Dear Southington residents.
We urge you on go to your election polls on Tuesday, November 5, 2013 VOTE Re-Elect a Super-Majority Republican administration.
Why?
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Because the Republican led administrations of the last four years have accomplished a record-breaking amount of progress, taking on enormous challenges which had been long been left for tomorrow and the next tomorrow with little to nothing done by predecessor administrations of recent past decades to avoid a crisis of converging, mounting infrastructure needs.
HERE ARE MORE THAN 25 MORE REASONS WHY...Southington's current Republican led administration has been focused on fact-driven decision making in collaboration with all who understand and appreciate the value of working in a collaborative, civil environment of healthy discussion in meeting challenges.
That's why, in the past four years, Southington has truly turned the corner into 21st century municipal government with remarkable progress.
Infrastructure The Republican led adminstration of the past four years has met the converging critical challenges of an aging infrastructure head on, prioritizing needs and working about best case approaches for each of the multiple needs. For example:
Facilities A new and highly functional Southington Municipal Center completed in 2012 provides efficient space for the offices of the Superintendent of Schools, Board of Education, six town departments and a spacious new meeting chamber for council, commissions, boards and other town needs.
Town Hall Town departments now work much more efficiently without the congestion of the past in functionally arranged and spruced up space with the departments at the municipal center only 1/3 mile away.
Communications & Technology Systems Thanks to the capable professional leadership of our Town Manager, Garry Brumback, supported by the Republican led Town Council, a significant upgrading of communications and technology have been achieved in the past two years.
Faster, more reliable Communications has opened the door to greater efficiency, more departmental collaboration in each other's roles in town operations and a strenghtened sense of partnership and teamwork within the municipal government.
Technology Enhancements The improvements in rapid access to and flow of information and detailed data have been a credit to our Town Clerk's office and our I.T. Department. Departments need information quickly to operate efficiently.
Virtual Town Hall. We're on our way. Citizens can now pay fees for permits and licenses online without leaving home, in all departments but the Tax Collector.
Our Southington Town website has been re-designed, easy to navigate and serach or find information about all departments, councils, commissions, boards, agenda and minutes of meetings, ongoing notices to citizens, vendors and the public.
Road reconstruction In 2013, thirty-six Southington streets were newly paved or reconstructed. And, that's only the beginning of a phased, multi-year plan to complete all necessary re-paving and construction work on all our town's roads.
Setting priorities and phasing work projects to meet our infrastructure needs has enabled us to affordably begin to address our greatest needs first with a plans to meet other existing and emerging vital infrastructure needs vying in a timely and affordable manner.
Addressing needs and issues in Southington has turned the corner to one of professional analysis, collaborative decisions driven by factual data, civil discussion, evaluation of options, projecting costs and alternatives along with benefits and savings to the town. Consequently doing business now is much more systematic and results in better decisions for the town.
The administrative environment of our town must remain open, transparent, respectful to all and not hostile, resisting change because it was the other guy's idea.
Our Aging Sewer System, now 30 years old, has become a priority for careful review now. The Water Pollution Control Facility presents significant challenges. The process of gathering information, analysis of plant needs and service will require the same kind of diligence and wisdom that the Republican administration of the past four years has provided.
Extending Useful Life of town property, roads, facilities, plants, equipment and systems is already in place with higher standards of scheduled maintenance.
Republican led Planning & Zoning Commission made needed corrections in outdated regulations resulting in an increased tax base and lower taxes.
The Board of Finance has been different in its thinking from its predecessors, recognizing that effective financial planning depends on flexibility, creativity and wisdom. In the last four years, our positive and creative thinking has enabled us to make excellent progress while maintaining flat or slightly reduced taxes.
Financial management has also been much more receptive to collaboration and welcoming of all who come before the board compared to previous administrations where department heads dreaded coming before the board because of intimidation.
There's no place in town government for incivility, flaunting of authority and playing games of "gotcha" with anyone who comes before the board. Bullying the public has never worked. This has only applied to a few but one person like that is too many.
This has been a vital factor between failures of the past and the successes of the past four years in meeting the financial challenges of long overdue infrastructural upgrades in roads and facilities while at the same time financing innovative, effective and viable solutions to everyday operations.
Data driven decision making has been a hallmark of the success of our Republican Administration which continues to apply best business practices and watchfulness in seeking viable opportunities to promote economic development and growth in our tax base to increase revenue that reduces dependence on residential property taxes.
Parks & Recreation Department have had a positive impact on our systems. We have sustained a pace and quality of maintenance that ranks our parks system as one of the finest in the state while maintaining and improving our landscape, the extended linear trail and new programs organized by the Recreation Dept at the Drive In Theatre.
Republican led Town Council, Board of Education and Board of Finance have worked collaboratively and tirelessly to produce economically sound government offering increased and better quality of services.
* * * Did you know tha the average annual increase in taxes during the for the four years of the last democratic adminisration was 3.8% compared to the average annual increase in taxes of just 1.8% during the last four years under Republican leadership!
* * * And this year, Fiscal Year 2013-2014, we had a decrease of 0.2% in th e average annual tax rate, notwithstanding the huge agenda taken on by the Republican administration.
Calendar House Senior Center is now under the direct oversight of our full-time professional Town Manager by the Republican led Town Council with a Senior Citizens Advisory Board that includes seniors of diverse talents and experience contributing ideas, taking on volunteer projects that resulted in significant progress and sharp improvement in the senior facility.
Charter Revision It’s critically important now for voters to pass the proposed Republican sponsored Charter Revision Referendum to bring the Fire and Police Departments under the direct oversight of our full-time, professionally experienced Town Manager and Town Council, ending reliance on an antiquated system of politically appointed part-time citizens, not accountable to voters or the Town Council, trying to manage by committee, two departments responsible for general public safety and law enforcement.
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- Separate Citizens' Advisory Boards will be established for the Police Dept. and the Fire Dept. A similar system in place for the Senior Center and the Parks and Recreation Departmen
Education - Another long list of achievements:
Vision 2020 - a highly innovative, school system-wide vision in action to graduate every S.H.S. student in a state of readiness to take his/her carefully developed, individual educational experience fromKindergarten through 12th grade into a rapidly changin new world of the 21st century.
Full-day Kindergarten successfully introducted a full-day Kindergarten program with our focus on highest student safety standards.
Common Core state standards and Teacher Evaluation directives have been met, using them together with our long term goals of the Unified Middle School Arts to Align with the 21st Century Skills Building process.
Transition from Middle Schools to SHS. A commitment to provide 8th graders a productive and smooth experience transitioning to Southington High School.
Southington High School staff is dedicated to a new “Teaming” model, formally identified to all secondary school administrators. By December 1, 2013, the Board of Ed will have qualitative, quantitative and comparative data pertaining to a controlled group and by May 1, 2014, they'll see the results of the Grade 9 teaming pilot program.
BOE’s self-reflection and overwhelming consensus to spend quality time reviewing student outcomes with a standard monthly agenda item to review priority areas of review.
Public Report Card; Collegiate Report: process, practice and placement; Digital Citizenship: Online learning, ‘Bring Your Own Device’, E-books, ‘Cloud’; Personalized Learning; Enriched K-12 with differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all learners.
Alternative HS advanced evaluation programs and techniques, professional developmen, focus areas and impact on classroom instruction.
Student use of Technology is a priority in the school district. By June 2014, a Long Term Technology Planning Study that includes hardware, software and student needs for the immediate future.
Middle Schools Agenda this year includes successful navigating of the renovation-to-new middle schools with smooth operations through the entire school year.
Town Clerk's Office We have been fortunate to have had a Republican Town Clerk in Leslie Cotton whose excellence in her job and leadership in her office team have made it possible to adapt to and develop more efficient systems and communications utilizing our newest technology.
Leslie’s work has included an excellent job of preparing our Deputy Town Clerk, Kathy Larkin for the job of Town Clerk.
Kathy Larkin is a Certified Town Clerk who is ready today to step into her new position as Town Clerk on Day 1.
In the last four years, the Republican majority administration, working with our highly professional Town Manager, Garry Brumback, our uniquely qualified professional Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph V. Erardi, Jr. and their highly competent, public service-oriented town departments, employees, staffs and school faculties alongside the highly competent, forwarding thinking of our Town Council, Boards and Commissions of the past four years who have opened Southington to some great changes, accomplishments, progress and a more promising future.
Next Tuesday is the TIME TO ACT WITH YOUR VOTE!
Continue the progress, accomplishments and vision that will make the great Town of Southington an even better place than we found it.
Thank you
Team Republican 2013
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