OPINION: Former Enfield lawmaker weighs in on sidewalks, school funding

ENFIELD, CT — Are we still an American city?

In the early 1970s, Enfield was hailed by a national magazine as an “All-American Town.” As a former “All American City,” we hope our governing body can strive for that title again. After witnessing what the majority party has done to our city recently, I don’t think we’ll get that accolade anytime soon and it’s sad.

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What will this council be remembered for? Declining our local school system and wasting taxpayer dollars by wanting to demolish the sidewalks on Abbe Road that were recently installed, also at taxpayer expense.

So let’s look at what the majority party has done to our image and school system and what it has done to the voiceless…our children.

First, the sidewalk issue. New sidewalks have been installed on Abbe Road, affecting four or five residents. The sidewalks were installed at the request of a city councilor who recognized that the elderly and disabled needed those sidewalks for safety.

One resident doesn’t want to maintain the sidewalks and claims the former city manager told him the city would maintain them and shovel the sidewalks when it snows. If indeed

she told him DPW would maintain the footbridge, she had no right under the law or our state constitution to say that. Article 1 section 1 of our state Constitution states: “All men, when they form a social compact, are equal in rights; and no man or group of men is entitled to exclusive public emoluments or privileges from the commonwealth’.

This essentially means that no individual or group of people should receive a benefit from the city that is not available to anyone else. All residents whose homes abut sidewalks must demolish those sidewalks according to municipal ordinance. These sidewalks have been designed for public safety.
People who want to walk safely on that stretch of the Abbe are prohibited from doing so if the sidewalks are removed. People with disabilities and especially the elderly need them
sidewalks. So the answer given by the majority party is to dismantle them at public expense.

Instead of spending time trying to improve our city (like making sure our kids get the best education possible), the majority party is stuck with this stupid notion of digging.
up sidewalks that were impeccably installed by a reputable contractor at taxpayer expense and now possibly removed again at taxpayer expense. That’s what makes for an “All-American.”
Town?”

And now there’s the education budget that an “All-American City” must address. Making draconian cuts to the education budget that will hurt a group of people who truly have no voice – our children – is something we should not be proud of.

By cutting the superintendent’s budget by nearly $10 million, we will have this result:

1. A potential layoff of about 100 tenured and non-tenured employees, resulting in larger class sizes and, as Interim Superintendent Andrew Longey said, destroying the livelihoods and family lives of these dedicated professionals.
2. We will also see the elimination of positions that are so beneficial and helpful to many of our students.
3. The elimination of reading teachers, language teachers, and the end of the sixth grade language program are all results of budget cuts.
4. Careers counselors at Enfield High School are hard at work.
5. The gymnasium sports program will be eliminated.
6. And class sizes will increase, preventing teachers from giving individual attention to those children who need it.

Is this what we want for our children? Is this what we want for our community? What does an “All-American Town” look like?

Bill Kiner
Enfield

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