I'm worried that if I try it, the typing will look something like this:
The City Council tonight vot.ddas....zzzzzzzzz......
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 9, 2009
Stortz urges quick action on budget
Letter from former Mayor William Stortz:
Now that he city has agreed on a budget, and emotions and personal agenda can be put aside, the city should start, TODAY, looking at what has to be done to address the financial issues the city is facing.
While the international and national situation aspects are out of our control, there are many things that we here in Bristol can control, do control, and should do something about ASAP.
No matter how and when the economy improves, and it will, the city has dug themselves into a financial hole. Working to freeze local taxes is a nice goal, and certainly influenced by local election cycles, but sometimes it is not realistic. Since it was done, we must go from where we are and bite the bullet.
This year the city opted to draw 2.5 million (actually the budget in the paper said (2.895 million) down from the fund balance, to balance the budget. While it may not all be used during the coming year, it is being “encumbered”, and therefore not available. What hasn’t been mentioned is that the fund balance at the end of 2007 was $17,319,000, and at the end of 2008 it was $15, 435,000, a reduction of 10.9%. Calculating the now draw down of $2,500,000, the Fund Balance will have been reduced at least over 25% since 2007. I say at least 25%, because if there is a deficit this year, that will probably be made up from the fund balance. These numbers are based on the assumption that nothing has been drawn down already for the current years budget. It would be nice to know where we really stand in that account.
The question now is, how and will this continued use of Fund Balance affect out bond rating, even if we don’t draw down more in the near future?
A recent article in the media indicated that our neighbor, Southington, who will be bonding 15 million in the near future, estimates that they will be saving $750,000 in interest payment because they opted not to tap their fund balance. With the likelihood of bonding for schools, how much might our use of the fund balance cost us over the years? At the same time, any reduction in the Fund Balance reduces our opportunity for investment income, one of our Revenue sources (which has already dropped considerably)
Other steps taken this time to reach a zero tax increase may not be available next year. How long can wages be frozen? Or clothing allowance not awarded? How long can the city do half a job with road maintenance by keeping the budget low? What happens if the State does close the Court House ($140,000 as revenue in the city budget)?
With fewer new cars being bought, that area of property tax will probably shrink more than it has already. Another reduction in Revenue.
The use of Fund Balance money in the recently approved budget, which will be hard to do next year, will have to be made up somehow. Police cars will have to be replaced, as will other equipment. It appears that many accounts that have been used to balance expenses year by year, were tapped, again to reach a zero tax increase. If so, they won’t be available next year, thereby compounding the problem. One also has to question just how conservative some of the revenue projections really were.
Real reductions will have to be made. The Board of Finance says that they will start in August working on next years budget, which is good to hear.
But, WHY WAIT to start effecting changes? Also, the role of the Board of Finance is limited, outside the budget process. It really is up to the Mayor and the City Council to change the way the city operates. With the next council having at least two new members, we should maximize and utilize the many years of experience of the departing councilmen. The Mayor and Council should start now, soliciting ideas, BIG and SMALL, and implement them as soon as possible. These ideas can come from staff, bargaining units, the public. All ideas should be welcome; all should be carefully reviewed and if workable, implemented as soon as possible. One quick suggestion is that budget activity and status be made more transparent, on a monthly basis.
If significant changes aren’t made to address the hole that has been dug, and to address the impact of new and increasing costs, the impact on the taxpayer next year will be huge. Use of one time gimmickry should be avoided for that only makes things painful longer, as we all know. We must insist on real, ongoing savings to keep Bristol financially stable.
The city was given a heads up at the beginning of the fiscal downturn back in September/October 2007and apparently did very little about it. I don’t think we can wait any longer without seriously impacting the city and its people.
Bristol is a great city, it has wonderful people, and I am sure that they are willing to help, and would understand if some tough decisions have to be made. It is too late to go back, we can and must go forward.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Rell comes to Bristol, urges everyone to stay home
Press release from Gov. Jodi Rell:
Governor Rell Highlights Staycation
During Visit to Carousel Museum in Bristol
Governor M. Jodi Rell today toured the New England Carousel Museum to highlight the benefits of the second summer of “Staycation – Your Connecticut Destination,” a campaign in which businesses and attractions across the state offer discounts, deals and special packages for Connecticut residents vacationing close to home this year.
“We started this campaign last year when gas prices were soaring. Although prices are down from the record-highs of 2008, families continue to look for ways to stretch their household budgets and that includes vacations,” Governor Rell said. “Staycation offers them endless choices at world-class attractions at affordable prices, all just a short car ride away.”
The Governor said the Staycation campaign is also a great boost for the state’s $9 billion tourism industry, which supports thousands of jobs and helps businesses and attractions increase their customer base. Last summer, Connecticut families took advantage of savings by visiting Staycation attractions that included amusement parks, museums, restaurants, hotels, vineyards, golf courses, sporting venues, galleries and more.
The New England Carousel Museum is one of more than 200 attractions and businesses offering discounted prices and lodging, free gifts and other deals to Connecticut residents through Labor Day, September 7. Located in a former 33,000-square-foot hosiery factory, the Museum features restored antique carousel animals as well as an art gallery, gift shop and children’s carousel. The Museum is offering a 10 percent discount for Connecticut residents.
“The Carousel Museum is a great example of a Staycation destination for families,” Governor Rell said. “There truly is something for everyone.”
For a list of attractions and businesses participating in this year’s campaign go to: www.CTvisit.com
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
City Council tonight
If I fall asleep there, please, someone, give me a nudge.
I may do a little live blogging from the meeting, which starts at 7. Check in if you like.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 8, 2009
One of Rell's four press aides is stepping down
One of Gov. Jodi Rell's four full-time press aides, Chris Cooper, is taking early retirement, according to this story in the Courant.
Cooper earns "more than $120,000" a year.
I assume the governor, who's asking everyone else to take a hit, can do without the position.
In fact, it's about time we take a look at the giant, taxpayer-funded public relations machine employed by the state government.
There's an area where some real savings could be had.
I wouldn't be surprised if the total number of press people employed by the state and its many agencies isn't too far off from the grand total of professional reporters in Connecticut. That's how bleak things have gotten.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Changing deadlines
I keep forgetting to post this: To ease the crunch on editors in the evening, most of what we write needs to be finished before 6 p.m. (breaking news excepted, of course).
So those of you who are used to phoning later, or telling me something at a night meeting, please be aware that if I don't hear from you earlier, I probably can't include what you have to say in the stories I write.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Hey, folks, you ain't seen nothin' yet
With this year’s municipal budget finished, city officials are already looking to next year’s spending plan with dread.
“There’s two or three more tough years down the pike,” said Ron Messier, a Board of Finance member.
Officials this year dipped into the rainy day fund for $2.5 million that won’t be there the next time around, emptied out equipment and other accounts and otherwise left the cupboard bare in their quest to deliver a property tax freeze this year without slashing city services.
Next year, said Janet Moylan, a finance commissioner, “we’re going to have to cut.”
Three-term city Councilor Craig Minor said, “This is not a rainy day, folks. This is climate change.”
John Smith, another finance board member, said that cuts alone are not going to do it next year.
Smith said leaders need to reorganize the way the city does business to find ways to deliver services better and more efficiently, just as private industry has had to do.
Smith said the city may have to reduce the services it offers in order to hold spending in check.
“That is just reality,” said Smith “and if we don’t pay attention to it, we have our heads in the sand.”
Even if the city were to need $170.8 million again next year, it would need to raise taxes more than half a mill simply to get the revenue next time around that it secured by snitching from existing accounts this year.
That assumes, of course, that costs don’t rise. If employees demand the raises they’ve already negotiated, it would take even more money, at a time when state aid is widely considered to be on the chopping block.
This year’s budget is “easy compared to next year’s,” city Councilor Ken Cockayne said, particularly since the city may lose some of its state assistance in 2010 as it tries to cope with a multi-billion dollar deficit.
Mayor Art Ward said that Bristol “has the potential to feel even more pain” in the coming year as finances grow ever tighter.
This year, he said, the city relied on one-time sources that won’t be available again.
The only alternative is “to be frugal, be conservative and be conscious of every single penny of spending.”
City Councilor Frank Nicastro, who is also the 79th District’s state representative, said the financial position “is not all doom and gloom.”
“We will get out of this,” Nicastro said, “though it will hurt.”
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 6, 2009
D-Day, through the eyes of Bristol veterans
As we mark the 65th anniversary of D-Day, here's a story I wrote back in 1994 about the 50th anniversary, focusing on Bristol veterans who were there.
We still have hundreds of World War II veterans in town. They were ordinary men and women who rose to the challenge of an extraordinary time. May America always find strength in their example.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 5, 2009
Bristol Press moving up Main Street
View of the new home for The Bristol Press. It's on the right side of the three-story brick building, between the parked car and the alley.
After more than a century in its
The paper plans soon to shift its operations to a storefront two blocks away.
“We have to modernize and move with the times,” Publisher Michael Schroeder said Friday.
Mayor Art Ward hailed Schroeder’s willingness to remain downtown and for stepping in to save the paper.
“We’re just ecstatic that the paper is still alive and active in the community,” the mayor said.
When Schroeder’s Central Connecticut Communications purchased The Bristol Press, The Herald of New Britain and three weeklies in January, it did not buy the buildings that housed any of the papers.
The Pennsylvania-based Journal Register Co. still owns the building where the Press has been for 102 years. The bankrupt company, which had threatened to close the daily if a buyer didn’t emerge last winter, has long indicated it would like to sell the property.
“It’s a viable corner for the right type of business,” Ward said.
Schroeder said the longtime Press building is no longer efficient because it was erected for an industrial operation -- printing newspapers and other material -- that hasn’t been done in
Since the building is so large, he said, those working in it are “like little silos” in the vast expanse of a structure that’s much bigger than is necessary to put together a paper.
Schroeder, who looked at a number of possible sites, said he wanted to stay downtown.
“It’s a commitment to the community,” he said, and has the advantage of being close to City Hall, the police station and other sources of news.
The new location at
The new location was last used as a dance studio, but has been the home of many businesses over the years, including Larre’s Jewelers. One door down from a computer store, the spot is a stone’s throw from the Greater Bristol Chamber of Commerce’s office.
Schroeder said he recognizes the emotional attachment many people have to the Press’s 99 Main St. home for so many years -- where lots of people have memories of the press churning in the large windows facing Riverside Avenue or the busy times when carriers spread out from its loading dock -- but business reality dictates moving to a space that’s more suited to the paper as it is today.
About 20 people will work out of the new quarters, which include a couple of second floor offices, the publisher said.
Schroeder said he plans to “freshen up” the appearance of the
The move is slated to take place this month, the publisher said.
The landlord, Tom Zipp, said the Press began renting the space on May 1. He said the paper found its existing building too costly to maintain.
The Bristol Press began publication with a hand-operated press in March 1871 in the second story of a wooden building near the railroad track. The paper moved into a two-story brick building at
Throughout its 138-year history, it has been headquartered in downtown
When the Press moves this month, leaving behind the castoffs of generations of newspaper men and women, that will still be true.
Update:
I confess to mixed feelings about moving. This building we're in is, unfortunately, a dump. It hasn't been maintained much in many years. It would break my late friend Bart Barnes' heart to see what's happened to it.
Moreover, it is altogether true that the building is no longer suitable for a paper that doesn't need so much space. And yet it is the place where The Bristol Press grew from a tiny weekly into a bustling daily, into a leader of community journalism for generations. It's been at the center of the city's history for longer than anyone can remember.
But I am sure that Bart would embrace the possibilities that come with change, the hope that a paper that was nearly dead may find a new life in a new place. We're all eager to see our dreams for its comeback turn to a solid reality.
There are lots of changes in the works, all of them aimed at finding a way for the paper to survive and thrive. The move is merely one of them. Please, embrace the effort involved in salvaging the Press from its evil former owners. Help Mike Schroeder make the Press a proud institution again.
Bristol needs its newspaper.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Parking pinch on Main Street limits business
A parking crunch along
Business owners and landlords along the historic heart of downtown “are experiencing a parking crisis that directly affects our ability to do business and attract new businesses and tenants,” according to Mark Policki, owner of Bristol Cleaners & Custom Tailoring.
Tom Zipp, a landlord, said the city has “a once-in-a-lifetime” chance to add angled parking on the west side of the street that would go a long way toward easing the parking pinch.
While city officials say they are sympathetic, they have held the line against making any changes until plans for the former downtown mall site are much farther along, effectively blocking any new parking there for at least a few years.
A $1.3 million streetscape improvement project that’s slated to overhaul the look of the road from
Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director, said that about eight new spots would be added on the lower section of the streetscape.
“That’s a lot,” Policki said.
But even with better parallel parking along the sides of the road, business owners fear that the crunch will worsen after The Bristol Press moves its offices into a former dance studio this month. [More on this later.]
Zipp, who owns the
For the time being, most of the overflow parking from the area heads for the former mall parking lot between McDonald’s and the railroad bridge across
The city, which owns the site, has no problem with people using the lot, but warns that it might become unavailable whenever a developer is brought in to revitalize the 17-acre former mall property.
Rosenthal said the city is working with the Bristol Downtown Development Corp. to get a study done of the parking situation throughout downtown, which may be the first step toward a future parking garage or other new lots.
Rosenthal said he looked into putting new parking behind Policki’s building, but found it would cost $35,000 per space, which is too high.
Policki said the city has to act.
“Lack of customer and tenant parking is a daily problem for all of us” who have businesses on
He said a concerted effect by the city is required to find ways to create more nearby parking.
“We just need more parking spaces down there,” city Councilor Ken Cockayne said.
The streetscape project, ,which aims to replicate the look of North Main Street’s 2005 project, will add bumpouts, new sidewalks, trees, lights and more to make the section more attractive and inviting. It is slated to get underway in the coming year.
But it’s not meant to add any significant amount of parking.
Mayor Art Ward said that the city has to make sure it’s safe before it can try angled parking on
To add spaces would require the city to build a new lot or to move the west side of
Ward said that any developer of the mall site is going to want ample parking so perhaps it can be part of the package.
Zipp said that angled parking on
Policki said that once the parking situation is addressed, the city will find new businesses seeking to open on
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 4, 2009
City budget approved with layoff and doubts
City leaders approved a $170.8 million spending plan Thursday that would freeze property taxes, ax 14 currently vacant positions, snatch $2.5 million out of the rainy day fund and lay off three public works employees.
“The economy and the taxpayers are at the edge of a cliff and I don’t think we should push them off,” Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said.
The budget approval at a joint session of city councilors the Board of Finance locks in the mill rate at last year’s level and preserves municipal services.
Two councilors voted against the budget -- Democrats Craig Minor and Kevin McCauley. They said it took too great a bite out of public works.
“This was a tough, tough, tough budget,” Mayor Art Ward said, but one that takes into account the dire economy and sinking revenues coming to City Hall from a fiscally strapped state.
It calls for spending $108,000 less the city allocated in last year’s budget, which apparently proved insufficient to cover costs. Ward said a deficit looms as the fiscal year approaches an end this month.
To keep spending down, officials delayed bonding, put off nearly all equipment purchases, cut road paving in half and other measures that for the most part merely postponed spending that will ultimately prove necessary.
“We’ve made hard choices and difficult choices,” Miecznikowski said.
For city Councilor Mike Rimcoski, a Republican, it proved the first budget in four years he could support -- because it freezes property tax rates.
Minor, who is not seeking reelection, said a half a mill tax hike would have covered many of the needs in public works that are going begging in Ward’s budget, including building repairs and road fixes.
Public works is “taking big, big hits,” said city Councilor Cliff Block, who voted to make those hits. He said officials are merely doing what the public demands of them.
McCauley, who wanted a .39 mill hike, said that public works spending has reached “a dangerous and critical point of not being able to maintain our infrastructure.”
“It’s a safety issue,” he said.
Janet Moylan, a finance commissioner, said the city has to make hard choices just like families must when their income shrinks.
Ron Messier, another finance board member, said the budget process this year “brought everyone together” as a team in ways he hasn’t seen in recent years, when factions have clashed on spending priorities.
This time around, education, which has been a battlefield, provided few fireworks. Officials provided about half the increase sought by schools and nobody protested. School officials are working out how they’ll cope but have said they won’t let any cuts hurt classrooms.
Councilors and finance board members alike said they figure next year’s budget will make this year’s version look like a walk in the park. They promised to start working on it in August and keep at it all year.
Three layoffs likely in public works; police take hit, too
Unless the municipal union that represents public works employee agrees to wage concession that it has already rejected, three workers will be laid off this month.
Targeted for elimination -- in a bid to save $138,000 -- are a maintenance equipment operator, labor and solid waste driver.
Officials of Local 1338 of Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Workers said they don’t know if the union will reconsider its stance on concessions.
Mayor Art Ward said if they want to change their position on wage concessions in order to save the trio of jobs, they need to act swiftly.
The other city union that declined to make concessions, which represents police officers, won’t face layoffs.
But the police are getting socked under the new budget as well.
If the police union refuses to make contract concessions to save money within a few days, the budget would take both a lieutenant and a sergeant and return them to the ranks of patrol officers.
That would save $30,000 but would make it less likely that officers as a whole would collect overtime and limit their promotional opportunities.
The city is also planning to trim overtime by $78,000 as part of the move.
The result, the mayor said, would save enough money from the department while bolstering the officers who are out in the front ranks.
"That's not compromising public safety," Ward said.
Only one city councilor, Democrat Kevin McCauley, voted against slicing the jobs.
But Democrat Frank Nicastro abstained on the public works cut because his son, Frank Nicastro, Jr is the maintenance equipment operator.
The younger Nicastro wouldn’t lose his city job, however, because he has the right to bump more junior personnel in lower positions.
In the end, typically, the three newest hires wind up with pink slips in this situation, the city’s personnel director, Diane Ferguson, said.
City Councilor Ken Cockayne said he appreciates the concessions made by other city unions and hopes Local 1338 and the police follow suit.
“I don’t want to see anyone lose their jobs in these tough times,” Cockayne said.
Fact Box
Proposed spending: $170.8 million
Education share: $102.3 million
City share: $67.7 million
Proposed mill rate: 25.99
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Budget approved with two no votes
The $170.8 million budget was approved tonight with only two people voting against it.
Both city Councilors Craig Minor and Kevin McCauley opposed the budget, which freezes property taxes.
They said a small tax hike was necessary to make sure public works got the funding its needs to prevent city buildings, roads and other infrastructure from deteriorating.
More details to come, including the possible layoff of three public works employees if Local 1338 continues to refuse to make concessions on a scheduled wage hike.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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