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Tiverton Financial Town Referendum

Friday, June 1, 2012

Final Tiverton Tax Rate Increases 9 Cents

The tax assessor reports the final tax rate for fiscal 2012-13 is $18.99, citing changes to Tiverton's net value and an increase in personal exemptions.

With property revaluations completed, the Tiverton tax assessor reported Thursday the final tax rate increase is nine cents more than the estimated rate of $18.90 approved at the May 15 financial town referendum. Assessor David Robert said the reason for the change is the net value of the town, including tangible property, was estimated to be approximately $1.87 billion after the revaluation. However, the final town net value is $1,860,337,256, a difference of $9,662,744. Robert said the lower net value requires an additional nine cents to compensate for the difference. "When estimating the net value of the town, I anticipated that the town’s overall value would decrease overall by 15 percent," he said, noting the final decrease percentage…

Jim L

9:19 pm on Sunday, June 3, 2012

With the new advances in green works and other systems joe, this libary should be less costly and more use friendly, and it's a done deal, time to move forward   more ›

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Letter to the Editor

Letter: Community First Shines Through

Tiverton resident Gloria Crist writes a letter to the editor.

To the Editor: While I am aware there will be arguments made about the vote - and no doubt the blogs have been on fire with assumptions and personal attacks - it should be noted that through the vortex of letters, slick, expensive postcards and numerous robocalls, an element of community spirit was not lost. In truth, I'd like to believe for some Tiverton residents, this particular vote allowed some of us to regain a sense of community. I am one of those residents. Stepping in - or more importantly, stepping up - allowed me to take a vested interest in the core centerpiece of last weeks historical vote: community. While I can agree on some components of the financial town referendum (FTR), I am still holding out for someone to take a …

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The Shill

11:21 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012

Joe if your going to plagiarise a definition from www.urbandictionary.com why didn't you pick the one you really ment? OBONGO A play on Barack Hussein Obama II's last name, citing his roots as a typical Apefrican, bongo beating, bush monkey. Best used when around those who may have a heart attack from hearing the "O" word too many times.   more ›

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tiverton Budget #1 Passes By 165 Votes

The town had an approximate 25 percent turnout.

After a day with already incredible reported turnout, the results are in for the financial town referendum and Tiverton voters chose the Budget Committee's proposal by 165 votes. As of 9 p.m., Budget #1 received 1,493 votes and Budget #2 received 1,332 votes. The approved fiscal 2012-13 budget raises the tax levy by 2.6 percent and the tax rate is $18.90. Town Clerk Nancy Mello said there were 2,951 ballots cast out of 11,575 active voters, which is an approximate 25 percent turnout. She said there were about 100 voters who did not vote on either budget proposal but voted on the resolutions. To get a sense of the turnout compared to the financial town meetings of the past, Mello said the contentious 2010 FTM had 1,026 voters turnout on the…

Brian Medeiros

8:45 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sure sounds like Jim. Any way, "otherside", I opposed this particular politically-driven FTR plan, not the concept of an FTR, given that I helped write the first FTR proposal, before it was turned into Mr Nelson's "prize". No one supported keeping the FTM; we just didn't want an equally-flawed system to replace it. And if it's not fixed, everyone will understand that while it works fine in a …   more ›

Turnout Running High in Tiverton's First Financial Town Referendum

As of 4 p.m., Tiverton already has more than 1,300 ballots cast.

The election season atmosphere prevails throughout Tiverton on Tuesday for its first financial town referendum (FTR), and campaigners and voters are out in force. Polls close at 8 p.m. For the town's fiscal year 2012-13 budget, residents are voting to approve either Budget #1, proposed by the Budget Committee, or Petitioner's Budget #2, proposed by Town Councilor David Nelson. "It's better than going to the financial town meeting," said resident Debbie Behan after casting her ballot at the VFW. "It's a better use of voters' time." According to VFW Moderator Hennry Taylor, they had approximately 640 ballots cast at 2:20 p.m. Charlene Cirillo, moderator at Countryview Estates, said approximaely 302 ballots were cast at 2:45 p.m. Both …

Joe Sousa.

5:31 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Jim, my guess was five thousand . I may be a little optimistic .   more ›

DOT Removes Illegal Tiverton Budget Campaign Signs

A spokesman estimates workers from the Portsmouth facility removed between 25 to 35 illegally placed Tiverton budget signs.

The round up of illegal Tiverton budget campaign signs will continue after voting day. Rhode Island Department of Transportation spokesman Bryan Lucier said officials from the Portsmouth maintenance facility, located at 170 Anthony Road, spent most of Monday morning rounding up political signs in Tiverton. "They estimate they removed 25 to 35," Lucier said. "Unfortunately, people were putting them back up as fast as we were taking them down." He noted that in some areas of Tiverton, the DOT removed lawn signs from a state right-of-way only to find a similar sign attached to a nearby telephone pole when the crew came back around. Lucier said that sometime around midday Monday, maintenance decided it would be more practical to wait until …

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Ruth Rachel

10:19 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Please, stop the petty sign comments! NO other town in RI has this problem, no one complains and no one removes them! We have Edwards to thank for this petti-ness... and those who want to jack taxes up so high we go bankrupt, and which caused many to be unable to pay their bills and taxes since 2003 - for sale signs cropping up much more than ever since that year! I'll get the statistics for you…   more ›

Ensuring Integrity To The Tiverton Ballot Process

The Tiverton Town Clerk gave a run down of the ballot protocol to the Tiverton financial town referendum.

As Tiverton enters its first financial town referendum (FTR), Town Hall staff adhere to the checks and balances of the ballot collection, protection and counting process. On Monday, Town Clerk Nancy Mello confirmed she received some calls inquiring about the security of the process. The ballots are dropped off to moderators at the three polling locations in Tiverton, which are delivered by the Board of Elections. They are open today from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and each site received 1,000 ballots, polling equipment and certification forms. Mello said they also have 1,500 ballots at Town Hall kept in a filing cabinet in the vault, including the Eagle Voting Machine. Clerk Kathy Wood and Mello are the only two with the key to the filing cabinet…

Monday, May 14, 2012

On The Eve Of The Tiverton Financial Town Referendum...

After hearing of a weekend ramp up of Budget #1 and Budget #2 supporters, we took to Facebook to ask what's going on.

The landscape of town changed rapidly over the weekend, with campaign signs appearing on various lawns and properties pushing Budget #1 and others pushing Budget #2. The financial town hearing was May 1, and the town's first financial town referendum (FTR) is Tuesday, May 15. Town Administrator Jim Goncalo said late Monday afternoon that Code Enforcement Officer Gareth Eames received about three complaints of political signs being placed illegally on properties. When asked about illegally-placed Tiverton budget campaign signs on state property, a representative from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation said they would know more by Tuesday. On our Facebook page Monday, we asked residents if they've received campaign literature and/…

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Gerry Jones

11:31 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012

RR, you just don't get it, do you? The TCC lost after they pulled out all the stops. Do you want to come over to my house and pick up the cards they mailed or take back the numerous robo calls?. The thousands of dollars spent,the signs all over town and state property didn't help, did they RR? But they'd be OK if the TCC had gotten the prize tonight. BUT, since they didn't win, we will now have …   more ›

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Letter to the Editor

Letter: Yes on #2 for Long-Term Stability and Low Taxes

Tiverton resident Rob Coulter writes a letter to the editor.

To the Editor: One of the many great things about the financial town referendum (FTR) is there will be no last-second surprises and we’ve had several weeks to consider the proposals before voting. Unfortunately, as we are seeing, this hasn’t stopped the personal attacks, manipulation of numbers, and scare tactics that are now standard practice from some who in the same breath lecture all of us on community values. At least now there’s time to respond. Proposal #1 calls for higher taxes, deliberate underestimation of revenues so town surpluses continue to grow, and much higher baseline spending partially disguised by ending our annual contributions to the landfill closure account. By shortchanging the landfill and rejecting capital …

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Brian Medeiros

10:04 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012

Fred: All we've done is present fact after fact that TCC & Co tries to distract from with thousands of dollars of robocalls, endless mailers, & signs. TCC looks at Tiverton voters as ignorant hicks they can con into voting against the town's interest, and in TCC's, if they spend enough money. It may or may not work tomorrow, but when people realize what they've been sold, there will be hell to …   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter: The Secret To Nelson's Budget

Tiverton resident Brian Medeiros writes a letter to the editor.

To the Editor: David Nelson and TCC have a dirty little secret that they don’t want you to know. You know the budget plan they created, # 2? The one they claim will is lower in taxes than the Budget Committee’s budget 1? Well it won’t, not even the $1.39-a-week savings they promise. Here’s why. Mr. Nelson & Co, having wasted over $80,000 in legal fees in a failed effort to take back money the from the schools, have decided to “get even." Nelson’s budget plan cuts the Budget Committee’s school-budget recommendation by almost $600,000. TCC would have you believe it’s pure coincidence that this is close to the amount they failed in court to take from the schools. Here’s the secret: those funds cut from the schools aren’t simply kept in …

Gloria Crist

9:54 am on Monday, May 14, 2012

These are honest, cold, solid FACTS. We are community-and we all use the services a community provides. Be wise-vote for the greater good-vote to take back community from a select few. Option #1 - 11 person panel including accountant & former treasurer, 6+ months, line by line, site visits, meeting with department heads, and other elected officials produce budget for the ENTIRE community that has…   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter: The Financial Town Referendum Needs Tweaking

Tiverton resident James Arruda writes a letter to the editor.

To the Editor, The proposed budget by David Nelson I believe raises a question of a conflict of interest with the new financial town referendum (FTR) process as it would refer to elected and town officials submitting budgets. Me being a 34-year-old male who works full-time is not the same as a Town Council member who is privy to information that I am not. To be specific, I am not in executive session negotiating contracts for town employees like the police and fire departments, nor am I there discussing litigation between the town and the school department. I am also not able to go to all the meetings for due diligence on a budget due to having to work late some days. With that said, I find it a conflict of interest for David Nelson to …

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Brian Medeiros

1:28 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012

Nothing helps declining property values more than decimating a school system, putting the town's General Fund below the legal level, & passing a budget based on phony revenue numbers. The TCC argument is Orwellian: up is down, black is white, stupid is smart. Keep in mind that the municipal budget increase is nearly TRIPLED, in addition to $350,000 in unspent money from previous years the Council…   more ›

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