learning going on there. There is obvious discipline, focus on the task at hand, and a strong core of educational ability in those who are teaching.

And what I notice most is that the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are all involved in the school!

I was a little concerned last night because it was my first bingo experience and I didn't know everyone that well but they made me feel so welcome! Thank you Patsy Gerckens, Michelle Iacuone, Cindy Clark, Linda Coppola, and everyone else involved. Your school rocks!!

PS, I caught our Alderman, Art Gerckens, mopping up afterwards - doing his part. Nice to see.

A Readiness for Disagreement

I said to a friend, just the other day, "Clearly Derby is a real hard sell - I'm wondering if people are interested in local government or not".

My friend answered (and I am paraphrasing him): It's not that people aren't interested in local government, it's that they don't think anyone will ever agree to anything so what's the point in wasting one's time. The people of Derby, like in many small towns, are a contentious bunch. They would rather argue about who is right than work together.

That got my attention. While the readiness for disagreement is obvious, I'm not so sure that we prefer to argue rather than move ahead and accomplish something.

Is it maybe that our arguers have a louder voice than the rest of us? Are they turning us off to a sense of community? Or have we discarded our dreams for a better tomorrow and the contentious are just filling the void with their conflicting viewpoints?

I'm thinking that the Cleary Derby experiment needs to go a little deeper. What's going on out there?

Where did that Budget Come From?!?

Time to learn about the birds and the bees dear citizens. Where do City Budgets come from anyway? Each city and town are a little bit different but I'm going to describe Derby, CT's budget process because that's the one I'm very familiar with.

First, each department within the City puts together a proposed budget for their department. This will include everything they need to operate from July 1 of the current year through June 30 of the following year. These budgets are submitted to the Finance Dept at City Hall and passed along to the Chairman of the Tax Board. This generally happens in February.

Next, the Tax Board holds workshops, about once a week starting in March. Each Dept head is assigned to a workshop date and they come before the Tax Board to talk about their budget and answer questions. If someone wanted to know about how Derby government works and why we spend what we do - these would be the meetings to attend!!

After talking to all of the departments about their needs and getting an estimate of what revenue we can expect from property taxes, the State, and so forth, the Tax Board continues to have workshops through April to deliberate on how much we can afford and whether or not we need to raise the mil rate in order to finance Derby's operations. This goes on through April.

Finally a special meeting is held to approve a preliminary budget. A few days later a public hearing is held to allow the citizens to comment on the preliminary budget. There will be another meeting, or two, after that, culminating in the adoption, by the Tax Board, of the final budget. By state law it must be in place by late May or early June, depending on that year's calendar.