With the budget crunch time fast approaching, city officials are scrambling to figure out how to close a $12 million gap in next year’s spending plan.
A property tax hike is virtually certain, but a consensus appears to be in place to hold any increase to 1.5 mills or less. That means property taxes could rise as much as 5.8 percent.
“We can’t go any higher than that,” said John Smith, a veteran finance commissioner.
Both Mayor Art Ward and Finance Chair Rich Miecznikowski said they believe taxes will go up between 1 and 1.5 mills when the final city spending plan is adopted next month. Click here for the story.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
44 comments:
And this guy wants a 4 year term?
What has he done in the over two years that he has been in office?
Hello Republicans - this is your time to shine...What would be your plan for the budget that would not raise taxes but actually balance the budget? Come on GOP! Start talking..Your boat is about to sail.
Steve,
Any breakdown on where the shortage is coming from?
Revenue, how much?
Expenses, how much up, and where?
WTF! How can you raise taxes when people are not even getting raises! Or 10% of the city is laid off! How come not one person has been laid off at City hall to start closing this 12mil gap? How come other businesses lay off to close their budget gap but the City cant?
Its pretty sad to see what is about to happen to this City. Raising taxes is just going to increase foreclosures in the city.
City employees won't be laid-off, their the only ones that vote.
U scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.
At all levels of government democrats can't be trusted. Your checking account is their Piggy bank.
Nov/10 can't get here soon enough!
7:58..Don't think you can trust the spend happy republicans currently on city council either. Both Mills and Cockayne support building 2 new schools while Bristol is in a budget crisis. Where are the conservatives??
What is amazing is that all departments were told to come in with flat or cut budgets and they didn't. They basically said "screw you" to the taxpayers. It is time to cut spending even it means cutting services, combining departments and yes even (hard as they are) layoffs. The taxpayers simply can not afford a tax hike. This is a Bristol issue and everyone needs to speak up.
Bristol is more and more like New Britain every day. Home of the welfare and punish the working.
But Trust Fund TJ and his band of lackeys are building a GOP juggernaut! Watch out!
we are all going to be homeless sooner then later.we can pitch tents on the mayor's front lawn. thank's alot Art for nailing us all once again.Democrats have to go. people wake up.
To hell with the taxpayers ....
The unions need to be saved .....
It's not like they are new departure and can just close up and move out of state .
"T"axed "E"nough "A"lready ???
This is not a political party issue - it's a Bristol issue. Too much waste, too much union power. You can move if you want, but what do you think our property values look like? It's only going to get worse when taxes go up, and we'll still have the same problems.
We need a COO to operate the city, get rid of the unions, and make people accountable to earn their pay.
12:30 is correct.Until Bristol has a City Manager experienced in union negotiations nothing will change.
Why not the current Charter Revision Committee doing the right thing and recommending a city manager instead of longer terms for the unqualified.
Holy crap - did the GOP actually have a novel idea in regards to the COO?
They must all go they didnt even try to make cuts.
I can't believe the dumb people in Bristol. Lets just blame the unions for all the fiscal problems and not the fact that there's a recession going on.
All i could say is these cowards only care about votes and the unions. Screw the tax payers.
What exactly is a COO going to do with "union negotiations" that the Mayor isn't? The problem is at the state level. One problem is that CT is a closed-shop state. Another problem is that we have binding arbitration in CT that always favors the unions. A COO will do nothing to fix those things. There has to be a change in the Legislature, a change that favors the Republican Party and takes the power away from public labor unions (at the state level). But that will probably never happen because over a third of the people in CT on on welfare which makes them favor the Democrat Party, the party of entitlements and social-welfare as well as the unions. And the state labor force is well-funded, large and growing.
I hope the same lot of you complaining were certainly part of the what, 25% that came out to vote. The wheels on the bus go round and round, RIGHT OUT OF TOWN. Keep up with me now.
WARD GOT HIS RAISE - HE COULD CARELESS HOW THE REST OF US WILL GET BY. WARD WANTS 4 YEARS? HE HAS HIS HEAD UP HIS A$@ ON THIS ONE. TIME FOR WARD TO GO. GUESS SPENDING TIME AT THE BARS IS REALLY SHOWING.
8:52 - the city council and ward have taken 5% pay cuts for the next 2 years, not raises stupid.
9:43pm (aka Art) keep bellying up to the bar.
So Art Ward demanded union concessions last year to help prevent an increase of .25 of a mil. But now that hes been re-elected he's dropping the bomb about a 1-1.5 increase this year? Why are projects at Rockwell Park and the 2 new schools proceeding if we're talking about laying off city employees? How much sense does that make? Ward is a ribbon cutter, and nothing more. There is no way he should be in charge of what is basically a multi million dollar corporation.
Lay this whole thing on Klocko the incompetent. He has been cooking the books for years. The last couple of years has been spent on trying to steal pension money to cover up his schemes. He told the people of Bristol this could be done without bargaining , he knew it was not true, but to this day he and Furgeson are trying to get into those funds knowing full well they can do nothing without the unions' blessing. When are people going to wake up to these unelected idiots' shenanigans.
2:37
Layoffs are totally in the purview of the city.
While the threat might encourage negotiations, there is no guarantee.
Back in 91-92 the city was hurting: they laid people off.
Why not now Artie???
If they went up half a mill last year, it would have been worth about 3 million against the 12 million shortfall (1.5 and 1.5): another half mill this year would make it 4.5 million and the hit would not have been as dramatic!
Opps, lost my head. Last year was an election year: who cares about doing the right thing for the voter.
2:13
When we get a mayor that will stand up to Klocko!
But then, he or she will have to be able to understand the process.
8:52, Awww poor wittle snookums...once again, sounds like you've got a really, really big grudge going on there, don't ya wittle fella?! Awww, well I hope making stupid, pointless comments and insults make you feel bigger, better and special...just like mom always said you were!
April 11, 2010 3:42 PM:
Put it in a letter to the editor Bill.
How about teachers Bill or better yet the administrators?
"Come on GOP! Start talking."
Unfortunately, that's about ALL they ever do.
The Bristol GOP is a complete joke.
Our 2 republican city councilmen are no different than any democrat.
Bristol is in a fiscal mess and Mills and Cockayne agree with the democrats to build 2 new schools.
Where are the conservatives???
Bristol politicians must stop the spending now.
Just curious - will it ever be the right time for many of you to build the schools? We could be in the best of times, and you would still complain.
The ship is sailed, the schools are going to be build and the cost of captial is already built into the finance plan.
If Ward wasn't so busy putting his hands where they don't belong he could concentrate on serious matters - think with the other head Mayor!
1:47, yes there would be a good time
to build these schools..... When we could
afford to build them. Get your head our if the sand
Bristol is broke and the state is broke.
1.47 The only thing in the finance plan
is to raise taxes again.
7:44 - you definately aren't using yours.
April 12, 2010 9:25 PM:
I agree. In addition to the fiscal crisis we're all in, the location of the "western" side school is terrible. If we're being forced to build something for $75 million ($150 total), let's do it right. Build it closer to the center of Bristol.
1:47... the right time would be when Bristol has a balanced budget not when we have a $12 million deficit!!
Most of You Blame Our Mayor Art Ward For The Tax Increase...Former Mayor Frank Nicastro Didn't Have An Increase In Taxes For Many Years and Most of You Thought He Was The Best,Mr.Wonderful...Now, If Frank Had Just Gone Up .5 mills
We Wouldn't Be in This MESS!!! You Ever Wonder Why He Hasn't Run For Mayor Again...Because He Wanted To Pass This Mess onto Another Mayor and Given These TOUGH Economic Times...His Hands Are Tied! The Next Time You See Frank Tell Him...THANKS FOR NOTHIN!
Cockayne "looser" is an oportunistic. he does not know wha needs to be done. but he can give you the "bs". he does not know how to do the math but he can give you the "act" so many promises. I am realy disgusted with him!
5:48
I agree with you about Nicastro!
However, your Ward has done nothing since he has been in office to address the situation.
While he came when the recession was just getting started, what has he done to ease our burden?
And his 0 mill increase last year, and election year by the way, was just putting off addressing the problem.
8:33 I completely agree. His claim of being a fiscal consrevative is total BS. He is the same as any other compulsive spender dowmtown.
Dept heads walked all over both Stortz and ward because they new they could buffalo them and there years of unbusiness experteez. One ran a bar into the ground and the other could not stack cans at stop and shop!
10:50
But they both can spell.
Didn't Stortz get one bargaining unit to significantly increase their health care contribution, and I understand that the FD was upset with him because he cut their OT by 1 million.
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