Budget Review or Dog n' Pony Show

On Thursday evening, August 30th, the Woodbridge Town Council held a department by department, line item by line item, review of the McCormac Administration's SFY 2013 municipal budget.
Conspicuously absent from the budget was the 'historical data' the council heretofore was given. Also conspicuously absent were Council VP Charley Kenny and Law Director James Nolan. 

While the whole review was reminiscently perfunctory ( I was at last year's), kudos should be given to the two freshmen council members, Ms.Michele Charmello and Mr. Kyle Anderson for some of their astute questioning of the department heads.  Of course, the 'senior' council members knew which lines (budget, of course) they needed to cover.

Two things anyone in attendance of the review might easily come away with are; there was virtually almost no attendance by the public and, regrettably, the Administration was allowed to get away with not furnishing the council (or the public) with the historical data.

  
What all the council members and, especially Council President Ficarra, who is an educator, should know is: Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.  Perhaps, that is why taxes in this township always go up, never down!

And for those who may care about such things, a member of the public told me, they were told, by our non-resident Business Administrator,  that they could partake of some of the food being served to council and administration official, but only after the dignitaries had eaten first.  Does that not sound like something Marie Antoinette would have said to a hungry peasant.  How “Revolting”!