Montclair Councilor-at-large Kathryn Weller writes:
I just got back from President Obama’s Inauguration and I am feeling so energized and inspired to make the most of my service on the Council. These are the priorities and tasks which I hope to accomplish by 2012.
First, and most important, we must get control of the budget, and stem the steep escalation of property taxes.
Second, I want to be the best liaison possible and assist the fantastic volunteers of the committees with attaining their many wonderful goals to improve Montclair. Those groups include Human Services Advisory Council, Landlord-Tenant Housing Advisory Committee, People with Disabilities Advisory Committee, and Senior Citizens Advisory Committee. Some of these tasks for example are increasing access to services, increasing awareness of the free mediation services available for tenants and landlords, increasing consideration and implementation of universal design, and dramatically improving the senior citizens bus. I also serve as liaison to the Water and Sewer Authorities, and look forward to the continued improvement of our infrastructure for these services, and the opportunity to better explain to the residents of Montclair how these services function and are funded.
I look forward to supporting Mayor Fried’s work with his Book Club for Early Childhood Literacy.
I believe we need affordable housing in every ward in town.
I hope to be able to help with the implementation of public recycling facilities, and increased recycling participation.
I am ever-mindful that I am standing on the shoulders of giants, and have been given the tremendous responsibility and great honor of preserving and improving the many gifts they wisely and kindly created with their hard work for future generations of Montclarians. This long-term view is best stated in the quotes by Gustav Mahler, “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” and Nelson Henderson, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”
While we’re talking community goals, go ahead, tell us yours.
Ummm Kathryn…you don’t by any chance have a plan to get any of this done do you?
Ms. Wellor,
Please take moment to go over the blogs referring to the Montclair BOE and Dr. Weiss’s arrangement with them.
It reads like a combination of Valley Girl gush and a very bad high school valedictory address. “The shoulders of giants,” anyone? A quote from Mahler? Yes, that has special relevance to Montclair 2009.
(And who is Nelson Henderson?)
Well, cathar, I had no idea you were an erudite expert in the field of valley girls.
Is it true that Big Frank Alvarez and his crack asbestos expert Dana Sullivan have already worked out nice raises for themselves? Just wondering. Seems odd, in that they have been miserable failures and countless other civil servants around the country, including many who have actually done good jobs, have turned down raises in these trying times. Couldn’t be possible, could it?
I’ve met enough of their NJ equivalents, Perlstein. I’m also erudite enow, thank you very much.
Seriously, too, you took Weller’s statement seriously? I mean, if council members can’t “get control of the budget,” then who else can?
And Mayor Fried’s “Book Club For Early Childhood Literacy” truly strikes you as a burning issue?
You really don’t need a “book club” to promote early childhood literacy. Just read to your child regularly. Eventually, he or she will want to read the book back to you.
As for what I would like to see first and foremost is a reduction in property taxes. Drive around any neighborhood in Wessex County and count the number of For Sale signs. People are leaving in droves and high property taxes is a big part of the mass exodus.
Affordable housing in every ward in town? Good luck with that one.
Montclair likes to boast about it’s diversity as long it’s on the other side of town.
How can you have affordable housing in every ward when you have to pay such high taxes? Even that house on Cross Street that’s listed for $117,000 has a tax bill of more than $4,000!
I am grateful that Ms. Weller at least pays lip service to the need to stem the steep tax hikes, but I fear it is just that–lip service.
It’s not at all possible to lower taxes and increase housing, maintain services, improve our local infrastucture, honor existing collective agreements (which ought to be renogiate now anyway, regardless of the tenure), and worry about book clubs for children. When the next budget comes due…….
I’m curious if Weller’s rather pat statement above was in specific reply to the questions the Baristas sent out (which Cary Africk, as is his usual great wont, answered in full and promptly). Can that be clarified, please?
I am for unaffordable housing.
I propose a law that the town require any house offered for sale in Montclair to sell for at least 1,500% above the assessed value of similar, recently sold houses. By keeping houses unaffordable, we can prevent people with children (especially special needs children) from moving in and adding burdens to the town’s education budget. We can save money on building new schools.
And if the town can dictate what rent is charged for rental properties, then it can make sure that rents are unaffordable as well.
With the highest property taxes of just about anywhere on earth, Montclair is well on its way to fully embracing my proposal for unaffordable housing.
Can we make unaffordable housing a reality? YES WE CAN!
Walter Mitty,
You make more sense than anything heard from the BOE or Town Mgt. Eveyone, c’mon, through the looking glass !
Is she really a councilperson?
What amount is the Montclair surplus sitting at now?
Does Ms. Weller think that all of the things listed are free?
As long as the trees under which I won’t sit won’t cost additional tax dollars I’m all for planting them. The school budget is the biggest problem we have when it comes to our tax burden. Ratables would surely help to offset that, but bringing in even more kids with families who will be paying less in taxes than those of us already overburdened is not the answer.
Weller’s response reminds me of those essay questions we used to get in high school. If we didn’t know the answer, we could still manage to fill up the entire page with enough adverbs and doublespeak that we wouldn’t flunk the test. For example, “I hope to be able to help with the implementation of public recycling facilities, and increased recycling participation.” Now that is hope we can believe in.
Well it may not be fair to pick on Ms. Weller, since she’s doing what every single one of our new council members are doing. Lots and lots of big lists of “we’re gonna do… we’re gonna…” and a complete lack of focus on PRIORITY NUMBER ONE…. Dramatically, creatively and immediately cutting the municipal budget. Let’s stop overreaching on a 1001 promises (half related to things you have no control over anyway) and just work on JOB 1. After that, and once people can afford to live in this town again, you can shift to the laundry list of sunshine fill skies and green grass and puppies for everyone.
Even if we cut the municipal budget in half we would still have a huge tax burden because the majority of the rest of our taxes come from county – not much the council can do there – and the BOE. Not much they say they can do there. We spend around $16k – $17k per student. Maybe more. Now we are building a new school which will cost us about $500 a piece more. How much more will we pay once we put furniture and teachers and heat in that school?
Nice for Weller to share her thoughts, and to quote Mahler (more cowbell!). Don’t smash her enthusiasm with well-worn quasi-anonymous cynicism.
Although I do think the affordable housing should be yurts.
“Montclair likes to boast about it’s diversity as long it’s on the other side of town.”
I couldnt agree more.
“Montclair likes to boast about it’s diversity as long it’s on the other side of town.”
Don’t worry, with the cost of the operation of the new school added to our tax burden, diversity should disappear like the dinosaur. Then our high school will crack the top 50 in NJ Monthly and then our property values will skyrocket.
This is what the Master Plan says, no?
Montclair…we put the master in the master plan. Oh, and we’re quirky!
Weller strikes me as extraordinarily naive. Affordable housing in all parts of town. Ha! Good luck with that. Let’s start with some Section 8 housing in the old Olympic Store. The rest of her goals sound like golden moonbeams. See:
“..increasing consideration and implementation of universal design..”
What…? Are you serious?
How about this Councilor: Cut taxes, fully fund public safety and slash the BOE budget.
Everything else on your dreamy list can wait.
BIKE LANES! We need more bike lanes!
If education is on the chopping block you have to put police there too.
Sad to say, but everything has to be strongly considered to be on the chopping block. There are a lot of taxpayers losing their jobs, employers ar elaying off en masse. Why would anyone on the public payroll (read: taxpayer’s) be immune to this. It’s not like this is news anymore.
While I don’t agree with Ms. Weller’s philosophy, she is one of two councilors who actually vote against her peers and thus bad ordinance. On numerous occasions she has questioned and voted no on issues that she felt wasteful or sent the wrong message. Most recently she voted not to ban leaf blowers, because the ordinance banned blowers for homeowners and scapers, but not for the parks department because it would cost the town too much money to make the switch.
The council will be releasing their new “plan” any day now (2 days left). Below is a snip of 2008 and hopes for 2009…..
Town council strategic plan 2008-2012
January 2008 – Phase 1. Montclair Roots, Montclair Branches: Laying the Groundwork for a Sustainable Future
The Challenge Montclair in 2008 is at a crucial time. Are we to keep true to our widespread vision of being a diverse progressive community that sees its greatest strength in the melding of different classes, ethnicities and points of view?
Montclair desperately needs to lessen the crushing property tax burden, yet taxes increase. It needs more affordable housing, yet there is less each year. We understand that commercial property development and stronger local businesses are our greatest hope for easing the burden on residents, yet we seem to miss our opportunities for the “smartest” growth. We aspire to be a truly diverse community, yet that diversity ebbs. We are an arts leader, yet many of Montclair’s artists and creative people are being priced out. We value our senior citizens and long-time residents, yet many of the people with the deepest roots in the community can no longer afford to live here. We aspire to true environmental sustainability, yet we, too, are part of a global problem that demands sacrifice and massive change…
The second phase, which will be presented in January 2009, will be far more extensive and specific. With the help of our advisory groups, we will have narrowed the list of projects and policies to implement. As a guide, we are fortunate to have a clear articulation of Montclair values in the Master Plan. Like many of the great plans and proposals “on the shelf” at Town Hall, its goals do indeed reflect the goals of the community.
Our Future The next few years will be the test of whether we are indeed a community for the future. Will we be a leader in the quest for true sustainability? Will we be able to create changes that will stem the loss of our senior citizens and those of least advantage? Will we be able to revitalize and build a more economically sustainable Town Center and strong local shopping areas?
I hope that was a joke. I’m old enough to know it could be real. Please tell me it’s a joke……my bp is going up.
Omitted from her Obamania is the fact that she’s the naive point person for the destruction of PAWS and the institution of a much much more expensive animal control beaurocracy abuilding on Willow. She is a dope.
Excellent choice for counsilor and an obvious A+ in ideas and spirit..sad that yelps like Cathar et. al sit home all day and put down any energetic positive ideas while not leaving the “confinement”,,I mean confines of their rooms.
A “Book Club”? If she were not serious this would be hilarious. Unreal.
Doesn’t Councilor Weller have to check with her father before getting any of this done?
You know, I do commend Councilor Weller on her exuberance and bravery here. I wish her well, no pun intended, in a dog eat dog, rough political world, where unfortunately for all of us resources are drying up faster than we can keep track of them.
Brava, Ms Weller ! At least you’re actually doing something (or trying to, anyway) about the mess we’re in.
You got yourself elected to a job that most of us wouldn’t want — and the rest are unlikely to attain.
So ignore the rants — enjoy the humor — and forgive the lost souls who need to take shots at others to feel better about themselves.
It’s all just a part of what makes Baristaville such a fascinating place — on and off this site.
What, exactly, is she “doing about the mess we’re in”?
Does she have a plan to cut taxes? Hold the BOE accountable? Prioritize public safety over recycling?
Anything other than rainbow daydreams?
Weller got herself voted into office, but she hasn’t done much since. It’s not the voter’s job to make Weller feel warm and gushy – it’s her job to respond to the needs of the citizens of Montclair.
So let’s lose the “exuberance” and get back to reality…
I think you are all over estimating Councilor Wellers capacity to grasp these issues, let alone address them. As you can tell from her writing, she is borderline illiterate.
Please show the Councilor-at-large the respect she deserves. You’re talking about the National Voter Registration Coordinator for HeadCount, at least according to the official Montclair Township website (actually, I could not find any mention of her on their website anywhere).
Oops. Wrong link to HeadCount. Though I have to say, I’m sure there’s a lot of overlap between the two links. Here’s the actual link to HeadCount.
Harambee
Great, she works for Head Count. What does that have to do with her inability to set realistic goals for the job she was elected to?
Read this line from Weller’s “goals”:
“Some of these tasks for example are increasing access to services, increasing awareness of the free mediation services available for tenants and landlords, increasing consideration and implementation of universal design, and dramatically improving the senior citizens bus.”
What the heck is she talking about…?
Councilor: get your head in the game.
Jesus…
Is the senior citizens’ bus so bad that it needs to be dramatically improved?
Its not that Councilor Weller’s head isn’t “in the game”…she’s just a dummy.
You’ll have better luck with any of the 6 other council people. All of whom can read and write.
This may or may not be true, but nonetheless I believe Ms Weller deserves the respect due her elected position, util such time she abuses the public trust placed in her, or….well……see Blago.
YF, you are a dick head.
Lasermike,
…
I was just going to get your back regarding legalization…
I concede that the councilor is well intentioned…shes just a boob. Its the fact of the matter.
I see no sense in attacking someone personally, unless they have done something to deserve the type of comtempt that would warrant a ad hominum attack. What’s the point ?