hard deadlines

The Portsmouth School Committee tonight voted to approve contracts with Local 2669 (TA, clerical and custodial), School Administrators, and the assistant superintendent with locked-in CPI-indexed increases and double the employee contributions to health care co-pays. The overall increase proposed was 3.96% with all future raises capped at a maximum of 3.5%.

"Our largest goal was fiscal responsibility and predictability," said School Superintendent Dr. Susan Lusi. And School Finance Director Chris Tague provided a financial impact statement, with detailed breakdowns of the total cost over the three-year lifespan of the contract under various COLA adjustments. The numbers bear out the effectiveness of the negotiations, showing stable or decreasing total costs, even under worst-case scenarios.

Nevertheless, not everyone was happy. PCC, Inc. President Larry Fitzmorris took the podium and began by complimenting the committee and school department for the financial impact statement, calling it "a tremendous improvement." You could hear the "but" coming (and when you hear Larry's "but" coming, you know it) and it materialized in the form of a RI Supreme Court ruling which he said did not permit administrators to join unions, and that therefore, the School Finance Committee's discussions were something "they should not be doing."

School Committee Attorney Richard Updegrove asked for permission to respond, and pointed out that he personally had obtained an adivisory opinion from the RI Attorney General's office several years ago which clearly held that the case was not applicable to this situation, since the Portsmouth Administrators are a group, not a union. "I was the author of that request," Updegrove said to Fitzmorris, "And your organization precipitated the response."

"I don't remember the advisory opinion coming back," said Fitzmorris.

"I do," replied Updegrove. Hmm. I wonder. Did Larry just forget about that? Or did he think that maybe the School Committee would have been incautious enough to vote on a contract without their lawyer present. On the clock, of course. Just another way the PCC is saving YOU, the taxpayer, money, by forcing officials to jump through their hoops.

In tonight's other major piece of business, the School Committee unanimously approved a major update to the Portsmouth Basic Education Program, a document last updated when Ronald Reagan was President, all four Beatles were alive, and the "Internet" was still run by DARPA. "You might wonder about the adequacy of the document for today's world," noted Lusi.

Then Lusi ran through a PowerPoint deck highlighting the critical nature of educational excellence for economic advancement in an increasingly flat world, with trends and statistics on the job market. According to data from the US Department of Labor, of the job areas with anticipated growth, mainly in the health care and tech sector, all but one (home health aide) require a post-high-school education, with the primary academic preparation that entails.

The School Committee unanimously approved the new Basic Education Plan, and I asked for a softcopy, which I'll post. But just wanted to hit some highlights:

• Rigorous academic K-12 curriculum in the areas of English, Math, Social Studies, Science, and Foreign Language and cultures, taught in a way that reflects best practices in the field of education, and honors all state and federal mandates.
• Multiple co-curricular and extra-curricular offerings in the areas of art, music, technical education, health and physical education, athletics, clubs and other areas of the creative and technical arts that honor all state and federal requirements, provide students with the avenues needed to learn the creativity, teamwork and job skills needed for the modern economy
• Appropriate access to up-to-date technology and other instructional materials, including...the personnel necessary to help student avail themselves of these materials and sufficient instructional supplies to fully access the curriculum.
• The support services necessary to serve children in the modern age including but not limited to guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists, and nurses such that the emotional and physical health and safety of students is maintained.

It's a major achievement, and I compliment the school department and committee for the wisdom and foresight in putting this together. I feel secure knowing that this protects the integrity of our schools from some on the Town Council who have publicly questioned anything above the State BEP.

The other good news from the meeting was that Chair Sylvia Wedge said that she had spoken with Terrence Kavanaugh, father of Samantha, the high school freshman injured on East Main Road, and that her condition had been upgraded, and she was progressing. She still faces multiple surgeries for several broken bones and faces a long road to recovery, but the news was very encouraging.

The following is a letter from Carol Dietz, Chair of the Portsmouth Town Center Committee, who worked with the RI DOT to develop the Town Center plan. There's a critical meeting with DOT on June 26, and I urge everyone to read Carol's post, look at the plan, and come to the meeting to press the DOT for action.

The recent tragedy on East Main Road in Portsmouth in which a high school freshman was seriously injured once again points out that something must be done to calm traffic and improve pedestrian safety in the area that runs from Town Hall to the Town Library and includes several shops and senior citizen housing complexes. But getting it done will take the concerted effort of Portsmouth citizens, town officials, and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation.

A few years ago town residents formed a Town Center Committee and took a look at this section of East Main Road with state and national experts to see what could be done to create “a sense of place.” To no one’s surprise high traffic volumes and speed were identified as big barriers to creating a walkable town center. Traffic and planning experts believe the traffic could be tamed by redesigning the road. Working with Portsmouth residents, they came up with a Town Center plan that included traffic calming measures such as roundabouts, landscaped medians, and enhanced pedestrian crosswalks, thus creating a walkable community.

In communities across the country, traffic calming has been proven successful on heavily traveled, four lane streets such as East Main Road. Speeds, accidents and bodily injuries have been dramatically reduced. And, business districts have become healthier as well.

The Town Center Plan, developed in collaboration with state transportation officials, aims to slow speeds on East Main Road by changing the character of the road. It proposed three roundabouts, one at Town Hall, one at the intersection at Clements Market and a third in between. The roundabouts will keep traffic moving rather than creating the huge backup of stopped traffic now experienced at the one existing traffic signal.

Without roundabouts it’s likely more traffic signals will be added at the Brooks/FoodWorks areas as that property is developed, as well as in front of Town Hall. As more traffic signals are added, driver frustration rises and inevitably people drive faster to avoid red lights. The backup from three signals and the desire of most motorists to quickly “get to” the next light so they can “get through” the area would only make the situation worse! Three roundabouts, on the other hand, will keep traffic moving and introduce at least three separate areas that are designed so that a motorist can’t go any faster than 25 mph and pedestrians can cross safely.

Another feature of the Town Center Plan is a landscaped median that separates vehicles traveling in different directions. A median with plantings visually encloses the road, and has been shown to slow down traffic even when a road is still as straight and as wide as before there was landscaping. Creating a median also reduces the number of drivers making left turns and thus reduces accidents.

Pedestrians who cross East Main Rd today do so at considerable risk. There are no crosswalks in slow or stopped traffic areas. Traffic never stops at the intersection in front of Clements Market and, if it did, there would be huge backups as all four traffic signals brought motorists to a complete stop so a pedestrian could safely cross in any of four directions! Instead, three crosswalks are now placed away from that intersection, where crossing is least expected and just where the traffic is speeding up on the straightaway or are at peak speed when traveling down the hill.

Everyone is saying we need to do something NOW. The Town Center Project is the answer, but that will take some time before it will happen. A pedestrian activated stoplight placed somewhere between the bottom of Quaker Hill and the intersection at Clements is the best temporary solution. However, that is just a Band-Aid and not a solution to the overall problem. To have a walkable community we need to do what RIDOT has proposed...change the character of the road. To do this we need the support of the whole community. We need to tell our Legislators that this is a priority!

A public meeting with Rhode Island DOT, the Town of Portsmouth, and the Portsmouth Town Center Committee will be held on June 26 at the Portsmouth High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. to talk about the Town Center plan and proposed design changes to East Main Road. This is your chance to be heard...please come!

Carol A. Dietz
Chairperson
Portsmouth Town Center Committee

The Portsmouth Town Council approved a preliminary budget of $52.5M this evening, at the Paiva-Weed levy cap of 5.25%, but without warrant money for the Portsmouth School Department capital programs (buildings and IT). School Committee Finance chair Dick Carpender had approached the Council with a compromise, with each group picking up one of the warrants, but he met with a chilly reception from Council President Dennis Canario.

"I'm saddened to hear that you were going to find 30-40K to cover this warrant item when you couldn't keep the Prudence Island School open," said Canario. "I'm very concerned and very upset."

"We're not talking about $75K [the cost of Prudence]," replied Carpender. "We're talking $31K [the amount needed to cover debt service on the warrant]. I came here with a compromise that the committee looked at very seriously."

"Not seriously enough," said Canario. "There's priorities that need to be put in place." The Council proceeded to a vote, and the warrants were out. Canario moved the the next item and Carpender headed for the exit.

I must admit to missing the first half-hour of the proceeding: Hathaway School had their celebration for all the students who completed Principal Chistina Martin's "Journey Through Books," a program that requires kids to read, or have read to them, several hundred pages across major genres, which they then present quick oral reports on to build comprehension. Our first grader, Jack, was one of the more than 80% of the school who completed the journey, the group collectively reading 700,000 pages. All this is made possible by two dozen parent volunteers and support from the Parents Association. It's a model of innovative, community-centered education, and it is one of the gems of the Portsmouth School Department.

When reporters caught up with Carpender in the hallway, he was firm on the numbers. "75K is not 31K," he reiterated. Without the tech warrant money, they would not be able to purchase the updated textbooks for the Math program or even cover the software licensing for the coming year. Taken together, those are over $200K of purchasing that the $31K of debt service provides. Finding the $31 might be possible, but there was just not enough to keep Prudence open.

That shortfall was baked into the budget by the Caruolo process, and the difference between the proposed stipulated agreement and the eventual Superior Court judgement. "That's where we went downhill," said Carpender. "Prudence wouldn't be closed if we hadn't gone to trial."

Meanwhile, the Council was still chewing on the rest of the budget. The next contentious item was solid waste, specifically, the proposal to charge residents who wished to use the transfer station. "We're a rarity in not charging a fee," Town Admin Bob Driscoll pointed out. "This year, we're funding the $590K in the tax rate."

"It's really another form of taxation," whined Tailgunner Gleason.

"It isn't, to be honest," said Driscoll. "A user fee is a cost for a service we don't have to provide." He pointed out that the Town is not legally required to collect trash, and that citizens would be paying $1.8M collectively for that service, so the user fee was a public good.

The initial motion for the fee failed, as did a quite logical move by Len Katzman to simply close the transfer station if they weren't going to fund it. Then Gleason moved to the second alternative, which involved lower user fees with the town picking up $200K.

"Look at the school budget and find $200K there," said Gleason. "Dr. Lusi had a plan, that she said would have saved between $150-200K, she found, to share services at the elementary level."

Now the last part of the sentence above is critical. Go watch the tape. What she was referring to was an early school budget proposal that involved cutting a nurse, counselor, and librarian and having the remaining staff move from school to school on a part-time basis. Cut mental health, put medically fragile students at risk, and close the libraries part of the week. I can't imagine that these are the priorities President Canario suggested that need to be put in place.

When public comment was permitted, I asked Councilor Gleason to square this with her stated position (during the discussion of the lifeguards at Sandy Point) that public safety should be of utmost concern. And she called me over, at the end of the meeting, and emphatically denied that these were the cuts she was referring to. She claimed not to have any specific reductions in mind, only that Lusi had mentioned those numbers. But unless something convenient happens to the tape from this evening, you will hear her say "share services at the elementary level."

I certainly got very upset over nothing, because this alternative didn't pass, and the Council ended up reconsidering the original $100 sticker plan.

Next, the Council moved on to their "provisional" budget, the version which will go to the public next month for hearings. But first, they took public comment. I wish someone from the School Committee had been there, but I got up and said my piece to Gleason. Larry rose to yammer about the State's financial predicament, flat funding to towns, and warning against "shifting the loss of revenue to taxpayers" and "driving up the cost of government" The town needed to "rank basic functions by order of priority." Which, I have to point out, was exactly what Bob Driscoll's budget did, but Fitzmorris had in mind "restructuring the Town's government." It gives me cold fucking sweats to imagine for even ten seconds what living in Larry's Bargain Basement Government would be like. I'm pretty sure it's not a place Jefferson would be comfortable, the PCC's masthead notwithstanding.

Moving on.

The one good piece of news, going into the provisional budget, was that all the tweaking had only pushed the number $49,469 over the cap. And there was, believe it or not, a magic bullet. The Town had been trying to phase out the warrant items on their side — and yes, that means borrowing — but by continuing for one more year, they could cover the $49K and bring the budget back in under the cap.

Canario seemed relieved. "We could save a whole lot of time and do a whole lot of good."

But Jim Seveney wanted to at least explore the other option: exceeding the cap. "Look at what we've done," he said. "We've closed a school. Decimated civic support. Eroded basic services. We're in a hole, and the hole was created by the Financial Town Meeting. The schools made some of that back through the courts, but we have no recourse. I move to add an additional $630K and move back through the budget and provide all the services we historically have."

Gleason was up in arms immediately. "This is the year the council needs to make a decision," she said, urging them to abide by Paiva-Weed. "We need to listen to the State."

Read that last sentence again, and marvel at how the PCC and their apologists can defend the Town Charter when it suits their purposes, yet still cower conveniently before the almighty General Assembly. For people who want to starve the beast and gut local government, what kind of a talking point is "We need to listen to the State?" Can she really utter that sentence with no cognitive dissonance?

McIntyre wasn't going along with exceeding the cap either. He wasn't sure that the money would stay in the general fund and not "go to the schools." And he singled out East Bay Community Action for harsh criticism: "They're double dipping on taxpayers money. Take a look at the salaries they get."

Council President Canario wasn't in favor of the approach either. "At the tent meeting there was a vote taken, and that's what we have to abide by." The motion to exceed the cap failed.

The Council moved in the direction of extending the warrants, which would cover the $49K and put some money back in the depleted general fund. But wait, it ain't over until the guy from Anthony House comes back to ask for more money for senior bus trips.

Yes, as unbelievable is it might seem, he came back. He pointed out that the residents of Anthony House were taxpayers — hear this well, Councilors, they contributed some $51K to the town coffers — and they wanted to get some back.

And even more incredibly, Gleason tried to oblige. She actually made a motion that the Council cut all funding for East Bay Community Action and Newport Community Mental Health, "because they receive Federal funds," and give it to the seniors for their bus trip.

Yes, that's right. Cut all funding for the most challenged in our communities so that a bunch of seniors can go on a bus trip to Maine.

Let me be incredibly blunt. My mother was a low-income senior. In the years before she died, my wife and I had to support her to the tune thousands of dollars a year. We kept her out of state care, and I don't begrudge one penny that we owe because of it. I know there are a lot of other sandwich-generation folks in the same boat, paying for kids and parents. Did I expect the State to pick up her Medicare and Medicaid expenses? Absolutely. Did I expect to see taxpayer dollars go to put her on a bus trip to Maine? No. That is just not something I believe the government should provide.

Ah, yeah, that's just me, political naif looking for consistency and fairness, when this year, the budget process has had neither. Not through any fault of the Council, but there are external forces at work. I hope Senator Paiva-Weed is aware of the heartrending impact her well-intentioned legislation is causing.

Mercifully, there was no second for Gleason's amendment, so the Anthony House will have to live with the same token $500 given to the far less worthy folks like the Samaritans, Newport County Women's Resource Center, Red Cross, and Visiting Nurse Service.

With a final vote, the Council provisionally approved a budget of $52,525,178, at the levy cap of 5.25%, which would be an actual property tax rate increase of 2.19%.

Hope you had a good holiday and came back to work well-rested and ready to address some envelopes, because here are some opportunities to send your thoughts about key Portsmouth issues. All you have to do is fill in some info and drop 'em in the mailbox. Don't forget that the postage rates went up — if you're like me, and you still have a mess of 39-cent stamps, the Post Office will be happy to sell you a sheet of two-centers.

From Conni Harding, Preserve Portsmouth:
This is our petition, which as your sheets fill up need to be mailed in an envelope and addressed EXACTLY the way the address is on the letterhead. This will ensure that the Town Clerk will make copies for all of the Town Councilors. [Right-click to download]

Also, please remember the following dates for the 2 next big meetings: Town Council on Monday June 11, Preserve Portsmouth is on the agenda. And the Design Review Board meeting Tuesday July 10th 7:00 pm, Portsmouth Middle School.

East Main Road:
As it says over the the left-hand column on this site, please take a minute to send your thoughts to the RI Department of Transportation. We need to get them to take action on East Main before there are any more accidents and injuries. I cc'd my letter to Governor Carcieri, and I'll post it here as an example as soon as I'm sure it made it to Providence.

Portsmouth Concerned Citizens:
The PCC's latest newsletter has a poll to find out what the citizens of Portsmouth are most concerned about. Is it "unrealistic union salaries," "development density that sewers will bring," or the "$100/yr fee for dump to circumvent tax cap?" I have a feeling that readers of this blog might have other priorities to share with the PCC, and all it costs is a 41-cent stamp. You can download the poll from their site and add some of your suggestions on the blank lines provided (How about, say, fixing East Main Road and preserving Portsmouth's unique character? Just a suggestion. Vote early, vote often.)