Tiverton Citizens for Change

Tiverton Citizens for Change have been following our town’s preparation for the 2010 Financial Town Meeting for several months. We realize not everyone has time in their busy lives to involve themselves in the vagaries of local politics. Indeed, many find it frustrating and consuming. To help in this, as part of our mission, we advocate for real transparency in government and report to you. We take seriously our motto “Dedicated to bringing fiscal responsibility and transparent government to Tiverton, RI” and we have been working hard at it.
Our website, TivertonCC.com, has become a clearinghouse for the meetings, events and opinions defining the politics and governance of Tiverton. It is important to know that prior to TCC’s creation, Tiverton’s local government [essentially the Tiverton Democratic Party] saw little if any organized opposition. That has changed. Not everyone sees that as an improvement, but there is one point upon which most would agree – we are now seeing a lively debate which is representative of a healthy democratic process.
The obvious question is then; what is going on? The Budget Committee has passed a budget calling for a 4.4% increase which TCC will support at the FTM. Ordinarily, TCC would not support such a large increase. However, due to a large decrease [$1.4 million] in State funding, any further cuts would begin to affect essential services. TCC supports level funding schools because the School Committee has not obtained concessions from the Teachers Union, whose leadership remains hostile to our community’s best interests and focused on their own instead. The School Committee has also plowed through millions of dollars in stimulus it has chosen to hide off their budget, and has resisted attempts such as merit pay to improve poor test scores.
The traditional tax and spend approach has been orchestrated by a majority of the Town Council, led by Councilor Louise Durfee. While purporting to advocate for voters at the FTM and their rights to vote for ANY increase of ANY size despite state law to the contrary, their efforts reflect the arrogant attitude of an entrenched and powerful sponsor, Labor Unions, to the detriment of the ordinary taxpayer. This is common in Rhode Island. This has to change, and TCC is fighting this awful status quo. Key council members are actively ignoring the labor cost in the town {70% of our budget} and cynically focus instead on leveraging fear of cutting other costs. Look for code words like “Preserve Our Town”. TCC supports the preservation of current services, holding the line on taxes and reduction of labor costs through contract reform.
Still worse are the efforts of Ms Durfee, Joanne Arruda and their allies, in deliberate cooperation with the Town Administrator to avoid a Town Council vote exceeding the State Tax cap. They have submitted false documentation to the State to facilitate a tax increase of at least 9%. This is not an idle charge, and it is well documented. Town Administrator Goncalo has stressed that the documents are secret except for him, the Town Treasurer, Budget Committee, and the State. In fact, he promised “to find out who put that form on the Internet”, as if posting public documents is now a matter for witch hunts and suppression of transparency. We have this on tape.
It is astounding that a town official would make a practice of sending secret, falsified documents to the state government based on information that distorts the current status of the town’s budget process. More astonishing is that a majority of the Town Council supports it.
TCC will continue to be vigilant. To protect your rights, you must attend the FTM May 8 and vote your conscience.
Dave Nelson
President of Tiverton Citizens for Change (TCC)
Tiverton, Rhode Island

Tags: FTM, Secrets, Town Council