Letter from Ward 1 Councilor Bob Sharon in The Citizen

Ward 1 councilor Bob Sharon was not present during the final vote on the budget a few weeks ago, so that's why he's not included on the list. Here's his letter in The Citizen explaining his situation.

Editor, The Citizen: My name is Bob Sharon and I am a Franklin Ward I city councilor.

I would like to set the record straight concerning the tax cap vote. On the night the proposed budget was set, June 24, 2009, I abstained on voting because there was another proposal made that wasn't presented for discussion, therefore, I didn't have all the facts.

At the July 6, 2009 public hearing and council meeting, I was in the ICU at Concord Hospital and so I didn't vote at all.

If any of my constituents would like to contact me on this matter, please call me at 393-5228 anytime.

Bob Sharon

Franklin

Letter To The Editor Roundup

These were some of the letters that were published over the past week.

I'll start off with mine, which was in The Citizen:

So, the Franklin City Council did it. They broke the will of the people and decided to go above the tax cap, despite the objections of the residents that showed up. We, the residents of Franklin, no longer have a voice in what happens in our own city. The city council proved that last night. After listening to various stories of hardship, common sense and anger, they still voted in the current budget. They weren't listening to us.

Also from The Citizen, Jeff Whitney of Franklin puts in his two cents:

Last night, I witnessed unadulterated politics without regard to the thoughts and opinions of the electorate. Make no mistake, I fully understand that this decision was not based on the needs of the city, but rather a move to break, what some see as the shackles of the tax cap. Not a single councilor gave one compelling argument for the over ride. It was a purely principled argument with a thinly veiled attempt to convince the voters, it was in the best interest of Franklin, and Councilors Rabinowitz and Andreozzi led the charge. Unfortunately the other councilors that voted for the override did not have the fortitude to fight for the right decision.

Lastly, although I am disappointed in the vote, I am particularly concerned with the contempt that Councilor Andreozzi showed to the public. She was not only condescending and haughty, but she insulted the intelligence of her constituency. Perhaps she should run for national office. I think she might fit in well. At least Councilor Rabinowitz had the decency to say nothing ... and was Councilor LeBlanc even there?

Next, from the Concord Monitor:

Where is the accountability? The Franklin City Council overrode the tax cap Monday night, after the mayor vetoed it. Councilor Glen Feener was the only member to actually listen to those who were speaking. Councilors Doug Boyd and Annette Andreozzi talked a big game, but never came through. In fact, Andreozzi decided to make sarcastic jokes during a time when there were mothers crying at the podium over being able to feed their children.

The councilors killed the American Dream in Franklin. As one resident put it, they are no better than those in Washington. Too bad they have to live with us though. The citizens appreciated the diligence and work of Feener and Mayor Ken Merrifield, the only two members of the council who have a heart and a set of ears.

DANIELLE BARKER

Franklin

And finally, so that we have another side to this debate, responses from Ward 3 councilors Gerald LeBlanc and Annette Andreozzi.

The main reason stems from an error made last year that left just under $450,000 in taxes that we were not allowed to collect. When the error was realized, a decision was made not to send out supplemental tax bills, but to cover the lost revenue from fund balance surplus.

There is no one person responsible for this error. There were mistakes, misunderstandings and lack of oversight from the NH DRA (Dept of Revenue Admin), Franklin's Finance Director (that happened to leave Franklin during this process), Franklin's Interim City Manager, our current and newly hired City Manager, City Councilors and the Mayor. -- Ward 3 Councilor Gerald LeBlanc

On a personal note about the person who is libeling me, he must not have been hearing what was said, because I made no comments to the public. Despite the hyperbole, exaggeration and misrepresentation to the contrary, I believe that the Franklin City Council took the proper approach to a difficult situation and made the correct decision to keep a good city, made up of good people, moving forward in hard times. Franklin will have a brighter future because of the hard work, dedication to task, and courage in the face of adversity displayed by my fellow officials.

It was unfortunate that the proceedings were ultimately marred with insults and profanity and volunteer city officials being subjected to taunts and jeers when they are doing the job they were elected to perform, which is make difficult decisions based on what is best for the whole city, not what is best for personal images. -- Ward 3 Councilor Annette Andreozzi

To address the bolded quotes above in their letters:

1) LeBlanc sounds like he's trying to spread the blame around.

2) Andreozzi makes it sound like people were verbally abusing them all night. I didn't hear any real boos from the audience. (although I heard one person call her an "idiot" after she proposed that the city cut the funding for snow removal and de-icing the roads, although I don't know if Andreozzi was being sarcastic about it). Heard some clapping when people agreed with a point. There was one guy that went up who went by the name John Q. Public who might have let out an expletive during his time at the podium, I don't remember. Any real shouting came from the audience members after the vote was cast, and again it was just one guy who was basically telling the city council members that voted for this that they can expect to get voted out in the next election.