The two towns should merge. Together, they could achieve ultimate efficiency. They already share the largest expenses through DMIAAB and RSD 13. Why not take the next step? Alone, Durham will become hopelessly expensive. Alone, Middlefield is hopelessly disfunctional. Together, they could pool their positives and overcome their individual negatives. With a larger population, the new Duh-Middle could neutralize the effects of small-town bickering and politics, and become a beacon in Middlesex county.
On November 22nd, 2008 Middlefield Taxpayer (not verified) said:
It would be a terrible idea for the people of Middlefield to consider a combining with the town of Durham on many public needs. Durham dwarfs Middlefield in both size and population. However, Middlefield manages to give more and better services to its constituents, with a lower taxes. How can Durham expect to be safe with one police officer. Middlefield has three. If public safety were important to Durham, the town would address this. If we combine, our three would need to cover Durham as well, actually giving us less coverage.
The schools are shared, and this is fair to Middlefield because we pay the percentage equivalent to our student population. If we combined, our taxes would go up because Durham did not control housing growth as much as Middlefield.
Durham also has no plan to ease taxpayer burden. When a viable business, Pricechopper, wants to come into the town, the "character" of the town is used to shoot it down. Is that the character of the town as an agricultural community. I am sorry, but all you Mercedes and BMW driving suburbanites have already contributed to the destruction of THAT Durham. Durham is now absolutely a suburb and should have the support businesses, including a shopping center.
Sorry Durham. It is nice being your neighbor, but we don't want your shortsightedness! FIgure out your own issues!
On November 22nd, 2008 mickey (not verified) said:
I think at the very least, we should consolidate services for every position that is not full time (40 Hours per week) The simple math of splitting the costs for benefits for town employees would be significant right there. I also think that both towns have staff that are not overburdened by their work loads, and due to the similar nature and proximity of the two towns, many functions could easily be shared.
I also think that elimination of some services should be considered. Five years ago, I would never have thought about cancelling my cable TV- This year, it just might have to go. We have a wide variety of wonderful services offered in this town, all of which I am sure are appreciated, but many of which are extras. We have all felt a sense of entitlement to these services- but in these ecomonic times, we may all have to rethink that. The Middlefield library is a good example. I think if you add up the number of residents that use it, you might find it is a small percentage. While those few use it often, it is still only a few.
We should be considering less police staff, less highway department services, and more.
On November 23rd, 2008 Maureen O'Connor (not verified) said:
If Middlefield is moving towards a better tax base and maintaining a good place for working middle class families to live, why merge?
Certainly some shared services make sense, but blending two towns may not work out well.
It may take a while before any town can assess what is best economically, given the current troubles we have nationally.
It is never good to make major decisions in a crunch- Middlefield should wait a while before making such a huge move. In the meantime, new business, as appropriate, should be encouraged to look at this nice town to locate.
Consolidating the two towns would be downright awful. Just like with the schools, we know "Durham" would control most of a new, consolidated town. The RINOs of Durham will continue to blow money on senior center studies, an "emergency services complex", and town meetings every month attended only by the town's political elite. The only good thing that could come out of such a move would be that the regional school district would effectively become a local district, which means the finance board would once again have control over school spending. Regional school boards have way too much autonomy. If we really want to save money we should dissolve the regional school district and create a new one just for grades 9-12, which is the only school building not present in Middlefield.
Merger
The two towns should merge. Together, they could achieve ultimate efficiency. They already share the largest expenses through DMIAAB and RSD 13. Why not take the next step? Alone, Durham will become hopelessly expensive. Alone, Middlefield is hopelessly disfunctional. Together, they could pool their positives and overcome their individual negatives. With a larger population, the new Duh-Middle could neutralize the effects of small-town bickering and politics, and become a beacon in Middlesex county.
Combining the towns
It would be a terrible idea for the people of Middlefield to consider a combining with the town of Durham on many public needs. Durham dwarfs Middlefield in both size and population. However, Middlefield manages to give more and better services to its constituents, with a lower taxes. How can Durham expect to be safe with one police officer. Middlefield has three. If public safety were important to Durham, the town would address this. If we combine, our three would need to cover Durham as well, actually giving us less coverage.
The schools are shared, and this is fair to Middlefield because we pay the percentage equivalent to our student population. If we combined, our taxes would go up because Durham did not control housing growth as much as Middlefield.
Durham also has no plan to ease taxpayer burden. When a viable business, Pricechopper, wants to come into the town, the "character" of the town is used to shoot it down. Is that the character of the town as an agricultural community. I am sorry, but all you Mercedes and BMW driving suburbanites have already contributed to the destruction of THAT Durham. Durham is now absolutely a suburb and should have the support businesses, including a shopping center.
Sorry Durham. It is nice being your neighbor, but we don't want your shortsightedness! FIgure out your own issues!
Sharing services with Durham
I think at the very least, we should consolidate services for every position that is not full time (40 Hours per week) The simple math of splitting the costs for benefits for town employees would be significant right there. I also think that both towns have staff that are not overburdened by their work loads, and due to the similar nature and proximity of the two towns, many functions could easily be shared.
I also think that elimination of some services should be considered. Five years ago, I would never have thought about cancelling my cable TV- This year, it just might have to go. We have a wide variety of wonderful services offered in this town, all of which I am sure are appreciated, but many of which are extras. We have all felt a sense of entitlement to these services- but in these ecomonic times, we may all have to rethink that. The Middlefield library is a good example. I think if you add up the number of residents that use it, you might find it is a small percentage. While those few use it often, it is still only a few.
We should be considering less police staff, less highway department services, and more.
If Middlefield is moving
If Middlefield is moving towards a better tax base and maintaining a good place for working middle class families to live, why merge?
Certainly some shared services make sense, but blending two towns may not work out well.
It may take a while before any town can assess what is best economically, given the current troubles we have nationally.
It is never good to make major decisions in a crunch- Middlefield should wait a while before making such a huge move. In the meantime, new business, as appropriate, should be encouraged to look at this nice town to locate.
Preserve sovereignty
Consolidating the two towns would be downright awful. Just like with the schools, we know "Durham" would control most of a new, consolidated town. The RINOs of Durham will continue to blow money on senior center studies, an "emergency services complex", and town meetings every month attended only by the town's political elite. The only good thing that could come out of such a move would be that the regional school district would effectively become a local district, which means the finance board would once again have control over school spending. Regional school boards have way too much autonomy. If we really want to save money we should dissolve the regional school district and create a new one just for grades 9-12, which is the only school building not present in Middlefield.
The towns should consider
The towns should consider developing a shared Community Center/Senior Citizens Center. Also consider shared management of the town parks.
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