Economic Downturn Leads to Three-Day Weekends

With the economy in a downward spiral, unemployment is rising and tax revenues for many cities and towns across the country are dropping faster than a chicken hawk after road kill.

To counter the effects of falling tax revenues, local municipalities and school systems are experimenting with the idea of eliminating the typical five-day work/school week in favor of having three-day weekends.

This summer Utah became the first state to mandate the four-day work week for most of its public employees and started to turn off the lights and heating and air conditioning on Fridays in one thousand state government buildings. It is estimated by Utah’s governor’s office, that by turning off the lights on Fridays, it will save $3 million annually.

The state also expected to save money on gasoline purchases due to the fact that state vehicles will not be on the road, but they have not figured out exactly how much that will save yet.

County governments are beginning to look at the four-day week as well.  Marion County FL, Oconee County, SC, Walworth County, WI, are just a few that have already implemented the four-day week for employees, while Oakland County, MI, Miami-Dade County, FL, and Suffolk County, NY are moving closer to it.

Many local school districts are also looking to establish four-day weeks for similar reasons as local governments around the country, state aid is dwindling and money is scarce.

It is thought that if a district drops 20% of its schedule, then naturally it should lose 20% of its expenses for transportation, utilities, food service, substitute teachers and other costs. It should be noted though that these cost generally only make up 4% of the total operating budget of a school district.

There are a few potential benefits to a four-day school week such as, lower absenteeism of students and teachers. Fewer substitutes…

Politics Are Local, Just Ask the Mayor

I want to first congratulate President-Elect Barack Obama; his historic race for the Whitehouse will long be remembered around these parts. Our nation needs Obama to be successful, and I wish him nothing but the best as he attempts to lead our country once sworn into office on January 20^th.

Gaining over 200 electoral votes more than John McCain, receiving nearly 9 million more in the popular vote, and turning 28 states blue (mine included), the President-Elect won by a landslide, but his coattails did not reach down far enough to help the local candidates in my town. The local race was very frustrating for us Democrats who put so much time and effort into getting our candidates elected.

My town predominantly leans Republican, though registered voters are rather evenly split between Democrats and Republicans; it’s the Independents that made the difference, as they usually do in any election. Independents came out predominantly for McCain, thus Republican candidates down the line won.

In other states, counties, and towns across the country where the populations tended to be slightly more conservative, affluent, and less urbanized, the voters seemed to have chosen McCain over Obama. There were, however, a few anomalies like Greenwich, Connecticut.

Greenwich, the seemingly upper crust, millionaire, and blue-blooded community, voted resoundingly for Obama. It was the first time since 1964 that the voters of Greenwich voted for a Democrat.

Why, you ask? When asked about this seemingly unlikely event, a few locals informed pollsters that even though Greenwich is known for its millionaires and mansions, the wealthy make up less than 20 percent of the total population. A majority of the people that live in and around Greenwich fall into the middle class, making less $100,000 a year.

Another interesting outcome of this year’s election was the results from the little town of Silverton, Oregon, where transgender candidate Stu Rassmusen was…

I Am The Local Rambler

Welcome all, allow me to introduce myself, I am the Local Rambler. I have been asked by Mikey to contribute my thoughts and insights into the workings of local government and the issues that affect the plain-Jane, local people that live and work in the communities in which we live.

It’s a big task; each town is different and unique as are its people. And what I may feel works best for a small rural town in Kansas does not work as well in a large suburban town in New Jersey. At times the values that these two communities hold are often diametrically opposed to each other. However, what brings these towns, and all towns for that matter, together is the love for their community and country and the hatred for taxes and a distain for politicians.

As I write these columns, it is my goal to give a general understanding of what it is like to be working in the trenches, expressing my views and impressing upon people the importance of their “grass roots” participation in the political process. In order to do that though, let me tell you a little about myself, so that you will have a better understanding of where I am coming from.

I am very involved with my local Democratic party and I live in the Northeast, in a town that is one of the largest in my state. My town by all rights, should lean democratic but has been controlled by the local republicans for a quarter of a century. For where the town is located, it is amazing at how diverse the town actually is; a mixture of rural horse farms and urban sprawl, working class blue-collar living within a short distance from upper-crust blue bloods. There is a great wealth disparity in town. This being…