Manchester Republican Town Committee

The 2007 Platform for the Republican Town Directors

ACCOUNTABILITY * FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY * QUALITY OF LIFE

The Manchester Republican Town Committee Members believe that its time for a serious discussion in Manchester about the direction of the Town - and as a team, we have some ideas to add to the conversation, as always, based on our principles: accountability, fiscal responsibility, and quality of life. 

We talk about accountability because everyone, no matter how powerful, should be accountable to the people of Manchester - the teachers and school administrators are accountable to the parents for education, Town government must be accountable to the citizens it serves, and the politicians must be held accountable to the taxpayer for the dollars they spend.  We need to be responsible with the tax dollars that we pay to Manchester, because those dollars are earned by the taxpayers, not the tax collectors.  And we must work to improve the quality of life in Manchester by cleaning up our town and protecting senior citizens.

Accountability

• Town referendum to approve town budgets that include a 3% property tax increase
  • STATUS: STONEWALLED BY DEMOCRATS- The Republican Directors brought this issue before the Charter Revision Commission.  On a Party Line vote, the measure was defeated in the Charter Revision Commission.
  • Many other towns have mechanisms for public approval of the budget.  The Manchester Republicans propose that any time a town budget includes property tax increases of excess of 3%, the citizens of Manchester should be asked to approve that tax hike at referendum.  The continual increase in the property taxes is exceeding the community’s ability to pay.  It is time to hold government accountable to the people by allowing them to approve or reject these tax hike
• Allow citizens to speak at the beginning of every Board of Directors meeting
  • STATUS: ACCOMPLISHED! on November 19, 2007 
    • Accountability means being responsible to the people of Manchester.  That is why the first action that a Republican majority will take on the Manchester Board of Directors will be to allow citizens to speak at the beginning of every Board of Directors meeting.  Currently, at the second meeting of every month, citizens must wait until the end of the meeting, sometimes stretching well into the night - 10pm, 11pm, or later - until they can speak. 
• Advocate for the direct election of a Mayor
  • STATUS: STONEWALLED BY DEMOCRATS!  Republicans proposed this at the Charter Revision Commission and were defeated by the Democrats on a Party Line vote.
  • Citizens should have the ability to have direct say over who is the Mayor of Manchester.  A Republican majority will support a charter revision to allow for the direct election of a Mayor.

Fiscal Responsibility

• Performance-based Accounting to measure the effectiveness of Town government departments
  • IN PROGRESS - The Republican majority asked town staff to begin the process of implement a performance-based Accounting system into town government in November 2007 and discussed the issue at the December 11 meeting of the Manchester Board of Directors.   
• • Town departments should be held to easily understandable standards and goals to determine how effectively tax dollars are spent.  A Republican-led Board of Directors will form working groups to set goals for each Town department.  Each year, we will measure the effectiveness of government and work to improve the quality of outputs from government.  This performance-based accounting is key to saving our tax dollars.
• Budgets that will keep spending within the cost of living
  • STATUS: ACCOMPLISHED!
    • On Tuesday, May 6, 2008, the Board of Directors adopted the “Taxpayer’s Budget”, which controls the growth of government and does not impose new big tax hikes on Manchester Taxpayers.

Quality of Life

• New Ordinance to Combat Blight
  • STATUS: IN PROGRESS 
  • With a majority on the Manchester Board of Directors, the Republicans will craft the strongest anti-blight ordinance in the State.  Community morale, crime, and decreasing property values are closely related with blighted properties in a community.  We can improve our Town by passing an ordinance to combat blight and then strenuously enforcing the new law, so that Manchester’s neighborhoods are not constantly burdened by these properties.
• Expand the use of Green Energy
  • STATUS: IN PROGRESS 
  • Director Matt Peak has been a leader in green energy efforts in Manchester over the past two years.  With five other Republicans on the Board of Directors, the Republican majority will press an agenda that expands the use of Green Energy by implementing new technologies that produce clean, renewable energy.
• Revitalize neighborhoods with home ownership initiatives
  • STATUS: IN PROGRESS 
  • Director Cheri Pelletier’s leadership on home ownership initiatives is unmatched on the Board of Directors.  Cheri and a Republican majority will expand Manchester’s efforts toward home ownership.