Montville Road Bridge

Montville Town got a grant to design things!

It is wonderful that we can now design the culvert over which the bridge could be built.  That will provide economic stimulus for some engineering firm but effectively do nothing for those of us unfortunate enough to live in the west end of town. 

The Montville Road Bridge was destroyed in the in the spring of 2007 and the road has been closed ever since.  It has been almost five years and still the town government has done little to fix the problem except give it lip service when it seemed politically expedient.  The project certainly has no priority in the town government’s greater scheme of things.

That should not be a surprise as the west end of town, and the people who live there, have not had any priority in the eyes of the any mayor nor most members of the council for decades.  Except, that is, when it comes to tax or election time. 

It will, most likely, take at least the better part of a year to award the design contract.  Then about another year will pass before the design is received from the engineering firm.  Once we have the design of the culvert, we can design the bridge; another year or two.  Next, assuming the town has any money at all, come the environmental impact study and permitting process; another two years at the very least.  Finally we get to the contracting and construction phase.  It will take at least a year for the contract, and six months to a year for the construction. 

By that scenario, we can expect the Montville Road Bridge to opened, with all appropriate ceremony, sometime in late 2020 or early 2021 (assuming Norwich cooperates - Kudos to Mr. McFee)

Taxes in Montville for 2012

Montville town and its citizens have some tax and budget related problems. 

One – Housing property values have decreased between 15 and 30 percent. 

Two – The costs of energy, supplies and labor are increasing at a high rate. 

Three – The loss of the AES Thames plant reducing tax revenue significantly. 

Four – Unemployment and underemployment are rampant and incomes have decreased or ceased. 

It should be noted that there are no relationships between property tax mill rates, the town budget, and the ability of people to pay the tax. 

On the face of it, the reduced property values would seem to be good news in relation to property taxes.  The lower the property assessment, the lower the taxes, right? 

The budget is the budget.  It is driven by the costs of energy, supplies and labor.  The costs of energy and supplies can be mitigated somewhat by careful shopping.  The only significantly controllable variable in the budget is labor.  However, labor costs are driven by unions and are essentially uncontrollable unless drastic measures are taken and the town is prepared to deal with the consequences (strikes). 

In that the town government is controlled by the Democrat Party, it is doubtful that the government will do much, if anything, to contain costs and the citizens will see the usual percent increase in the amount of the budget.  That increase will be dominated by the increase in labor costs mostly precipitated by the Board of Education. 

The revenue normally generated by the property tax will decrease, assuming no change in the mill rate, by virtue of the decrease in property values and the “loss” of the AES Thames property.  The AES property will still produce tax revenue because of the land but the valuation will decrease once the generation plant equipment is removed and the structures are torn down. 

To accommodate the budget, the town will adjust the property tax mill rate to generate revenue sufficient to match the budget requirements.  In making this adjustment, the town government will not take the ability of the citizens to pay the taxes into consideration.  The ability to pay has simply no bearing on the problem.  The lack of the consideration of the ability to pay is built into the basic tax structure and frankly, the Democrats don’t care.  If one can’t pay, the town simply sizes the property and evicts the owner (of course that further reduces tax revenue which further exacerbates the problem). 

The citizens of the town should standby for a huge increase in the property tax mill rate to compensate for the decreases in property values and the loss of revenue.  Taxes will increase as a result. 

The average monthly Social Security retirement check is $1183.50* before income tax (if any) and Medicare premiums ($99.90).  The 2011 tax on a property assessed at $250,000 was $5750.  For the retired worker who has the misfortune to own that property in Montville, it takes 5.3 of the 12 monthly checks to pay that property tax (not that the Democrats really care). 

For the unemployed, the situation is even worse. 

It will be interesting to see if the Democrats have any sensitivity at all for the people who have to pay the taxes.   

*  http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/