GMYD member Mike Stebbe was recently elected President of the Spruce Street Blockwatch. The Spruce Street area is along the downtown corridor, emanating outward from Nathan Hale School.
Mike moved to Manchester is 2005 and has been active in local politics since. He was the Deputy Treasurer for Joe Courtney in 2006 and was a campaign coordinator for Board of Education member Mike Pohl this past cycle. He is finishing up work on a Masters in Public Policy and is a substitute teacher at Manchester High School.
Congratulations, Mike!
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Manchester’s low bond rating, the lowest in the area, attracted an unusual number of bidders and an extremely low interest rate when the Town recently sold $39 million in bonds for school construction and public works projects.
From the article (emphasis mine):
Fitch Ratings describes Manchester as having “conservative financial management practices, which have contributed to solid financial results.”
It says that while future bonded debt is expected on school construction projects, “this concern is somewhat mitigated by an above-average amortization rate and a manageable debt service burden on the budget.”
Within the next decade, 58.1 percent of the town’s debt will be retired, Fitch says, noting that an additional $50 million in bonded debt is expected during the next eight to 10 years to fix the elementary schools.
“Moody’s expects that, despite the town’s aggressive capital program driven largely by improvements to school facilities, its debt burden will remain low given manageable future borrowing plans and voter supported tax increases,” Moody’s indicates.
It also says that “Manchester’s sizable and diverse $6.5 billion net grant list will continue to draw economic stability from its proximity to Hartford and location along Interstate 84, growing modestly in both the commercial and residential sectors. … The town remains diverse, 56.1 percent residential, 22.3 percent commercial/industrial, and is expected to continue to serve as a commercial/retail center for the eastern suburbs of Hartford.”
Funny, these comments seem to run converse to the Republicans’ claims during the past election that Democrats were fiscally irresponsible. In reality, it seems quite the opposite.
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The School Use committee, tasked with devising a plan for renovating the remaining elementary schools, has spent a great deal of time addressing claims that they will be closing Nathan Hale School, which was proposed by Superintendent Kathleen M. Ouellette.
Board of Education member Mike Pohl, co-chairman of the committee, has responded by saying:
“The bottom line is that there is no plan. There is no plan to close Nathan Hale School. I can’t say that enough,” he said.
