Westbrook Taxes

Also in this week's American Journal is a very interesting supplement that "dissect[ed] the property tax dollar" in Westbrook. According to Mayor Chuluda, this the breakdown--in percentages--of the expenditure of the $51.5 million dollars of tax money in Westbrook:

1. School: 52.6%
2. Public Safety: 14.5% (note: Public Safety includes police, fire, and rescue.)
3. Public Services: 8% (note: Public Services includes streets and sidewalks, parks, cemeteries, trees, and storm drain maintenance.)
4. Administration: 7.3% (note: Administration includes City Clerk, City Council, Office of the Mayor, elections, finance, assessor, legal, human resources, economic development, planning, engineering, code enforcement, and technology.)
5. Debt: 6.6%
6. County Tax: 3.1%
7. Trash Collection: 2.4%
8. Recreation: 1.6%
9. Library: 1.3%
10. Transit: 0.96%
11. Health: 0.83%
12. Miscellaneous: .81%

Finally, it should be noted that $22.2 million of the $51.5 million dollars of Westbrook's taxes are raised via state aid, auto excise taxes, and fees. The remaining $29.4 million is generated from the property tax. The mil rate, or the property tax rate, is $15.43 per $1,000 of valuation.

- John C.L. Morgan

P.S. BruChu also included a breakdown of "Your tax bill," though he didn't actually break down each individual American Journal readers' bills (duh!). Instead, he (or his staff) broke down the average property tax bill of $3,095.25. Anyway, to see how much of your property tax bill is actually going toward school, public safety, public services, etc., divide your total tax bill by the respective percentages shown above.

York Street sure is clever that way.

American Journal Round-Up

Speaking of journals, here are some brief highlights of this week's American Journal:

• Mayor Chuluda has announced that the first ward meeting will take place at Canal School on Tuesday, February 27 at 7p. Though the notice specifically invites Ward 2 residents, the announcement also says that anyone interested in speaking with government officials about city-related matters is welcome. More to follow.
• The Westbrook Police have hired three new police officers and added a new, full-time traffic enforcement officer.
• A motorcycle club has donated $250 to the City of Westbrook for emergency heating fund.
• Seniors wary of possible budget cuts for Department of Health and Human Services.

- John C.L. Morgan

We Don't Stink No More!

Follow these directions and everything will be okay: First, throw some popcorn in the microwave. Next, call up the City of Westbrook's website, www.westbrookmaine.com and scroll down the homepage until you see a (lime? sea? pukey?) square entitled "Community Videos." See it? Great. Now retrieve your popcorn before it burns.

Okay, now that you've gotten your popcorn, click on the aforementioned square and pick from one of the four videos to watch. Lean back and enjoy Westbrook's sales pitch to people who don't live in Westbrook. Then come back here and read a couple thoughts about the vids.

Done already? Well here are those promised thoughts:

1. It sure is nice to be reminded of what Westbrook looks like with sunshine, green grass, and blue sky.

2. The voice-dubbers are definitely not from around here. At least they don't sound like it. Even the most articulate and enthusiastic among us don't pronounce "Westbrook" with such excitement and specific enunciation. Frankly, they're a little creepy.

3. A drinking game surrounding the number of times the dubbers refer to the "Westbrook Renaissance" would require an O'Douls version. Otherwise, Maine Med should expect a case of alcohol poisoning whenever these videos are consumed. C'mon, every city in this country is trying to claim a "renaissance." Why not be original and proclaim, I don't know, that "We don't stink no more!"?

4. Why is this feature buried in the bottom of the homepage? Shift it to a more viewer-friendly position on the homepage so the prospective Westbrookians it targets might actually, you know, see it. I'm a 'Brook blogger looking for material and it took me about a month to find it.

5. BruChu, Johnny O'Hara called and he wants his Kenny G cd back. Seriously, what's with the (insert derogatory adjective here) music playing in the background of the Big Man's Big Speech, not to mention throughout the videos?

6. I. Smell. A. Spoof.

- John C.L. Morgan

BruChu's Pie Preference and Other Deep Thoughts

The American Journal's Leslie Bridgers has a must-read profile of BruChu in this week's edition.

Bridgers covers a lot of territory in her piece, including the Mayor's recent loss of his wife, Vickie; a brief synopsis of the kerfuffles (I'm sorry I've probably sent you scrambling to the dictionary for that one; the word is just too fun for me to write, and for you to say) between his administration and the City Council; his plans for Westbrook; and his favorite pizza pie in Westbrook.

Personally, I concur with most of this article. The BruChu has always been pleasant the few times I've talked with him and he has proven to be an earnest democrat (gasp! before the Westbrook Republicans lose their lunch all over their keyboards, I mean that with the small-d connotation). His open office hours on the first Saturday each month, his televised call-in show, and his plans for regular ward meetings are all signs of his willingness to give Westbrook residents access to their government.

I do have one criticism, though: Onion and pepper, extra crispy, and easy cheese at Profenno's? Say it ain't so, BruChu. It just shows that my thoughts and opinions should be taken with a heavy dose of sea salt, because I would've pegged The BruChu as a sausage/pepperoni from Angelone's kind of guy.

Besides, everyone (and by everyone, I mean me) knows the 10" mushroom with a Stella at Casa Novello is the way to go if you want the true pizza experience in Westbrook. Oh, and Bridgers's piece can be read here in its entirety.

- John C.L. Morgan

Because The BruChu Said So

At the end of Monday night's Inaugural, Mayor Chuluda commanded the audience to fill out the city's recreation, parks, and open space questionnaire. Okay, so maybe he asked them to do it. But, I mean, really, do you want to mess with The BruChu?

The on-line questionnaire (which can be filled out here) has been made available to the public and has a February 1 submission deadline. It is just one part of the city's broader focus on the open spaces and recreational areas in Westbrook that will complement a January 17 public meeting on, well, the future of Westbrook's open spaces and recreational areas. More information about the meeting can be found here.

As for the survey, I think it is in your best interest to fill it out and submit it.

After all, I wouldn't want The BruChu breathing down my neck.

- John C.L. Morgan

City Council Sets Priorities

City Council President Brendan Rielly (D-Ward 1) told the Portland Press Herald's Ann S. Kim after last night's inauguration that the City Council's priorities for the next two years will be trash pickup, recycling, land issues, economic development and a "best practices" review of neighboring communities.

In his inaugural address last night, Mayor Bruce Chuluda listed economic development and the balance of economic development and the preservation of Westbrook's community as some of his administration's priorities. However, BruChu failed to mention either trash pickup or recycling as issues worthy of discussion. The recycling issue in particular has been an area of disagreement in Westbrook politics for a couple years now.

- John C.L. Morgan

On Location: Westbrook City Inauguration

At last night's Westbrook City Inauguration, the only exception to the event's mood of consensus and unanimity was when the sly iconoclast, City Councilor Ed Symbol (R-Ward 3), muttered "present" instead of "here" like all the other City Councilors during roll call. Westbrook politics can only become more contentious.

The event officially kicked off at 7:37p, when the members-elect of the School Board (sans Alex Stone), City Council, the Mayor's Office, and the City Clerk's office entered the high school auditorium from the side entrance and strolled across the front of the stage to take their seats. Before the officials' tardy entry, the Westbrook City Band had entertained the sparse crowd.

Each member had what appeared to be a red carnation (courtesy of Harmon's & Barton's Florist, according to the evening's program) pinned to their left breasts and they took their seats at a horseshoe-shaped dais festooned with a cloth featuring numerous prints of the American flag and draped with red, white, and blue banners. City Clerk Barbara Hawkes, who was retiring that very day and to whom the inauguration program was dedicated, initiated the Pledge of Allegience, and the City Band followed with a rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner." Then, after an invocation by Edward DeLong, the reverend of the Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church, Barbara Hawkes, decked out in her signature pink, administered the oaths of offices to the members of the School Board and City Council. (To those who argue the burden of City Councilors is light, what other office has to swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution, the Consitution of the State of Maine, and the laws of this city?) Anway, after these formalities, it was time to get down to business.

When it was time to elect a council president, Councilor Drew Gattine (D-Ward 2) quickly nominated Councilor Brendan Rielly (D-Ward 1). Councilor Suzanne Joyce (D-Ward 5) leapt to second Gattine's nomination, and the City Council followed suit by voting unanimously to re-appoint Rielly as council president. It was then back to the pomp and circumstance of the ceremony when Al Hawkes, husband of City Clerk Barbara and musician extraordinaire, led everyone in the singing of "God Bless America," accompanied by the City Band. Mayor-elect Bruce Chuluda (R) was introduced, repeated his oath, and dug into the bully pulpit.

Mayor Chuluda, a bearish man in appearance, is not known for his invigorating oratory. Nevertheless, he gave a solid speech that highlighted his administration's successes (the continued revitalization of Westbrook's downtown, the development of the business park on Saco Street, and IDEXX's expansion) and his administration's plans for the future (continue providing adequate public services, while shrinking government; balance economic growth with the preservation of Westbrook's community; and provide affordable housing in conjunction with organizations such as the Westbrook Housing Authority and the People's Regional Opportunity Program (PROP). After reading his laundry lists of accomplishments and plans for the future, the mayor promised both a continuation and expansion of some events he hosts to make city government more accessible to its citizens.

First, Mayor Chuluda announced he will continue opening his office to residents on the first Saturday of the month from 9a-12p. Starting in February, though, the mayor said he will be accompanied on those Saturday mornings by an employee from the city's finance department, who will be available for anyone unable to conduct business during the week. Moreover, the Mayor said he would continue hosting his monthly call-in television show on the last Thursday of the month. And, finally, the Mayor announced he will be scheduling regular ward meetings as yet another way for residents of Westbrook to attract the attention of himself and the government he administers. He did not flesh out the details of the ward meetings, but he did say information would be forthcoming. And for the record, Chuluda did refer to the occasionally contentious relationship between his administration and the City Council early in his speech, but cast it aside.

To close the ceremony, City Clerk Hawkes administered the oath of her successor Lynda Adams, the first Democratic City Clerk Westbrook has elected in at least fifty-two years (well, sort of: Adams lost in the Republican primary to Deborah Frank last year, switched parties, and then defeated Frank as a Democrat in November). Westbrook's next mayor, I mean Westbrook's Council President, Brendan Rielly, conducted a mercifully brief (about fifteen minutes) City Council meeting, and most everyone rushed to the high school cafeteria to munch on the refreshments prepared by the culinary students at the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center (WRVC). The entire event lasted about seventy minutes.

- John C.L. Morgan