The word swirling around the statehouse is that state Rep. Ron Burns, a first-term Republican from Bristol, won't seek reelection this year.
Burns, who represents the 77th District, said last week he hasn't made up his mind. Since he promised to call me as soon as he does - and is pretty reliable for a politician - I don't think he's made a firm decision yet.
But it may well come today.
Wednesday morning update: Or maybe today?
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 20, 2008
May 19, 2008
City budget passed after two-hour standoff
The city has a budget, but it wasn’t easy.
On six different budget votes Monday during a joint session of the Board of Finance and City Council, officials split right down the middle, racking up one 7-7 tally after another.
“We’re spinning our wheels, people,” said Janet Moylan, a finance commissioner who tried unsuccessfully to find middle ground.
“It’s a farce,” said Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski.
In the end, though, a first-term city councilor, Democrat Cliff Block, found the key to resolving the increasingly frustrating two-hour long standoff, proposing some minor additions to a spending plan that Mayor Art Ward created in a bid to pare the proposed tax cut.
The $170.9 million dollar budget approved on a 9-5 vote will hike property taxes by 1.04 mills, or $1.40 per thousand dollars of assessed value.
The fight was mostly about that 40 cents tacked on to the mill rate hike, which Block pushed in order to pump another $100,000 into education, $30,000 into code enforcement efforts, $30,000 into community promotions such as the Mum Festival and a couple other small increases.
“It’s amazing, the elder statesman, even though he’s a freshman, has come through with the tiebreaking vote,” Block joked afterward.
There was, however, an element of a power play involved, with Block and two more senior councilors, Democrats Craig Minor and Kevin McCauley, opposing the mayor’s preferred budget until they were able to add in a handful of items they had championed.
Ward was among those who voted against the budget, opposing it even though it almost mirrored his own, with a relatively paltry $190,000 added back in.
The finance board had backed a $172.7 million spending plan three weeks ago that would have hiked property taxes by 6 percent, or 1.5 mills.
Ward said that after hearing an outcry from residents struggling to pay their bills now, he revisited the spending plan with department heads and the school superintendent, winding up with a new proposed budget that would have hiked taxes less than 4 percent, or .98 mills.
But Ward’s budget drew only a few votes because most members wanted either less spending or more.
Following that, a series of votes that basically offered the finance board budget and a one mill increase budget split down the middle.
“It’s obvious everyone has dug in their feet,” said city Councilor Frank Nicastro, a former mayor who wanted a lower tax hike. He said he’d never seen anything like this in two decades in city government.
“We’ve got to come to reality here,” Ward proclaimed. “I’m getting a little frustrated.”
At one point, Republican city Councilor Mike Rimcoski told the city clerk to “make a mistake on the count” and bring an end to the divisiveness.
When one official left the room briefly, the mayor joked, “Quick, he’s gone. We can take a vote. 7-6.”
But Block’s compromise drew the necessary majority at last.
Had finance commissioner Cheryl Thibeault been there the two-hour long stalemate would have been virtually impossible because she would have provided one side or the other the winning vote. She told colleagues she couldn’t make it because of her mother-in-law’s death.
In an email, Thibeault said she thought a property tax hike of about a mill was appropriate.
The new budget takes effect on July 1. It preserves existing programs and isn’t expected to result in any layoffs.
On six different budget votes Monday during a joint session of the Board of Finance and City Council, officials split right down the middle, racking up one 7-7 tally after another.
“We’re spinning our wheels, people,” said Janet Moylan, a finance commissioner who tried unsuccessfully to find middle ground.
“It’s a farce,” said Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski.
In the end, though, a first-term city councilor, Democrat Cliff Block, found the key to resolving the increasingly frustrating two-hour long standoff, proposing some minor additions to a spending plan that Mayor Art Ward created in a bid to pare the proposed tax cut.
The $170.9 million dollar budget approved on a 9-5 vote will hike property taxes by 1.04 mills, or $1.40 per thousand dollars of assessed value.
The fight was mostly about that 40 cents tacked on to the mill rate hike, which Block pushed in order to pump another $100,000 into education, $30,000 into code enforcement efforts, $30,000 into community promotions such as the Mum Festival and a couple other small increases.
“It’s amazing, the elder statesman, even though he’s a freshman, has come through with the tiebreaking vote,” Block joked afterward.
There was, however, an element of a power play involved, with Block and two more senior councilors, Democrats Craig Minor and Kevin McCauley, opposing the mayor’s preferred budget until they were able to add in a handful of items they had championed.
Ward was among those who voted against the budget, opposing it even though it almost mirrored his own, with a relatively paltry $190,000 added back in.
The finance board had backed a $172.7 million spending plan three weeks ago that would have hiked property taxes by 6 percent, or 1.5 mills.
Ward said that after hearing an outcry from residents struggling to pay their bills now, he revisited the spending plan with department heads and the school superintendent, winding up with a new proposed budget that would have hiked taxes less than 4 percent, or .98 mills.
But Ward’s budget drew only a few votes because most members wanted either less spending or more.
Following that, a series of votes that basically offered the finance board budget and a one mill increase budget split down the middle.
“It’s obvious everyone has dug in their feet,” said city Councilor Frank Nicastro, a former mayor who wanted a lower tax hike. He said he’d never seen anything like this in two decades in city government.
“We’ve got to come to reality here,” Ward proclaimed. “I’m getting a little frustrated.”
At one point, Republican city Councilor Mike Rimcoski told the city clerk to “make a mistake on the count” and bring an end to the divisiveness.
When one official left the room briefly, the mayor joked, “Quick, he’s gone. We can take a vote. 7-6.”
But Block’s compromise drew the necessary majority at last.
Had finance commissioner Cheryl Thibeault been there the two-hour long stalemate would have been virtually impossible because she would have provided one side or the other the winning vote. She told colleagues she couldn’t make it because of her mother-in-law’s death.
In an email, Thibeault said she thought a property tax hike of about a mill was appropriate.
The new budget takes effect on July 1. It preserves existing programs and isn’t expected to result in any layoffs.
This will give you a flavor of the 7-7 votes:
Vote on the Final Budget
YES: John Smith, Don Soucy, Rich Miecznikowski, Ron Messier, Kevin McCauley, Mark Peterson, Janet Moylan, Craig Minor, Cliff BlockVote on the Final Budget
NO: Ken Cockayne, Frank Nicastro, Art Ward, Mike Rimcoski, Roald Erling
First Vote on Board of Finance Budget (with 1.5-mill property tax hike)
YES: Cliff Block, Kevin McCauley, Craig Minor, Janet Moylan, Ron Messier, Don Soucy, John Smith
NO: Ken Cockayne, Art Ward, Frank Nicastro, Roald Erling, Rich Miecznikowski, Mike Rimcoski, Mark Peterson
First Vote on slightly revised Ward Budget (with one mill property tax hike)
YES: Art Ward, Rich Miecznikowski, Roald Erling, Mark Peterson, John Smith, Ron Messier, Janety Moylan
NO: Don Soucy, Ken Cockayne, Kevin McCauley, Frank Nicastro, Mike Rimcoski, Craig Minor, Cliff Block
Vote on proposal for budget with 1.1-mills increase
YES: Cliff Block, Janet Moylan, Mark Peterson, Rich Miecznikowski, Ron Messier, Don Soucy, John Smith
NO: Art Ward, Roald Erling, Frank Nicastro, Ken Cockayne, Mike Rimcoski, Craig Minor, Kevin McCauley
More details to come.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Scalia site out of the running?
Though I haven't got anyone willing to say it on the record yet, two insiders who seem to know what's up have told me in recent days that the Scalia sand pit off Barlow Street is unlikely to be used for one of the two new schools eyed by the city.
Apparently, the owners want a whole lot more money than the city's appraiser says the property is worth. And nobody's itching for a condemnation proceeding to take the land.
If this proves to be true, the West Bristol School Building Committee will have to find another possible location for the $60 million kindergarten to eighth grade school sought by educators.
It could mean another look at the Divinity and Park street site across from Rockwell Park, but it may also mean that officials will take a look at Chippens Hill again, where there are a number of large tracts that might be available.
I don't know how negotiations are going for the former Crowley dealership on Pine Street, where officials hope to build another new school.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Apparently, the owners want a whole lot more money than the city's appraiser says the property is worth. And nobody's itching for a condemnation proceeding to take the land.
If this proves to be true, the West Bristol School Building Committee will have to find another possible location for the $60 million kindergarten to eighth grade school sought by educators.
It could mean another look at the Divinity and Park street site across from Rockwell Park, but it may also mean that officials will take a look at Chippens Hill again, where there are a number of large tracts that might be available.
I don't know how negotiations are going for the former Crowley dealership on Pine Street, where officials hope to build another new school.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Let's play "name that politician"
I've been thinking for awhile that Bristol's politicians need more interesting names. Nothing against Art, Frank, Ken, Cliff, Kevin, Ron, Bill, Tom, Mike, Craig and Co., but let's face it, these are not the sort of names that scream out EXCITING!
If we're going to have some fun with them, they need nicknames that capture their spirit, the essence of what they're all about, something that lifts them above the humdrum of the day.
For example, I've already decided that freshman city Councilor Ken Cockayne really ought to be called "Mad Dog," even though he is neither a dog nor particularly mad. It just seems like the right appellation for him.
Anyway, let's take a break from bashing unions, pleading for lower taxes and cursing incumbents and see if anyone can come up with a good tabloid sort of name for any of the politicos in town. The rules are simple: you can only suggest something that could be printed in a family newspaper.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
If we're going to have some fun with them, they need nicknames that capture their spirit, the essence of what they're all about, something that lifts them above the humdrum of the day.
For example, I've already decided that freshman city Councilor Ken Cockayne really ought to be called "Mad Dog," even though he is neither a dog nor particularly mad. It just seems like the right appellation for him.
Anyway, let's take a break from bashing unions, pleading for lower taxes and cursing incumbents and see if anyone can come up with a good tabloid sort of name for any of the politicos in town. The rules are simple: you can only suggest something that could be printed in a family newspaper.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 18, 2008
Jerome to announce officially on Monday
I just got this from Republican state House hopeful Derek Jerome, who's running against Democratic state Rep. Frank Nicastro in the 79th District:
You Are Cordially Invited To Attend
The Announcement of Candidacy
of
Derek R. Jerome, Sr.
For State Representative 79th District
Republican 2008
7:30
Forestville Rail Road Station
Located Across from Nuchies Resteraunt
164 Central Street
The Announcement of Candidacy
of
Derek R. Jerome, Sr.
For State Representative 79th District
Republican 2008
7:30
Forestville Rail Road Station
Located Across from Nuchies Resteraunt
164 Central Street
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 17, 2008
City's 2009 tax hike could dwarf this year's total
By scraping every spare penny to make ends meet, city leaders are prepared Monday to approve a $170 million spending plan that will hike property taxes a bit less than 4 percent.
But the one mill property tax hike – which will hit even harder because revaluation tilted the tax burden slightly toward homeowners – may look paltry when next year’s budget comes up for approval
Though some officials are ready to postpone purchases of police cruisers, put off buying new public works equipment, skimp on contingency money and a host of other money-saving gimmicks this time around, many of the tricks won’t be available a second time.
That means that when city councilors and Board of Finance members get ready to pass a budget next year, they almost certainly can’t ask police officers to drive aging cars into the ground or delay once again buying other costly equipment that needed replacing this year.
Then, too, the $100 million school budget will, if recent history means anything, rise to about $106 million next year – or an extra mill and a half in property taxes. New growth in town won’t cover anywhere near that much.
City Councilor Frank Nicastro said that additional looming expenses are the two new kindergarten to eighth grade schools that will likely cost at least $115 million – or more, given the soaring price of steel and other products.
To pay for them, said city Comptroller Glenn Klocko, “we would likely double our debt service,” effectively raising the tax rate as much as another half a mill.
Klocko said, however, that given the slow pace of purchasing the necessary property, he figures that the debt for the new schools won’t even hit taxpayers until 2010 or later.
When they are finished, the extra operating costs might add another quarter of a mill to the tax rate annually, Klocko said.
“Education is expensive,” said city Councilor Cliff Block.
Nicastro, who is also a state representative from the 79th District, said that the state isn’t likely to be much help in closing the gap in 2009.
"The governor has made it clear that next year will be worse," Nicastro said.
The prospect of a hefty tax hike next time around isn’t making politicians feel any better, since the mayor and the entire council is up for reelection in 2009. None of them is keen to explain to struggling taxpayers why the city is asking for more.
For now, however, the city has pared the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 about as far as most officials are willing to go.
Still, at least two councilors – Republicans Mike Rimcoski and Ken Cockayne – are pushing to hold the line on any mill rate hike this year. But they haven’t got the votes to do it.
A joint session of the finance board and the council will give final approval to the spending plan at 5 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be held at City Hall.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
But the one mill property tax hike – which will hit even harder because revaluation tilted the tax burden slightly toward homeowners – may look paltry when next year’s budget comes up for approval
Though some officials are ready to postpone purchases of police cruisers, put off buying new public works equipment, skimp on contingency money and a host of other money-saving gimmicks this time around, many of the tricks won’t be available a second time.
That means that when city councilors and Board of Finance members get ready to pass a budget next year, they almost certainly can’t ask police officers to drive aging cars into the ground or delay once again buying other costly equipment that needed replacing this year.
Then, too, the $100 million school budget will, if recent history means anything, rise to about $106 million next year – or an extra mill and a half in property taxes. New growth in town won’t cover anywhere near that much.
City Councilor Frank Nicastro said that additional looming expenses are the two new kindergarten to eighth grade schools that will likely cost at least $115 million – or more, given the soaring price of steel and other products.
To pay for them, said city Comptroller Glenn Klocko, “we would likely double our debt service,” effectively raising the tax rate as much as another half a mill.
Klocko said, however, that given the slow pace of purchasing the necessary property, he figures that the debt for the new schools won’t even hit taxpayers until 2010 or later.
When they are finished, the extra operating costs might add another quarter of a mill to the tax rate annually, Klocko said.
“Education is expensive,” said city Councilor Cliff Block.
Nicastro, who is also a state representative from the 79th District, said that the state isn’t likely to be much help in closing the gap in 2009.
"The governor has made it clear that next year will be worse," Nicastro said.
The prospect of a hefty tax hike next time around isn’t making politicians feel any better, since the mayor and the entire council is up for reelection in 2009. None of them is keen to explain to struggling taxpayers why the city is asking for more.
For now, however, the city has pared the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 about as far as most officials are willing to go.
Still, at least two councilors – Republicans Mike Rimcoski and Ken Cockayne – are pushing to hold the line on any mill rate hike this year. But they haven’t got the votes to do it.
A joint session of the finance board and the council will give final approval to the spending plan at 5 p.m. Monday. The meeting will be held at City Hall.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 16, 2008
Congressman Larson updates website
U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose district includes Bristol, has just launched an updated official website (Click here to see it.)
In a press release, Larson said, “This new website will give my friends and neighbors in Connecticut new access and insight into what I am doing in Washington, It will also be an online community for us all to share – share photos of the places we love, share comments about the issues of our time, and share an appreciation of our area.”
According to the press release, the new site will include updated interactive features such as:
· A community photos section hosted by Flickr.com that will allow residents of Connecticut’s first district to share their favorite photos of the area;
· A map that displays locations throughout the district;
· Video clips of the Congressman’s statements on the floor of the House of Representatives;
· A slideshow of the Congressman’s recent events and appearances;
· User polls to help constituents tell the Congressman what they are thinking about important issues; and
· RSS feeds to keep readers aware of changes and updates to the site as soon as they happen.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
In a press release, Larson said, “This new website will give my friends and neighbors in Connecticut new access and insight into what I am doing in Washington, It will also be an online community for us all to share – share photos of the places we love, share comments about the issues of our time, and share an appreciation of our area.”
According to the press release, the new site will include updated interactive features such as:
· A community photos section hosted by Flickr.com that will allow residents of Connecticut’s first district to share their favorite photos of the area;
· A map that displays locations throughout the district;
· Video clips of the Congressman’s statements on the floor of the House of Representatives;
· A slideshow of the Congressman’s recent events and appearances;
· User polls to help constituents tell the Congressman what they are thinking about important issues; and
· RSS feeds to keep readers aware of changes and updates to the site as soon as they happen.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Mayor Ward has vanished
There's a mystery at City Hall.Along the back wall of the City Council chambers are a couple rows of framed photographs of Bristol's mayors reaching back nearly a century. Last month, the last picture in the line was a spanking new one: Art Ward.
But this month, the picture is gone.
"Too many dart holes," joked Ward. "They had to putty them in."
While that's a possible explanation, I have to note that the pictures are under glass, which is tough to throw a dart through.
So where did the photo go? Was it stolen? Did somebody take a dislike to it?
Is it getting moved to wall behind the mayor's chair, where Nicastro's photo hung during his final years in office?
What do y'all think?
PS: Former Mayor Stretch Norton came up with the idea to put the mayors on the wall there. It's turned out nice.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Public Works Week coming up soon
Press release from the city's public works department:
Mayor Arthur J. Ward has officially proclaimed May 18, 2008 through May 24, 2008 Public Works Week in Bristol.
The proclamation is available on the Public Works web site at www.ci.bristol.ct.us/publicworks
This is the week that we celebrate all the great things our Public Works men and women do to make the community a healthy, safe place to live, work and play.
The City of Bristol Public Works Department is holding several activities during the week to celebrate, among them an employee recognition event, a Touch-a-Truck event for a 1st grade class at Mountain View School, and a Career Day for local high school seniors to learn more about what Public Works does for Bristol.
The Touch-A-Truck event will be help Tuesday, May 20 (rain date Friday May 23) at 10:30 AM at Mountain View School. Career Day will be held on Thursday, May 22nd at 8:30 AM at the City Yard on Vincent P. Kelly Road.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Mayor Arthur J. Ward has officially proclaimed May 18, 2008 through May 24, 2008 Public Works Week in Bristol.
The proclamation is available on the Public Works web site at www.ci.bristol.ct.us/publicworks
This is the week that we celebrate all the great things our Public Works men and women do to make the community a healthy, safe place to live, work and play.
The City of Bristol Public Works Department is holding several activities during the week to celebrate, among them an employee recognition event, a Touch-a-Truck event for a 1st grade class at Mountain View School, and a Career Day for local high school seniors to learn more about what Public Works does for Bristol.
The Touch-A-Truck event will be help Tuesday, May 20 (rain date Friday May 23) at 10:30 AM at Mountain View School. Career Day will be held on Thursday, May 22nd at 8:30 AM at the City Yard on Vincent P. Kelly Road.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Homeless shelter on chopping block as well
These are from reporter Jackie Majerus:
The city's plan to cut $5,000 in funding from the Bristol Emergency Shelter will put an even bigger squeeze on the cash-strapped operation, according to its director.
"Wow," said Phillip Lysiak, executive director of the St. Vincent DePaul Society, when he heard the news. "It means we have to spend more of our reserve funds."
Lysiak said his budget year ends in September, and the city's cut will primarily impact his agency in their next fiscal year.
The money from the city, sliced to help Bristol's own budget crisis, goes toward operating expenses for the homeless shelter, Lysiak said.
"It covers general costs," said Lysiak.
The agency is far from flush.
"We're really tight," said Lysiak. "We have to find ways to cut or raise the revenue."
Lysiak's agency operates three shelters in Bristol – a 25-bed Bristol Emergency Shelter, the 13-bed Elms long-term transitional living center for single men and a similar program for 10 women and their children.
All the programs together add up to a budget of $997,000, said Lysiak, with the emergency shelter accounting for almost half of it.
The agency has $125,000 in reserves, which are supposed to be for emergency repairs and the like, but are being used for operating expenses, according to Lysiak.
This fiscal year, which ends September 30, will see $40,000 of the reserves used to operate, said Lysiak, if they stay on budget.
"We're going into the next year really, really on a thin line," said Lysiak, who said the agency's energy costs are dependent on the weather. "We're down to bare bones staff."
The emergency homeless shelter takes in single people and families, said Lysiak. He said the operating costs are about $416,000 for a year.
It's the most expensive of the three programs, said Lysiak, because it requires more staff to operate.
Over the course of a year, about 270 unduplicated people stay in the shelter, said Lysiak. He said most don't return during that year, though many do come back after that.
Most of those who come to stay at the shelter are single men, said Lysiak, but the homeless include about 50 children during a year.
A lot of the children are infants, said Lysiak, and most come with their mothers. Few of the families that stay in the shelter have two parents, he said. "Occasionally it happens."
Almost none of the families that stay in the shelter return, Lysiak said.
The great majority of the shelter residents have incomes of $10,000 a year or less, said Lysiak.
Overall, 26 percent of the adults in the shelter are employed, said Lysiak, but of the mothers, the figure jumps to 41 percent.
Almost half of those in the shelter are between the ages of 35 and 59, said Lysiak, and another 35 percent are ages 18 to 34.
Children under the age of five make up 12 percent of the shelter's occupants, Lysiak said, and kids ages six to 12 are 3 percent of Bristol's homeless.
Only 1 percent is age 60 or older, said Lysiak.
Drug use or addiction afflicts 40 percent of the residents, said Lysiak. There aren't as many of the chronically mentally ill as in the past, he said, because many of them are now in supportive housing programs.
There are rarely open beds in the shelter, according to Lysiak, who cites a 99 percent occupancy rate year round.
"It's always full," he said.
Slightly more than half of those who come to the shelter are from Bristol, said Lysiak. New Britain residents make up 10-15 percent of those who stay in the Bristol shelter, said Lysiak, who said the New Britain shelter is one that works with the Bristol shelter to find needed beds.
The rest of the residents come from many towns, including Plainville, Torrington, Southington and a few from Hartford, Waterbury, Manchester and Meriden. There are even some from out of state, but Lysiak said those people have come to this area because they've got friends or family here.
Personnel costs make up about 70 percent of the budget, said Lysiak, and energy costs take almost all the rest.
The shelter employs six full-time people and five part-timers, said Lysiak. There is a program director, a case manager and a lot of monitors, he said.
In addition, he and an assistant spend about a third of their time on shelter work, he said.
Fundraiser coming up that might help
Facing a cut in the city's contribution to operate the homeless shelter, the St. Vincent DePaul Society is looking for more help with an upcoming fundraiser.
With a Father's Day walk along Memorial Boulevard, the agency hopes to raise $15,000 this year, said Phillip Lysiak, director of St. Vincent DePaul.
The June 14 walk is open to anyone, and Lysiak said they'll be grateful to anyone who takes part.
Registrations are just starting to come in for the event, which will be held June 14.
Last year, the event brought in about $9,500, said Lysiak, falling short of the $15,000 goal.
About 100 people took part last year, said Lysiak, and each brought in donations from others who sponsored them.
"The people pool their money," said Lysiak.
This year, organizers are hoping more individuals will take part on their own, outside of the churches that have brought in many of the participants, according to Lysiak.
The Shamrock Run, a March road race and walk, brought in $12,600, said Lysiak.
The money from the March fundraiser, said Lysiak, was "totally needed," and an increase over the previous year.
To get involved with the Father's Day walk, pick up a registration form at local churches or contact St. Vincent DePaul at (860)589-9098.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
The city's plan to cut $5,000 in funding from the Bristol Emergency Shelter will put an even bigger squeeze on the cash-strapped operation, according to its director.
"Wow," said Phillip Lysiak, executive director of the St. Vincent DePaul Society, when he heard the news. "It means we have to spend more of our reserve funds."
Lysiak said his budget year ends in September, and the city's cut will primarily impact his agency in their next fiscal year.
The money from the city, sliced to help Bristol's own budget crisis, goes toward operating expenses for the homeless shelter, Lysiak said.
"It covers general costs," said Lysiak.
The agency is far from flush.
"We're really tight," said Lysiak. "We have to find ways to cut or raise the revenue."
Lysiak's agency operates three shelters in Bristol – a 25-bed Bristol Emergency Shelter, the 13-bed Elms long-term transitional living center for single men and a similar program for 10 women and their children.
All the programs together add up to a budget of $997,000, said Lysiak, with the emergency shelter accounting for almost half of it.
The agency has $125,000 in reserves, which are supposed to be for emergency repairs and the like, but are being used for operating expenses, according to Lysiak.
This fiscal year, which ends September 30, will see $40,000 of the reserves used to operate, said Lysiak, if they stay on budget.
"We're going into the next year really, really on a thin line," said Lysiak, who said the agency's energy costs are dependent on the weather. "We're down to bare bones staff."
The emergency homeless shelter takes in single people and families, said Lysiak. He said the operating costs are about $416,000 for a year.
It's the most expensive of the three programs, said Lysiak, because it requires more staff to operate.
Over the course of a year, about 270 unduplicated people stay in the shelter, said Lysiak. He said most don't return during that year, though many do come back after that.
Most of those who come to stay at the shelter are single men, said Lysiak, but the homeless include about 50 children during a year.
A lot of the children are infants, said Lysiak, and most come with their mothers. Few of the families that stay in the shelter have two parents, he said. "Occasionally it happens."
Almost none of the families that stay in the shelter return, Lysiak said.
The great majority of the shelter residents have incomes of $10,000 a year or less, said Lysiak.
Overall, 26 percent of the adults in the shelter are employed, said Lysiak, but of the mothers, the figure jumps to 41 percent.
Almost half of those in the shelter are between the ages of 35 and 59, said Lysiak, and another 35 percent are ages 18 to 34.
Children under the age of five make up 12 percent of the shelter's occupants, Lysiak said, and kids ages six to 12 are 3 percent of Bristol's homeless.
Only 1 percent is age 60 or older, said Lysiak.
Drug use or addiction afflicts 40 percent of the residents, said Lysiak. There aren't as many of the chronically mentally ill as in the past, he said, because many of them are now in supportive housing programs.
There are rarely open beds in the shelter, according to Lysiak, who cites a 99 percent occupancy rate year round.
"It's always full," he said.
Slightly more than half of those who come to the shelter are from Bristol, said Lysiak. New Britain residents make up 10-15 percent of those who stay in the Bristol shelter, said Lysiak, who said the New Britain shelter is one that works with the Bristol shelter to find needed beds.
The rest of the residents come from many towns, including Plainville, Torrington, Southington and a few from Hartford, Waterbury, Manchester and Meriden. There are even some from out of state, but Lysiak said those people have come to this area because they've got friends or family here.
Personnel costs make up about 70 percent of the budget, said Lysiak, and energy costs take almost all the rest.
The shelter employs six full-time people and five part-timers, said Lysiak. There is a program director, a case manager and a lot of monitors, he said.
In addition, he and an assistant spend about a third of their time on shelter work, he said.
Fundraiser coming up that might help
Facing a cut in the city's contribution to operate the homeless shelter, the St. Vincent DePaul Society is looking for more help with an upcoming fundraiser.
With a Father's Day walk along Memorial Boulevard, the agency hopes to raise $15,000 this year, said Phillip Lysiak, director of St. Vincent DePaul.
The June 14 walk is open to anyone, and Lysiak said they'll be grateful to anyone who takes part.
Registrations are just starting to come in for the event, which will be held June 14.
Last year, the event brought in about $9,500, said Lysiak, falling short of the $15,000 goal.
About 100 people took part last year, said Lysiak, and each brought in donations from others who sponsored them.
"The people pool their money," said Lysiak.
This year, organizers are hoping more individuals will take part on their own, outside of the churches that have brought in many of the participants, according to Lysiak.
The Shamrock Run, a March road race and walk, brought in $12,600, said Lysiak.
The money from the March fundraiser, said Lysiak, was "totally needed," and an increase over the previous year.
To get involved with the Father's Day walk, pick up a registration form at local churches or contact St. Vincent DePaul at (860)589-9098.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 15, 2008
Many groups face "very significant" cuts in new budget plan
City Councilor Craig Minor sent this along a few minutes ago:
It's not realistic to whack the TEAM budget by over 40% and not expect repercussions. The Mum Festival committee, the Veterans Council, and the Forestville Village Association should be prepared for a very significant reduction in their funding next year due to the Mayor's latest budget cuts. We met with the Mayor yesterday and offered a budget that would have reduced funding for the Mum Parade, the Memorial Day Parade, and the North Main Street festival by "only" 20%, but it was rejected. The Mayor said that these are difficult financial times, and established organizations like the Mum Festival and the Veterans Council are going to have to step up their fundraising efforts.
Update:
Mayor Art Ward sent this along to someone who was worried about the Mum Festival getting its funding cut:
Anyone who has even hinted that the Mum Festival or any other TEAM sponsored activity has been predetermined to being completely cut in funding is doing you a disservice.
My statement was that everything, regardless of the activity, is subject to budgetary scrutiny as a result of the economic hardships that are being dealt with on both the governmental and personal taxpayer level and that funding will be prioritized after that review effort.
It is going to be impossible to present a responsible budget if everyone is going to advocate that only their funding is exempt from the process.
I ask that the Mum Festival, and all other venues which are requesting city dollars, allow us to use the opportunity to function in accordance with the responsibility which has been entrusted to us through the election process.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
It's not realistic to whack the TEAM budget by over 40% and not expect repercussions. The Mum Festival committee, the Veterans Council, and the Forestville Village Association should be prepared for a very significant reduction in their funding next year due to the Mayor's latest budget cuts. We met with the Mayor yesterday and offered a budget that would have reduced funding for the Mum Parade, the Memorial Day Parade, and the North Main Street festival by "only" 20%, but it was rejected. The Mayor said that these are difficult financial times, and established organizations like the Mum Festival and the Veterans Council are going to have to step up their fundraising efforts.
Update:
Mayor Art Ward sent this along to someone who was worried about the Mum Festival getting its funding cut:
Anyone who has even hinted that the Mum Festival or any other TEAM sponsored activity has been predetermined to being completely cut in funding is doing you a disservice.
My statement was that everything, regardless of the activity, is subject to budgetary scrutiny as a result of the economic hardships that are being dealt with on both the governmental and personal taxpayer level and that funding will be prioritized after that review effort.
It is going to be impossible to present a responsible budget if everyone is going to advocate that only their funding is exempt from the process.
I ask that the Mum Festival, and all other venues which are requesting city dollars, allow us to use the opportunity to function in accordance with the responsibility which has been entrusted to us through the election process.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Budget cuts likely to prove painful
Slicing more than $2 million from the city’s Board of Finance-backed budget plan isn’t easy.
To haul the slated 1.5 mills property tax hike down to a less painful 1 mill increase, “there’s going to be sacrifices that have to be made,” said Mayor Art Ward.
Nothing’s off the table as officials scour the $170 million budget they’re eyeing now in a bid to hold property taxes down – not even the Mum Festival.
“You have to reassess everything in the budget,” the mayor said.
Whether some or all of the Mum Festival’s $16,000 allocation get sliced won’t even be clear when the final budget passes Monday.
Ward said he’s looking to lop $30,000 from the tourism and arts line item, which could mean a reduction to the Mum Festival, but that’s a decision for later by the special committee that assesses how best to fork over municipal money for cultural needs.
It would “totally out of whack,” though, to say the Mum Festival will suffer unduly in the fiscal shakedown, the mayor said.
Even so, Ward said, “nobody is exempt from the process.”
Among those facing reductions is the St. Vincent DePaul Society’s homeless shelter, which may have to get by with $5,000 less from the city, enough to create hardship for the always financially strapped organization.
The Bristol Visiting Nurse Association is targeted for a $60,000 reduction, said Ward. Both Ward and city Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the cut is on the table because the group has a large rainy day fund of its own.
Ward said that when the finance board approved the first draft of the budget, the state was still looking at a surplus. Now state leaders figure they might have an $80 million deficit instead, which could grow larger still.
“It’s not a good time,” the mayor said. “But it’s a time of realization. I have to be looking at the taxpayers’ ability to pay.”
Ward said that with people facing higher bills, the city can’t ask them to pay more in taxes than the bare minimum.
“I have to look at it as responsibly as possible,” the mayor said.
He said he’s trying to preserve services and avoid layoffs by postponing purchases and projects, including some he’s long supported, such as renovating the firehouses.
“We’re doing what we have to do to exist as a community,” Ward said.
The mayor said he’s surprised at how things have turned around since he took office.
“What’s transpired in the last six months has been a 180 from what I anticipated,” Ward said.
The final budget is slated for passage at a joint session of the finance board and City Council at 5 p.m. Monday.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
To haul the slated 1.5 mills property tax hike down to a less painful 1 mill increase, “there’s going to be sacrifices that have to be made,” said Mayor Art Ward.
Nothing’s off the table as officials scour the $170 million budget they’re eyeing now in a bid to hold property taxes down – not even the Mum Festival.
“You have to reassess everything in the budget,” the mayor said.
Whether some or all of the Mum Festival’s $16,000 allocation get sliced won’t even be clear when the final budget passes Monday.
Ward said he’s looking to lop $30,000 from the tourism and arts line item, which could mean a reduction to the Mum Festival, but that’s a decision for later by the special committee that assesses how best to fork over municipal money for cultural needs.
It would “totally out of whack,” though, to say the Mum Festival will suffer unduly in the fiscal shakedown, the mayor said.
Even so, Ward said, “nobody is exempt from the process.”
Among those facing reductions is the St. Vincent DePaul Society’s homeless shelter, which may have to get by with $5,000 less from the city, enough to create hardship for the always financially strapped organization.
The Bristol Visiting Nurse Association is targeted for a $60,000 reduction, said Ward. Both Ward and city Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the cut is on the table because the group has a large rainy day fund of its own.
Ward said that when the finance board approved the first draft of the budget, the state was still looking at a surplus. Now state leaders figure they might have an $80 million deficit instead, which could grow larger still.
“It’s not a good time,” the mayor said. “But it’s a time of realization. I have to be looking at the taxpayers’ ability to pay.”
Ward said that with people facing higher bills, the city can’t ask them to pay more in taxes than the bare minimum.
“I have to look at it as responsibly as possible,” the mayor said.
He said he’s trying to preserve services and avoid layoffs by postponing purchases and projects, including some he’s long supported, such as renovating the firehouses.
“We’re doing what we have to do to exist as a community,” Ward said.
The mayor said he’s surprised at how things have turned around since he took office.
“What’s transpired in the last six months has been a 180 from what I anticipated,” Ward said.
The final budget is slated for passage at a joint session of the finance board and City Council at 5 p.m. Monday.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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