Public Meeting on the Budget

The final public meeting on the proposed budget will be held at City hall on Monday at 6:00pm. Make sure any and all questions are answered before you vote on Tuesday! Any updates will be posted here before Tuesday. Also the election results will be posted here on Tuesday's results as soon they are available.

Questions about the flyer?

Any questions regarding the flyer being distributed by the Coalition of Rutland City Public Employees? You can email: cgodbout@rutlandhs.k12.vt.us

Please ask specific questions regarding why they are against saving taxpayers money and against paying below the average employee contribution within the state.

State average is 26%, with a health insurance plan of $13,000, while the city plan currently is a 7% (with a 4% of base salary cap) and a plan of $23,500. Does this sound fair to the struggling taxpayers of Rutland City?

PS - contacts for their organization don't even live in the city, big surprise!

Vermont Yankee Senate Vote

Pathetic State we live in!

The list below is the vote in the Senate to keep Vermont Yankee operating:

Below is a listing of votes for the final floor vote. A yes vote indicates support of Vermont Yankee continue to operate.

Senators voting Yes:

Robert Starr - Essex-Orleans District
Richard Mazza - Grand Isle District
Margaret Flory - Rutland District
Philip Scott - Washington District

Senators voting No:

Claire Ayer - Addison District
Harold Giard - Addison District
Robert Hartwell - Bennington District
Richard Sears - Bennington District
Matthew Choate - Caledonia District
Jane Kitchel - Caledonia District
Timothy Ashe - Chittenden District
Edward Flanagan - Chittenden District
Virginia Lyons - Chittenden District
Hinda Miller - Chittenden District
Douglas Racine - Chittenden District
Diane Snelling - Chittenden District
Vincent Illuzzi - Essex-Orleans District
Randolph Brock - Franklin District
Sara Kittell - Franklin District
Susan Bartlett - Lamoille District
Mark MacDonald - Orange District
William Carris - Rutland District
Kevin Mullin - Rutland District
Ann Cummings - Washington District
William Doyle - Washington District
Peter Shumlin - Windham District
Jeanette White - Windham District
John Campbell - Windsor District
Richard McCormack - Windsor District
Alice Nitka - Windsor District

Health Insurance Premium Facts

The link below will help explain why Article 3 & 4 are within reason to ask city employees to pay their fair share of their health insurance premiums. Article 3 & 4, if approved, will require teachers and city employees to pay 20% of their health insurance premiums. Currently the police pay nothing, teachers pay 10% and the rest pay 7% up to 4% of their base salary. This will save the City taxpayers $927,287 per year according to City Treasurer and the Chief Financial Officer of the schools.

The link explains the average within the State of Vermont for a single plan is 20% co-pay and the total of the plan is $4900.00.

The average for a family plan is a 26% co-pay towards premiums and a total policy of $13.091.00 per year. The city currently offers family plan policies exceeding a total benefit plan of $23,000. These stats provide information about how much the city taxpayers are exceeding the state average for the benefits employees currently enjoy. We realize many city employees will not like these changes, but what is best for the community?

Please click below for the stats:
Health Costs & Budgets - Vermont - Kaiser State Health Facts

Click here for a map of the us and these average levels: http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=270&cat=5&sub=67&yr=63&typ=2&rgnhl=47

Article 3 and 4 truths

The attached document is a flyer distributed on Saturday by the Coalition of Rutland City Public Employees. This flyer is full of lies, deceit and scare tactics. Please see the Treasurer's Report for actual projected savings of voting "YES" on these two articles. Total savings will be $927,278 per year. If these articles are approved we will enjoy the same level of city services and a reduction in the tax rate of $103.00 per year per average household. Please click here for the treasurer's report - then scroll down to the bottom where it lists Charter Articles.

Voting Yes on Article 3 & 4 will require all city employees to pay a minimum of 20% of the health insurance premiums. Currently Police Department pay nothing, teachers pay 10%, other municipals employees pay 7% up to 4% of their salary. THIS WILL SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. This will also align all municipal worker with the same percentage amount they pay towards their premiums.

REMINDER

Two meeting will be held on Thursday, February 18th.

The first meeting will be the Police Commission at City Hall at 6:00pm. The meeting will provide public comment about the porn scandal surrounding the Police Department.

The second meeting will be the Rutland Recreation & Parks Department at Dana School at 7:00pm. The meeting will provide information and questions about the proposed $4,725,000 bond placed on the March Article for the construction of a Recreational Center. The business plan for this facility is expected to be released at this meeting. 13 days till Town Meeting Day and the business plan will finally be available for view and questions. For more information provided by the Recreation Department, please visit: http://www.centforcenter.org/

RTU will be providing more information regarding this issue as it becomes available. Please check back soon!

RTU Newsletter

Thanks to all the good citizens of Rutland who participated in the Rutland Taxpayer's first public info forum. Many voiced concerns regarding the impact on taxpayers of the budget being presented in March by the Mayor, Board and School District.
To further elaborate on the School Budget, the CFO for the school district has announced even if they level funded their budget, the Budget would still result in a 10% increase in costs to the taxpayer.
While the State’s Education formula is complex, Despite warnings from the State to keep local ed budgets low, the school's costs per student has risen to above $11K, at the same time the student population continues to decline, while the state's reimbursement will remain at barely above $8K.
Last year, we saw the School District ask and be approved for a multi-million dollar bond for energy efficiencies that would span a 10 or 15 year contract which was advertised at "no costs." I, for one, am for door/window replacements, insulation, tweaking the furnace for better performance, but what we have is a 10 year management contract that goes beyond these necessities and that is not free and the district has failed to meet the net neutral energy performance that was marketed to voters as "a savings to the taxpayers." to reach the "no costs" effect.
This year there is a school bond that is vague at best, does speak to Stafford as its objective but leaves the door open for other spending sprees once the bond is approved.
Let's face it, the State is looking at a $150K revenue shortfall or more. Mr. Ammons continues to muddy the water when asked about the School District's spending by focusing on Homestead Act charts. Only 50% of our homeowners receive a Homestead Refund. The State has publicly stated the average refund check for homeowners is $400 for their part of the Education Tax Formula. Rutland City residents are still facing a 14.9% increase in local education costs.
We are thankful to the residents who were able to attend the meeting. Hopefully it was worth your while. It was our intent to have free flowing dialogue among attendees. Please feel free to contact us at anytime. Our new and beautiful website developed by Shawn Pemrick is www.rutvt.blogspot.com enjoy casting your vote on some of the poll questions.
As there is still time till March 2, Rutland Taxpayers United is seeking volunteers to provide handouts to the public, family or friends in your neighborhood.
A reminder, the Recreation Department will hold its umpteenth public forum February 18. As of today, Ejay Bishop, Director has failed to produce one document speaking to yearly operational costs, definitive revenues, etc. to the public in support of this excessive spending plan while absentee ballots were available March 10. Contrary to his public statements, this will not costs .01 cent, it will not be for 30 years, and the Boys and Girls Club can only pay rent (if any) if they receive public funding. The "Bubble," project can never be modified once erected and the roof itself was said in the beginning to have a 10-15 year life span at today's costs of replacement around $1.5 million. In ten or fifteen years, will it be closer to a replacement costs of $5 million? There has been no attempt at "GRANTS." as usual. Mr. Bishop is not a resident of Rutland and will not be affected by the tax increase or any ramifications should the roof not meet expectations and must be replaced and has said he is not sure on the warranty aspect. Where do we find these people?
As my parents have always advise me, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH. Without a fee structure how does Mr. Bishop intend to gather revenue in support of a massive structure. They have carried a $1.2 net loss last year. Not exactly a net neutral department as misspoken by Alderwoman Sharon Davis. In fact, the tax dollars spent on Giorgetti Rink in order to meet the needs of area hockey groups was suppose to pay for itself. Giorgetti saw a $100K net loss and the Concession Stand of all things had a $6K loss. How do you lose money renting ice skates and collecting user fees?
Since the Board of Aldermen seem to have washed their hands of any oversight thru the creation of Police Commissions, Development Boards, and the Downtown Partnership as way to exercise their "escape clause" "we have no control," of what goes on in our city departments, it may be time to review who else is running.

Only three Aldermen protested the municipal budget by voting "NO" David Dress, Robert Barrett and Joanne Slattery.

We have two residents who have thrown their hats into the Aldermanic Ring, Ed Larson at EDIN2010@msn.com and Dan White no email listed.

Vote your hearts out and let your voices be heard!

Thanks again, we welcome your feedback.

Nicole Breton 775-4808
Dawn Hance 775-4406

Press videos

Please click on the following links for news stories regarding the investigation within the Police Department:

WPTZ
WCAX
FOX 44

Police Commission to take public comment

The Rutland City Police commission will hold a public meeting on Thursday February 18th at City Hall. The meeting will be at 6:00pm and will allow the public to address the commission about the porn case ongoing within the Police Department.

Police Chief Grilled, finally?

On Tuesday members of the Board of Alderman and residents got their chance to ask questions about the most captivating scandal in recent years. A Police officer accused of child porn on his work computer and other damaging evidence found in his personal locker within the department. The Police Chief appeared at the Board of Alderman meeting to answer about what he did and when.

A timeline, starting back in July 2009, was given out at the meeting. This timeline was a press release put out by Chief Bossi. The timeline clearly states pornography was found on the computer. This in itself is against city policy, aside from the possible criminal offense. The timeline also states there was a 12 day gap between when the City Police received the computer in question back from the repair service and when they called the State Police for a child porn investigation. Why the twelve day delay? Why was the person in question not suspend for violation of city policy? Why was the police commission not notified? Why was the Mayor/City Attorney not notified? The questions go on and on.......

As a result of the mismanagement, not notifying proper officials and not following city policy has led to much speculation within the Police Department. This is not fair to the whole PD for the actions of the officer in question and the City Police Administration. The Board of Alderman need to take control of this situation and change the charter to require notification of any instance of violation of City Policy. Chief Bossi should be reprimanded, at the very least, for lying, failing to follow city policy, putting the city at a great risk of liability and creating mistrust within the department that has already had two different moral reports that point towards mismanagement by the Brass.

Moral Reports, what ever happened to those moral reports? Maybe this is a good time to take action and resolve the ongoing issues within the PD

Cent for the Center?

The Rutland Recreation and Parks department will hold an informational meeting about the proposed recreation center on February 18th. This meeting will start at 7:00pm and will be located in the Dana Recreational Center.

This meeting will be held due to the bond question on the ballot on March 2nd. The bond question is as follows:

Shall the bonds of the City of Rutland in an amount not to exceed $4,725,000 be issued for the purpose of upgrading Giorgetti Arena to house the Rutland Recreation and Parks Department and the Boys & Girls Club of Rutland County?

A business plan has been crafted and will hopefully be availble to the public at this meeting. There has been some discussion whether this project will cost one cent on the tax rate as it is being sold. This equates to $100,000 per year for the next 20 years.

Representative out of line?

Please read this email exchange between Representative Megan Smith and local business owner Stephen Sawyer.


I would like to take this chance to echo Jim's sentiment. A little over a year and half ago I was able to open a restaurant in downtown Rutland. The enthusiasm the community had for something like this was beyond my understanding. I was able to be a bright spot in a negative environment, instead of always talking about another storefront closed we were able to rally behind my bringing 40 JOBS TO DOWNTOWN RUTLAND! That's right, 40 jobs. Today I still carry a staff of 30 people, all of them getting 40 hours. If you continue to try and break the backs of the business community we are just going to put more and more people on the system!


We in the business community can't be expected to fix every problem ourselves. We didn't create them all, why is it our responsibility to fund each solution? We recognize and testified to the fact that we will see increases in Workmans Comp, UI, Catamount etc. It is irresponsible to propose such a political program as Paid Sick Leave. Even in the best of times I would struggle with this philosophically; but now it is down right insulting. What is the purpose of elected officials that ignore their constituents wishes?


Please listen to us, the small business community, as we are the solution moving forward. HELP us, so that we may invest in our communities and help create JOBS.


Thank you for listening,


Stephen Sawyer

AND HER RESPONSE:


Steve


this was a hearing in a committee that no one from Rutland County is even on. Many bills are considered every day in every committee that never have any action other than discussion. You need to be tracking the bills that are coming up for vote, not everything being discussed. I am a VERY frequent customer in your restaurant and you should consider that before you start sending all of us emails with this kind of insulting tone.


When I owned a restaurant (the Vermont Inn for 13 years) I NEVER got involved in politics because I didn't ever want to offend even one customer, It is a good approach since the Rutland County Democrats have been holding celebrations with you as they used to with me and it was very good business.


Megan Smith

2010 Sample Ballot

Please click on the ballot to zoom in on it. This is the ballot that will be in the polling places on March 2nd! Please read carefully and make sure you know what your voting on, make an informed decision. Any question please email us at: rutvt@live.com

Treasurer's Tax Estimates

Click on the spreadsheet to zoom in. The following is a spreadsheet provided by City Treasurer Wendy Wilton. This spreadsheet provides the amount taxes will go up if approved on Town Meeting Day. The document provides detailed information regarding the city budget, bonds, social programs and etc....

Information Meeting

The meeting this afternoon went very good! Thanks to all who participated! Many people voiced concerns on why our government continues to operate without considering the impact on the taxpayers. A member of city government, left early because she did not want to listen to the "bitch fest" anymore. People are frustrated with the spending and the way our government operates, so yes people need to vent this frustration. It's very concerning that a member of city government does not want to listen to the concerns of their employers (the taxpayers). We cannot continue to keep doing what we've been doing.

Our hope is more people will become aware of what is going on in our city government and get involved to change the course of our city. Our quality of life, employment and families depend on it. If anyone would like to become more involved in the Rutland Taxpayers United, please email for more information.

Public Meeting

Rutland Taxpayers United will hold an informational meeting on Saturday, February 13th 2010. The meeting will be held at the Rutland Free Library from 1-3pm. The Fox Room is located upstairs and the meeting will be open to the public. The meeting will emphasize on the ballot initiatives, city budget and any other city issues citizens may want to discuss.

The Rutland Taxpayers United have succesfully place on the ballot this year three articles.

1. All school employees to pay a minimum of 20% of there basic health care insurance

2. All city employees to pay a minimum of 20% of there basic health insurance

3. Term limits on the office of Mayor and Board of Alderman not to exceed ten years total.

Any other issues can and will be discussed during the duration of the meeting. Future ballot intiatives can also be discussed.