Cutting the pork from the state budget

Gee... I wonder if Jim Amann is a republican.

Take a look at the waste in the Judicial Branch. Why do the Court's have whats called a "FWSN Liaison" being paid over $50,000.00 a year when FWSN petitions are no longer filed?

why don`t we start with gov.Rells salary I`m sure theres plenty of fat there !!

Rell should work for $1 (one dolaar) a year,or resign. John Rowland will run the state for one dollar

De Stefano sucks wrote:

Rell should work for $1 (one dolaar) a year,or resign. John Rowland will run the state for one dollar

I agree!

Remember that when Jim Amann runs for office he has no responsibility when it comes to your tax dollars. He has a lot of half-a** answers for everything. Anything to get his name plastered around. How many kids are in the parks?? I see more antelopes than kids. Waste your tax dollars is what he is all about.

jodi rell sucks,
Hey jodi,
i want lower taxes on gasoline,
i want you the state police to stop issuing tickets like they are candy?
I want DOT police to stop harrassing trucks?
Will i get these things?

Oh - the truth comes out. Amann is a "pork" King. Keep it up Jim. I am certain this will not help you with yor run for Governor (thank goodness). How smart are unnecessary projects now? Do you even have any sense what the citiznes of this state want, or need right now. What the heck were your SAT scores. You are obviously nt a very bright individual. Albeit the smartest of your clan in Hartford. Get a clue, moron.

Yep, business as usual at the taxpayers expense.

It's a big waste of money IMO. Kids these days watch TV and play video games. Rarely do you see them playing in a park. They are too fat and out of shape.

I wonder if those pork projects will be built by any of Jim's buddies/family ?

Park Spending

I have to take issue with the negative slant that Mark Davis and WTNH put on a report about spending $200,000 on an old Drive-In and turning it into a “recreational” park.
I am a retired park ranger from the city of New Haven and one of my parks was Lighthouse Point Park. In 1982 when I first started, Lighthouse Park was a mess. What is now the ranger station was an old storage garage with a dirt cinder floor. The area reeked of gas and oil. The Carousel building had just about no paint on it. Some of the wood was rotting, as a matter of fact you could push on the outside of the north wall and the entire wall would shake. Most of the windows were either cracked or completely out. The Carousel didn’t run and the horses were cracked, discolored and rotting away. In the Lighthouse itself, all the windows in the lantern loft were broken and pigeons had taken the lighthouse over. When you first entered the lighthouse it was cover with pigeon guano from the bottom of the entrance to the top landing. To climb the steps you needed a mask and a flashlight. To find the steps you had to slide you boots through the dried up pigeon dropping. You simply couldn’t see the steps. In the park there was an old basketball court, if you could call it that, it was more like blacktop with a rusty basketball hoop on each end. The hoops were eventually taken down and nothing but the blacktop remained for a while. The bathhouse was in total disrepair and I’m not sure it was even being used at the time. I do know that all the lockers were rusted and needed to be thrown away. There was only one paved road at that time. All the roads and parking lots were dirt or sand. This is just a glimpse of what it looked like. An aspect of my job was to over see a grant which would help revitalize the park,“bring people back to the parks” and offer programs to visitors, especially school aged children.

With the infusion of money, the work of special interest groups, public interest and support Lighthouse started to come back. Today, the ranger station is not only the office for the ranger but a program room where hundreds of school groups and visitors have taken part in ranger activities through the years. The Carousel now operates; the horses have been restored back to their original condition. The building is used for many functions. The Lighthouse is now cleaned out, windows have been replaced and, on occasions, tours to the top take place. Instead of the old blacktop, a splash pad for children of all ages has been put in place and next to that is a playground. The bathhouse has been done over with changing rooms and showers. Roads and parking lots have been paved which makes it more convenient for people with special needs. It also offers an opportunity for the public to drive around Lighthouse for The Festival of Lights. Ever year special events take place within the park. Visitors can walk in the park, swim, fish, watch migrating hawks, have an opportunity to learn kayaking or just relax in the natural setting of the park.

So my point is that I do believe spending $200,000 at this time is well worth it. It’s an investment in the future. I’m glad people didn’t take a negative attitude in the 80’s when making a decision on spending money on a “recreational” park in New Haven.

Phil Vallie

I guess there is no problem with deficits. If Amann can spend 200k for his pork projects. I wonder what he will spend to tidy up his office, new rugs, maybe new furniture? It always amazes me how they get away with this stuff.

Amann- Your reason is so kids have a place for after school activities. Why don't you buy southington a new pool and ski resort. That will cover all the bases. Hey, if there is any money left, can you buy us some town tax relief?

Phil, We can't afford this park,at this time. Can you say"depression", the old people will tell you about it. By the way ,wait til DeStefanoo screws with your retirement check.

GSJ wrote:

jodi rell sucks,
Hey jodi,
i want lower taxes on gasoline,
i want you the state police to stop issuing tickets like they are candy?
I want DOT police to stop harrassing trucks?
Will i get these things?

If people stopped driving like lunatics and obeyed the traffic laws the tickets would stop. The DOT cops are not harrassing trucks. That's their job to enforce the state motor vehicle laws and the federal truck laws. You wouldn't be calling thier enforcement work harassment if one of those trucks squashed one of your family members in their car.

leemeriden wrote:

why don`t we start with gov.Rells salary I`m sure theres plenty of fat there !!

I agree! If anyone to be laid off, it should be her. That'll save the state alot of money!

To all state taxpayers... teh connecticut juvenile training school is spending 550,000 per year per inmate. Some of the inmates get to go on trips to NJ to see the Nets play, Shea statium to see the Mets play, TD Banknorth Center in Boston to see the Celtics play. Guess whet? Staff members have to take 2 vans to drive the inmates, all dressed in street clothes, and get paid time and a half. When some politicians come to CJTS or who go see the Gov. go to Symms mens store, buy suits and shoes....guess again who pays, US, the taxpayers.

Every year the recreation department holds a soap box derby, spends tons of money to paint and decorate cars, force staff to work overtime to watch the inmates who outside the fenced in area.

During the past few years, CJTS has even held fancy holiday dinners for the inmates and their families. The state pays for "med cabs" to pick up most of the parents from all over the state to bring them to CJTS and then back home. Guess who pays???? Us, the taxpayers.

When is Gov. Rell going to put a stop to this wasteful spending and treat these kids like the criminals they are.

Finally, CJTS bought several motorcycles 2 years ago, sent several staff members to become certified instructors, and let the inmates have fun by teaching them to drive these motorcycles and how to repair them.

So, see it pays to commit crime apparently!

thank you to all that voted her in.
she is no better than the big three car makers.our state has been making money hand over fist for a lot of years.this woman has pissed away more of our money rather than giveing us tax breaks or what ever. now we are broke and she still spends it like it will never end. look for all our taxes to go up real soon.

Gene wrote:

<quoted text>
If people stopped driving like lunatics and obeyed the traffic laws the tickets would stop. The DOT cops are not harrassing trucks. That's their job to enforce the state motor vehicle laws and the federal truck laws. You wouldn't be calling thier enforcement work harassment if one of those trucks squashed one of your family members in their car.

so it was ok for all th estate cops to park the cars they paid to fill up when gas was 4 bucks a gallon and use the state car for every one of there familys needs.

just letme say this state is a mess from top to bottom.said part is we pay for it all.

Rick wrote:

look for all our taxes to go up real soon.

Which will mean more people bailing out of the state. This state has really gone to hell. If it keeps up the way it's going, the only ones left in the state will be homeless people, people on welfare, & politicians. I wonder who they'll tax then?

Rick wrote:

<quoted text>
so it was ok for all th estate cops to park the cars they paid to fill up when gas was 4 bucks a gallon and use the state car for every one of there familys needs.
just letme say this state is a mess from top to bottom.said part is we pay for it all.

Off duty use of the cruiser is in the state police contract. I don't really understand what you're trying to say in this response.

De Stefano sucks wrote:

Rell should work for $1 (one dolaar) a year,or resign. John Rowland will run the state for one dollar

I AGREE