Letter: Warren Council Must Hold the Line or Face Dire Consequences
A letter to the editor from Warren Council President Chris Stanley.
Every year, against an ominous backdrop, the Town of Warren’s budget cycle quickly gathers lightning speed. The Town Council, keenly aware of the mounting economic problems and concerns, sits down in its chambers laboring to build a municipal budget in front of an audience of virtually no one. The second floor of the Town Hall should be full of sound and fury; instead the only voices we hear are our own. Alarmingly, the final budget simply slips through the fingers of our electorate at the annual Town Financial Meeting by default.
To hit our financial targets, drastic surgery was required of this year’s municipal budget, and the council members plunged our scalpels deeply into Warren’s operational budgets with no one to bear witness to the pain. The town is wounded by a loss of state aid and department heads wondered if our intention was to simply cut the budget or gut it all together. Improving deteriorating roads, crumbling sidewalks and leaky sewer lines while keeping costs down are the council’s main objectives. The choice to hold the school budget in check is decisive, albeit contentious, and remains the keystone to controlling the Town of Warren’s overall municipal budget in the future.
Distress is acute and widespread because of a sluggish economy. The council never denied our ambition and the fact that the municipal budget swelled since 2006. In fact, the Town of Warren stands proud of our efforts to present information openly and welcomes noisy criticism no matter how harsh. Firmly ensconced in the seat of leadership Warren’s representatives set out to paint a clear and honest portrait of economic status. Long known for his honest and forthright persona Mr. Gordon, the Town Manager, did the Town of Warren a great service by presenting the true numbers and facts that shape our decisions on an annual basis. The Town of Warren’s annual budget exists as a document prepared with great level of care and transparency. The breadth of information provided to the public during the budget process is incalculable. The council publishes every bit of financial information and debates every line item in a public forum. Despite pious protest to the contrary, the Town of Warren holds transparency in government as sacred.
The increase to the Town of Warren’s total government expenses since then includes an exhaustive list of line items. For example, the town has experienced a $177.000 jump in Employee Pension Costs, a $76,000 bump in Employee Benefits, an $81,000 hike in Property and Liability Insurance, a $198,000 spike in Debt Service, a $48,000 increase to Social Security, a $72,000 addition to Waste Water Treatment costs and that fact that we pay $75.000 more for Public Safety than we did then accounts for a ballooning municipal budget. Unfortunately, this comprises just a short list of items that cost more today than they a short while ago. The aforementioned increases muddled with a loss of in our investment earnings of approximately $100.000, a drying up of $144,000 once collected by the Town Clerk and the bitter loss of aid to the cities and towns form the state create a putrid financial cocktail.
The political and economic argument rests squarely on our community’s historic right to self-determination. It is neither healthy nor politically acceptable that so many individuals be at the mercy of six individuals from another town. The surging events have thrust the Town of Warren to take bold, persistent action in hopes of preserving our local autonomy. By imploring our state legislature to change the enabling legislation we can preserve our fundamental right to exist as a community. The council must hold the line given dire political and economic consequences that may emerge if it buries its head in the sand. To this measure the people of Warren must now consider the central idea pervading the council's struggle. It is the necessity, thrust upon us at this very moment, of proving that the Town of Warren should now even exist at all as a local government if we give up our sacred right to self-determination.
Respectfully,
Chris Stanley
Editor's Note: This letter is in response to questions raised from a previous letter to the editor submitted by Stanley.
Bristol County Anonymous
2:39 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Seems like there two Stanley’s.
Or a double standard? Or untruthfulness?
Consider Mr. Stanley’s statement from the above article:
“The second floor of the Town Hall should be full of sound and fury; instead the only voices we hear are our own.”
But in reality, consider Mr. Stanley’s reaction (which includes “anger” and yelling) when people ask questions.
2 quotes from a March 9, 2011 Patch article:
Quote No. 1:
“Councilman Stanley, visibly angered, said Silvia had spoken to the board twice and “needed to leave.”
Quote No. 2:
“At the conclusion of the interviews, Councilman Stanley addressed the crowd saying his anger “was up” and…about the embroiled BCWA calling the current climate a “witch hunt” with "individuals out there trying to spin things out of control.”;
So the truth is, Mr. Stanley got “angry” and yelled at the people who asked questions.
http://bristol-warren.patch.com/articles/highlights-from-warrens-town-council-meeting-jannitto-stays-with-bcwa-resident-escorted-by-police
It seems to me that Mr. Stanley only wants to “hear” his own voice.
Bear401
6:03 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
In my personal opinion I believe that the regionalization of the Bristol/Warren school system should be dissolved. We all were promised by then Governor Bruce Sundlun an increase is state aid if we regionalized & that never happened. So I say let's end it & end it now before the next school year.
DownTown
12:17 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
You've got to be kidding. The school system received years and years of additional funding and squandered it.
Kris Wetterland Jr.
8:01 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Bristol County Anonymous, it is obvious why you remain Anonymous.. It is clearly because your ideas are extremely tainted. Twisting every situation to complain about your opinions of the Warren Council and the problems that you believe exist within the BCWA. However this letter does not discuss the water authority. Also regarding your quote #1: you obviously were not in attendance to the meeting where Mr. Silvia was asked to leave, the decision was not a personal attack but rather a necessary action taken to keep order within the council chambers. Furthermore, this does not show any sort of disregard to public opinion by Council President Stanley, or any other of the council members. If you represent yourself in a professional manner the council will be glad to consider what you have to say. East bay Anonymous you are complaining about an individual who approached the council in a completely unprofessional manner and had to be escorted out. Let's keep this blog for people to express legitimate concern, instead of trying to slander town politicians by manipulating quotes from historic articles and trying to apply a false unrelated meaning to them. I suggest if you have a legitimate concern to discuss you do so in a professional manner, you must not live in town. The council is working extremely hard to save the town of WARREN financially, and they need the support of their residents. Thank You Guys!
Bristol County Anonymous
9:27 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Mr. Stanley yells at people who speak out, ask questions, or have a different opinion.
He has done this multiple times. That’s the facts.
There’s no excuse for such behavior, especially from a Town Councilor.
He was mean to Mr. Silvia. He was nasty to the people speaking out about the BCWA. He yelled. He seems to have quite a temper.
A reporter described Mr. Stanley as “visibly angered” in Patch article (link below). Mr. Stanley himself was quoted as having said that his anger “was up”. Mr. Stanley’s improper conduct was described objectively by a reporter, and was obviously witnessed by the public.
It is right to point this out now, since Mr. Stanley is publishing LTE’s, and asking the public (which includes some of the same people he previously yelled at) to now consider and agree with his opinions.
Quite the double standard!
It’s a good opportunity to make sure that the voting public does not forget, and also is relevant with respect to credibility assessment (I’d say quite low).
Mr. Stanley’s intimidation / bully tactics should not be excused.
Here is a sample of a past episode:
http://bristol-warren.patch.com/articles/highlights-from-warrens-town-council-meeting-jannitto-stays-with-bcwa-resident-escorted-by-police
Manifold Witness
9:38 pm on Monday, April 9, 2012
Mr. Stanley’s second letter in his laugh-out-loud-funny series raises many more questions than it purportedly was written to answer.
We wonder - is he writing on behalf of the Warren Town Council?
If one can slog through Mr. Stanley’s string of unattributed yet familiar phrases, Mr. Stanley’s fundamental message (seemingly written with well-worn Thesaurus in hand) raises issues that cannot be ignored:
1. When Mr. Stanley says that “the second floor of the Town Hall should be full of sound and fury”, we take this as his admission that he is referring to his practice of yelling at members of the public who dare to speak.
2. Mr. Stanley says that “By imploring our state legislature to change the enabling legislation we can preserve our fundamental right to exist as a community.” Is he saying that, given the increase in expenses and the decreases in revenue, Warren must now “go it alone” as to the schools? But he doesn’t say how much it will cost for Warren to assume 100% of the costs of educating the children of Warren.
3. Mr. Stanley says: “It is the necessity, thrust upon us at this very moment, of proving that the Town of Warren should now even exist at all as a local government if we give up our sacred right to self-determination.” He’s saying that maybe the Town of Warren should cease to exist as a local government?
4. Mr. Stanley’s past actions speak louder than his loud words and louder than his verbose, trite letters.
Sara Bagwell
12:00 am on Tuesday, April 10, 2012
For clarification, Chris Stanley submitted his letters to the editor from himself, Chris Stanley, specifically. Patch added the note that Stanley is the Warren Council President for the those who may not know his background in the town. Stanley's letters may not represent the views of all Council members.
John Coccio
5:31 pm on Thursday, April 12, 2012
Sarah, seeing as he won't answer me and didn't at the JFC meeting, can you find out why Warren presented a powerpoint presentation showing a 50% increase in their municipal budget yet complained the school budget is killing them. The school budget only increased 20% over the same time frame.
dave
8:04 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
For a detailed breakdown of the Warren-Bristol employment over the last 10 years head over to OceanStateCurrent.com to see for yourself. A simple answer seems as though Warren gained more moochers and looters while Bristol added more producers over the last 10 years.
http://oceanstatecurrent.com/research/state-in-decline-employment-in-ri-cities-and-towns-bristol-and-warren/
@RightInRI
9:18 am on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
The last 4 families ( could be more, I don't know them all ) that have moved in on my street are on Section 8 , are getting in some cases $600.00 in food stamps and either do not work or have someone ( who is not supposed to be living in the household ) working & providing money to them. To me, ( and don't misunderstand me ), I believe these programs are absolutely necessary for some & I myself having been a single mom needed the state provided health care , but all the while going to work every day. This was not the neighborhood I moved into. These are not people who are originally from Warren. I'm not sure where I'm going with this comment....but..I do believe that this example has alot to do with those figures.
3 All the Way
12:30 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Mr. Stanley, just give up...Warren pay up or get out.
David Silvia
9:12 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2012
@rightinri, your comment is without any proof to make a statement like that, but switch to the other side, how many of our state officials are paid $80,000.00 or better and have little or no quailfitions for the job. 35 school districts here in ri with a superintendent making better then $100 grand per year, why cant 3-4 do the same job and save the taxpayers a hell of alot of money. Why does the Town of Warren workers have a paid holiday on May 4th (ri independance day) when the state and other towns work. there are alot of things that need changing from the ways of long ago, People are starting to see just how tight money is getting. I paid $4.00 for a gal of gas today, and when I was 17 it was $0.36. Stop the government from wasting money and you will see less people on section 8 and more jobs out there.