BRISTOLTODAY.COM

October 29, 2008

School chief freezes budget

With costs rising for everything from energy to special education, school Superintendent Philip Streifer decided recently to freeze spending in a bid to hold the budget in line, officials said.

Steven DeVaux, the district's business manager, said the spending freeze covers everything that can't be avoided.

City Board of Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said that Streifer told him that special education costs are rising faster than anticipated, which is one area of the budget that can't be controlled easily. The district has to pay for required education for special needs students.

Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the freeze is a wise move.

Last spring, Streifer imposed a freeze with several months to go in the fiscal year in order to close a looming $800,000 gap in the school budget. It worked.

That he's already freezing spending this year, which limits everything from hiring to equipment purchases, is an indication of the potential budgetary pitfalls ahead.

Klocko said the city is trying now to figure out if it can stay within its budget - and how to make it more likely that it won't end the fiscal year in June with a shortfall.

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October 28, 2008

Democrats donate $500 to help Jerome boys

Reporter Jackie Majerus wrote this:

Putting politics aside, the Bristol Democratic Town Committee this week voted to make a $500 donation to the fund set up to benefit the sons of a Republican candidate who died last week.

The committee voted unanimously to make the contribution to the Jerome Family Benefit Fund, set up at Valley Bank to help the family of Derek Jerome, a 38-year-old entrepreneur who was a candidate for the state House when he took his life last week.

Jerome left a wife, Teri, and two young sons, six-year-old D.J., and Brandon, six months.

T.J. Barnes, the chairman of the Bristol Republican Town Committee, praised the Democrats for "stepping up" to help.

"I think it's great," said Barnes. "This is not about politics. It's about two little boys who have no father."

Gary Schaffrick, who gave the eulogy at Jerome's funeral, said Teri Jerome asked him to let the public know that she appreciates the support and donations.

Schaffrick said she especially appreciated the kind words from her husband's political opponent, state Rep. Frank Nicastro, an incumbent Democrat running for re-election in the 79th District.

"He's a class act," said Schaffrick.

After Jerome died of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage, Barnes said Jerome had been troubled by finances.

Barnes and other friends helped set up the fund for the sake of the children. The older boy is a student at St. Anthony's School, said Barnes, who said he wanted things to stay as normal as possible for D.J., which means being able to stay at his school.

The unanimous decision by the town committee, said Nicastro, was "an act of good faith."

He said it was a way to "set politics aside and do something for that family that's hurting so badly."

In remarks to the Democratic Town Committee on Monday night, Nicastro had urged them to contribute to the fund.

"I think it would speak wonders for our town committee," Nicastro said, adding that the gesture would show that "when push comes to shove, we're all united."

It did, Barnes said.

"I think it's coming from the heart," said Barnes. "All of us, Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliateds, it does not matter. We all understand."

Barnes said Republicans will match solicit donations from individual members of their committee and hold a fundraiser for the Jerome fund after the election.

The fund is growing, said Barnes, and doing well.

"We've been getting some calls and donations from around the country," said Barnes, because the story was picked up by the Associated Press.

"Any donations made to the family fund is going to go to support D.J. and Brandon's education, whether its their continued education at St. Anthony's or their future college fund," said Schaffrick.

Schaffrick said he and Teri Jerome will make sure that in the future, the boys know "how much they were in the thoughts and prayers of the Bristol community, and what a great guy their father was."

Schaffrick said he's still reeling from the loss of his friend.

"We were like brothers," said Schaffrick. "These types of friendships and relationships are what politics is all about."

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Get the GASB 45 details Wednesday

A newly created panel may find a way to tap the city’s flush pension accounts to get some cash to cover costly health care for retired municipal workers.
If the new GASB 45 Committee, named for an accounting rule, determines that it can tap the money, taxpayers could save more than $1 million annually, officials said.
The first meeting of the new committee is slated for 5 p.m. Wednesday in the City Council chambers at City Hall.
Mayor Art Ward said he’s eager to have the issue explored thoroughly to determine if savings are possible for taxpayers.
The 13-person panel includes Comptroller Glenn Klocko, city Councilors Ken Cockayne and Cliff Block, city attorney Dale Clift and the presidents of each of the city’s unions.
Klocko said the initial session will devote an hour to explaining the issue in some depth to members and others who are interested in the subject.
He said that a PowerPoint slide show will cover the reason the city has to have a plan for tackling the costly post-employment benefits that workers receive in addition to their pensions, the legal rules governing the use of pension money and the actuarial figures involved.
“We’re going to show them the facts and figures,” Klocko said.
Klocko said once the committee has the information, its members will discuss what should be done, if anything.If a recommendation to pursue the idea is adopted, city councilors would have to give their approval, he said.
Those pushing the concept, including Cockayne, have long argued that taking some of the surplus cash in the city’s overfunded pension accounts and putting it a new trust for health care for retired workers would help everyone.
The city has a long-term plan to use tax money to fill the new health care fund, but doing it will require ever increasing funds to meet the demand and get ahead of the costs.
The city’s unions have been at best skeptical of the idea, claiming it risks losing pension money that may well be needed. They also say the city should negotiate any change with them.
Klocko said he hopes the information gathered by his office, the city’s pension lawyer and actuarial experts will aid in understanding the issue.
“We’re going to clear the misconceptions up,” he said.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wright wants to help ESPN find workers

Press release from 77th District state representativee candidate Chris Wright, a Democrat:

CHRIS WRIGHT WANTS TO ENSURE THAT ESPN HAS A WORKFORCE TRAINED AND EDUCATED FOR ITS FUTURE GROWTH

Chris Wright, the Democratic candidate for State Representative in Bristol’s 77th District, wants to ensure that ESPN’s future employment needs are met by the state by considering implementing education and job-training programs to meet ESPN’s requirements for employment.
“We are all proud that ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, is headquartered right here in Bristol and is a leading Connecticut corporate citizen,” Wright said.
Wright pointed out that ESPN currently provides thousands of local and state jobs and career opportunities in a unique cultural and diverse environment.
“We should use all our educational and job-training resources to help ESPN maintain that workforce,” Wright said. “That might mean working with ESPN to create special job training courses at our vocational-trade schools or a more sophisticated curriculum at our community colleges or at the university level.’
Wright expressed concern that many businesses in Connecticut are worried about being able to find trained workers to fill their future employment needs.
“ESPN may not be having problems filling their workforce needs today, but let’s not take that chance with a company that has put Bristol on the map and means so much for Connecticut,” Wright said.
“This obviously would have to be undertaken only if it is something that ESPN believes is worthwhile and welcomes,” Wright said. “Let’s be prepared to make the offer and be ready to act, because ESPN is too important for Bristol’s and Connecticut’s future.”

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Two city meetings of note

Coming up at 5 p.m. Wednesday is a session on the GASB 45 issue related to the idea of taking some money from the city pension funds and using it for the new post-retirement benefits fund that would cover retired employees' health care. It's potentially an explosive issue.

Tomorrow's meeting in the council chambers is aimed at providing everyone who cares with the basic information they need to begin wrestling with the proposal.

On Thursday, Nov. 6, at 6 p.m., there will be a joint session of the West Bristol School Building Committee and the City Council, where councilors will likely rescind their approval for the Scalia site for a new school and endorse the purchase of a lot on Matthews Street instead.

That one, too, offers potential for fireworks. We'll see.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City's high school seniors aiming for free Florida trip

Bristol Eastern High School's seniors are currently in second place in a national contest to see which high school can watch the most insipid Disney videos and eyeball the most Disney photos from 'High School Musical 3,' a useless commercial endeavor at best.

There's also something about voting via text messages each day to add to Eastern's tally. That might be easier.

Anyway, if you want to help the kids win -- they also get a free concert from somebody I've never heard -- then check out this link. You can also find the updated leader board to see which American high school is on top.

Bristol Central High School, by the way, is number 22 on the leaderboard. So it's not out of the running.

This whole thing is supposedly aimed at building school spirit, though it's hard to escape the obvious conclusion that it's mostly aimed at building the High School Musical brand name for even more Disney profits.

Personally, I'd rather see high school seniors put their efforts into helping their community instead of helping Disney make more money. (And, to make it clear before someone lashes into me for it, I am keenly aware that many, many teens are also doing great things for the community; so please, you don't have to tell me that.)

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October 27, 2008

Approaching a record number of voters in Bristol

It’s been a quarter century since so many people wanted to vote in Bristol.

At the close of business Monday, with one more day left to register to vote, the city voters rolls totaled 34,362 – with almost 1,200 of them signing up in the past three weeks.

“It’s like a zoo,” Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch said Monday.

Voters have until 8 p.m. tonight to sign up to vote at the registrars’ office on the first floor of City Hall.

Klapatch said that given the expected swarm on Tuesday, the final registration tallies for Bristol probably won’t be done until Thursday.

But already they show the highest number of registered voters since the early 1980s. They far exceed the registration numbers of any presidential race in 20 years.

For the first time in a couple of years, the number of unaffiliated voters – those who didn’t pick a political party – exceeds the number of Democrats.

Democratic Registrar Bob Badal said there was a jump in the number who signed up as unaffiliated voters.

“Now they know it’s a general election,” he said, and they don’t need to pick a party as they would in a primary.

“The young people know what’s going on,” Badal said. He said he hopes the new voters will vote in all the races, not just the presidential contest.

There’s an unmistakable Democratic tide to the overall picture.

Since October 8, there have been 181 new Republicans added to the voter rolls. The Democrats, on the other hand, have added 774. That’s a 4-to-1 margin.

The number of unaffiliated voters stood Monday at 14,367 while Democrats trailed slightly with 14,316. Republicans claimed 5,635. There are 44 people registered to minor parties.

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 4.

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Homeowner facing foreclosure may qualify for state help

Press release from state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat:

Connecticut homeowners facing foreclosure may find help in several new programs created by the General Assembly earlier this year, state Senator Thomas Colapietro (D- Bristol) said today. However, navigating the programs and knowing where to turn to for help can be difficult.

“Foreclosure isn’t just a problem for individual homeowners,” said Senator Colapietro. “It hurts property values and strains communities, which is a problem for all of us. The state has programs available that may help people who are having trouble with their mortgage, but they have to know where to look and who to call; and it’s not always easy to figure it all out.”

Programs for individuals and families facing possible home foreclosure are available through several agencies. Connecticut resident can also contact the state Department of Banking’s Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance Hotline at (877)472-8313.

The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) offers three financial assistance programs for homeowners who qualify:

Connecticut Fair Alternative Mortgage Lending Initiative and Education Services Program (CT FAMILIES): CT FAMLIES loans are for individuals and families who bought any current home using an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, or who had an Adjustable Rate Mortgage and refinanced into another Adjustable Rate Mortgage. You must reside in the property as your primary residence and must meet certain income guidelines to qualify.
Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP): A program for homeowners who have received a Notice of Foreclosure dated on or after July 1, 2008, the EMAP loan is available to eligible homeowners who are not able to meet their monthly mortgage payment obligation due to extenuating circumstances. CHFA provides assistance in paying a portion of the homeowner's monthly mortgage payment for a maximum of five years.)
Homeowner Equity Recovery Opportunity Program (HERO): HERO is a $30 million program that allows CHFA to purchase mortgages directly from lenders and place eligible borrowers on an affordable payment schedule for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. To qualify for HERO assistance, borrowers must have made an effort to meet financial obligations, have a sufficient and stable income, have the legal title to the mortgaged property and reside in it as their permanent residence, show an accounting for their cash flow and agree to attend in-person financial counseling at a CHFA-approved agency.

The General Assembly also created the statewide Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program through The Workplace, Inc., which offers customized employment services, job training scholarships, job placement assistance, financial literacy, credit counseling and referrals to other needed services for borrowers who are at least 60 days past due on their mortgage payments on their primary residence in Connecticut and have a household income of less than $120,000. There is no cost to qualified participants.

To for more information on financial assistance programs or to contact CHFA, visit www.chfa.org or call (860)721-9501.

For more information on the Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program or to contact The Workplace, Inc. call toll-free (866)683-1682 or visit www.workplace.org/mortgage.asp.

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Dealing with the state's deficit - 77th District hopefuls offer answers

With the state facing a budget gap this year that tops $300 million – and is likely to be much higher next year – the candidates for Bristol’s 77^th District have different ideas about how to deal with the red ink.

Republican hopeful Jill Fitzgerald said that among the ideas worth pursuing are an early retirement program for state workers, a shift to a paperless bureaucracy and pulling the plug on about $300,000 worth of pagers and beepers carried mostly by highly paid state supervisors who also carry cellular phones paid for by taxpayers.

Democratic contender Chris Wright offered no specifics, but said that Gov. Jodi Rell’s plan to deal with the current shortfall “has merit and should be considered.”

“It is very difficult for the state to obtain significant savings in the short term with spending cuts without seriously impacting vital services and local property taxes,” Wright said.

The two candidates are vying on Nov. 4 for the northeastern Bristol House seat that Republican Ron Burns has held for the past two years. Burns, who defeated longtime Democratic incumbent Roger Michele two years ago, is stepping down after a single term.

Wright said that in terms of dealing with budget, “the bottom line is that the state has spent too much money for years, and it is times like these when those spending habits catch up with us.”

Wright said that private companies get can save money in the short run through layoffs, “but the state faces more demands for services in hard times, and layoffs would only increase the workload of the state employees who provide those services.”

Also, Wright said, “since the state pays unemployment compensation only after a layoff and must pay terminated employees for any accrued vacation and sick time, savings generally occur only in the second year.”

Wright said that new programs the state needs – which are often shoved aside as too costly during hard times - may take priority over older ones that are already in place.

“It is not always true that new programs are not as important as programs which already exist,” he said.

“As the needs of society change, so must the services which the state does and does not provide,” Wright said.

Fitzgerald said that she stands with the state House Republicans in their call for the Democratic-controlled legislature “to rescind a request for a nearly 8 percent spending increase over the next two fiscal years.”

She said that state agencies need to tighten their belts and that there should be “no budget increases.”

“Just like families are being forced to prioritize and cut spending,” Fitzgerald said, “I am a proponent of this in the state. I don’t believe that tax increase should be imposed in the midst of an economic downturn.”

She said improvements can wait “until better times” return.

Fitzgerald said an early retirement program would save the taxpayers $163 million and shifting to a paperless bureaucracy would save more than $10 million annually.

“In this day and age when almost every document is reproduced online, we need to consider a policy to get as close to a paperless state government as possible,” Fitzgerald said, adding “this is a great environmental choice as well.”

Dumping the beepers and pagers, Fitzgerald said, would eliminate “a glaring example of wasting taxpayers’ money.”

State lawmakers serve two-year terms and earn $28,000 for their part-time positions.

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October 26, 2008

Most influential Connecticut blog?

Though some other blog will likely have the honor next week, blognetnews.com today named the Bristol Blog the most influential political blog in Connecticut.

Now I feel an obligation to use my oh-so-tremendous influence for good and not evil.

October 25, 2008

More than 13,000 new ballots needed in the 79th District

Some people have likely already cast a vote that won’t be counted.

The apparent suicide of Republican state House candidate Derek Jerome in the 79^th District forced election officials to reprint13,300 ballots for voters in his district to use at the polls on Nov. 4.

But it was too late for those who have already voted by absentee ballot.

Republican Registrar Ellie Klapatch said that absentee votes for Jerome, whose name appears on the first run of ballots, won’t be counted.

Election officials also had to send the counting machine memory cards to a Massachusetts company to have them reprogrammed to take into account the change in the 79^th District’s Republican candidate.

The GOP’s decision to name a successor candidate for the position, David L. Norton, had no impact on the necessity to reprint ballots, officials said.

“They were going to have to reprint all the ballots anyway,” said city Republican Chairman T.J. Barnes.

Barnes and Klapatch said that if the party hadn’t named Norton to take Jerome’s place, the new ballots would simply have had an empty slot for the Republicans in the race against incumbent state Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Democrat.

It isn’t clear how much the scramble to fix the ballots and reprogram memory cards is costing taxpayers, though it certainly reaches into the thousands of dollars.

Klapatch said that the federal government is picking up the tab for ballots this year – part of a national effort to modernize voting – so city taxpayers don’t have to cover the expense, as they normally would.

She said she has “no ideas” how much the reprinting will cost.

It’s not clear yet whether the absentee ballots that include Jerome’s name can be counted by machines or if they’ll have to be counted by hand, Klapatch said. The city clerk and the secretary of state are looking into it.

Klapatch said that the changes required “a lot of extra work” by many officials, including her office and the city clerk’s office.

But, she said, she appreciates “the team effort” by everyone involved to speed the work along so that it would be done in plenty of time for Election Day.

“I’m amazed we got all this done,” Klapatch said.

Hate speech

I'll spare the names of those who forwarded this thing -- because they are not public officials -- but I think it's worth sharing some of the discussion about an email that circulated the other day to many Bristol people. This is what it said:

WARNING FROM Pakistan

This morning, from a cave somewhere in Pakistan, Taliban Minister of Migration Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if military actions against Iraq continues, Taliban authorities intend to cut off America 's supply of Convenience Store Managers and possibly Motel 6 Managers. And if this action does not yield sufficient results, Cab Drivers will be next, followed by DELL and AOL Customer Service Reps. Finally, if all else fails, they have threatened to send us no more candidates for President of the United States!

It was sent to many people whom I know, including Mayor Art Ward and two former mayors, as well as other municipal leaders. I got one, too, but only saw it today as I tried to catch up on things.

Only one recipient wrote back to the group who received the original email, to say, amidst some utterly obscene language denouncing it, that the message made him "want to puke."

"And to think - American soldiers are dying so that [f--ing] Assholes can produce this pigshit under the guise of free speech!!"

To which, yet another person on the long list responded, "Yeah, and they are dying so you can talk like that... what a waste!"

"Hate speech is ok in your book??" fired back the first angry recipient, the one who wanted to puke when he read the original message.

Ward then wrote "To sender of this E-mail - I don't appreciate the language and inferences of your E-mails. Whether or not we are in agreement with either all or a partial of these messages is immaterial; it can be done with more civility. If that is not possible then I request that I not be forwarded/sent anymore communications from you."

That caused the initial person who complained to say, "I'm sorry about the language but I feel that it is a fitting reply to this incessant hatemongering coming from this group ! As long as bigots masquerade as God loving Christians sending out 'Christian Value' crap I will continue to object to their hypocrisy and hate! Why aren't you - a mayor - objecting to this - don't you represent All of the citizens of Bristol? Muslim as well and Christians? Or do you just think their rights are just a matter of opinion?"

Dodging that issue, Ward wrote back to him again, saying "I am only asking that the discussion be approached and delivered in a civilized manner with respect to those to whom you are sending your message and if you don't feel that you can comply with my request then I respectfully ask that you not include me in your list of E-mail recipients."

I find it curious that only one person among aboput 30 who received the "Message From Pakistan" thought it was worth raising an objection to it.

What's truly obscene is that someone would write, and others apparently endorse, a racist piece of garbage basically accusing one of our two major presidential candidates of being an agent for the Taliban.

People can vote for whomever they like. They can object to candidates' positons and personalities. But when they spew racism and portray a man who may well be our next president as a Taliban plant, they're undermining America and everything our country stands for. No patriot should stand silent in the face of such hateful drivel.