Letters to the Editor 3-21-14

Rebuttal to Martin’s column

This letter is a rebuttal to the column published in the March 7  issue of The Winsted Journal by Town Manager Dale Martin.

Let me make it perfectly clear that my arguments with the Friends of Main Street (FOMS) organization is not to destroy the organization, but for them and the town to answer serious questions concerning the operations of FOMS and the exorbitant, if not outrageous, funding of FOMS from the taxpayer’s treasury these past 14 years.

All of what Martin mentioned in the article is relatively correct except for the direct statement, that he made to me verbally, that “bad blood” exists between FOMS, Connecticut Main Street Center and the town.

The one thing absolutely correct that Martin stated is that FOMS is no longer accredited under Connecticut Main Street Center and is just a simple community group. This is due to significant failures within the FOMS organization itself.

The unanswered questions concerning “Friends of Main Street” are as follows:

1. Why is FOMS, a nonprofit 501c3 organization, which is outside of Winchester town government, listed under the town’s budget as a department?

2. FOMS by signed agreement, was only suppose to get funding from the town for the first four years of its existence — it has now received 14 years worth! Why? 

3. In the funding agreement, it is “required that an annual signed agreement” be made between FOMS, Connecticut Main Street Center, and the town of Winchester. No such agreements exist. I asked four times for such documentations from town officials. Nor can any be found at town hall by the town manager or financial director, from the initial formation of FOMS to present — 14 years total.

Also, there is no required annual report from FOMS on how taxpayer’s monies where spent exist, again 14 years total.

Why has the town and FOMS violated the town charter over these past 14 years?

The following is from town charter under Section 1703: Contributions: “No contributions by the town of more than $500 shall be made to any organization or private corporation unless the town is represented on its board by one or more members nominated thereto by the Board of Selectmen.”

4. Why has FOMS been funded exhortation amounts of taxpayer’s monies, these past 14 years, over our Economic Development Commission (EDC) which is designated as the “official agency,” per town charter, and charged with the economic development and health of “all of Winchester?” See chart for a historical comparison.

The difference is that the EDC gets only 23 percent of what FOMS receives in taxpayer’s money. Again, the EDC, per the town charter, is the “official development agency” of the town of Winchester. FOMS has no claim whatsoever to that title.

EDC is assigned the responsibility for all of Winchester’s economic development.

FOMS’s has only the two-mile stretch of downtown Winsted to worry about, “a lot of money” is going to a nonprofit organization concerned with such limited territory or with the ability to seek and encourage new business to establish themselves in Winchester.

Further questions are:

Why does FOMS gets the lion share of taxpayers’ monies over our EDC, which they are not allowed per the town charter? FOMS gets funding from sponsors which EDC can not. EDC is encumbered to account for all taxpayers’ monies expended in the performance of their assigned mission, per town charter.

Why isn’t FOMS encumbered to account for taxpayer’s monies they receive?

Note: Events put on by FOMS, such as concerts on the green, are paid for by sponsors, yet they charge the public participation fees at other events such as the Meatball Challenge, charge exhibitors fees at the Fall Foliage, our town police have overseen FOMS events, with taxpayer’s paying for police overtime. No charges to FOMS for police overtime services nor charges to FOMS for services rendered by town public works department.

So with all the monies FOMS receives from all sources, including sponsors, the town, events,  contributions and freebies, where does all the money that FOMS takes in go and for what? An “audit” of “Friends of Main Street” by the town, and all its activities, over the past 14 years, is long over due.

The residents of Winchester must ask the final question: Are we getting our taxpayers monies worth out of this organization? Again, where does all the money go?

Captain Stephen Kosinski 

USMM (retired)

Winsted