Tiverton Citizens for Change

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I was a couple of minutes late to the Town Council meeting because of construction on Highland and boy did they jump right in. I’m trying to get a handle on some new budget numbers. The upshot is that, try as they might, the folks at town hall can’t get the tax levy [...]

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A Sakonnet Times article, not online, by Tom Killin Dalglish cites the Tiverton Prevention Coalition as stating that our town has a “problem with underage drinking.” Having grown up in a highly populated New Jersey suburb of New York City, but with one grandparental foot in the quiet Vermont town of Bennington, I imagine [...]

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For some Sunday homework, take up Town Administrator Jim Goncalo’s draft budget, released on January 21 (PDF), particularly with an eye toward claims that salaries are not going up. We all know, of course, that contracts are just shy of commandments when it comes to budgeting, but it’s worth taking a look at the [...]

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Both of the local newspapers are reporting the achievement of the Budget Committee in bringing the town’s overall budget under the 4.5% levy cap. In the Sakonnet Times, Tom Killin Dalglish provides more detail about the list of cuts that committee member Cynthia Nebergall produced and the committee approved, but Marcia Pobzeznik’s Newport Daily [...]

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I’ll be liveblogging from the Town Council meeting, tonight, once again, although once again, the topic in which I’m mainly interested has been slated for the end of the meeting. Hopefully, we won’t be listening to people asserting ambiguities that don’t exist for over an hour tonight.
7:20 p.m.
During discussion of community block grants, the [...]

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You may have heard that the Rhode Island Superior Court has found in favor of the East Providence School Committee with regard to its unilateral imposition of budget-saving terms on the teachers’ union. Three consequences of the ruling have particular relevance for Tiverton:

Justice Silverstein emphasized that Rhode Island law forbids teacher contracts from extending [...]

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As the President of  TCC, I articulate policy and communications for TCC. I attempt to do so in an honest and straightforward manner.  Readers of local media see frequent orchestrated attacks on TCC and this letter will attempt to set the record straight. This note provides links to public statements, video, and letters describing our positions. Please [...]

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Brian Medeiros took a break from unfair attacks against TCC and unreasonable demands for elected officials to step down before they’ve actually done anything, last Saturday, to offer his reasons for his activism. Look past his vague and unsubstantiated claims that “there’s no shortage of people who want to move here” and focus on [...]

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My following of the Town Council’s doings has slipped, a bit, I’m afraid, so I’ve only picked up hints and news reports of the ongoing battle between council members and Town Treasurer Phil DiMattia:
A grab-bag of issues gave rise to the questioning, which were numerous and remained largely unresolved. It was unclear at meeting’s end [...]

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I would like to respond to Deb Pallash’s Letter to the Editor to the Newport Daily News titled “Fight with unions cannot interfere with education” by thanking her for her efforts to help improve Tiverton’s schools. Of particular interest was Ms. Pallash’s statement “Long-term changes can never be achieved through force, bullying or disrespect″.  We [...]

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As one of the Tiverton residents at the January 26 school committee meeting who presented “a ‘bust the union’ political strategy,” according to Deborah Pallasch’s recent letter to you, I feel obliged to provide some context for your readers. I don’t agree that looking to the school district’s — and town’s — largest line item [...]

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