'Positive outcome' possible on school budget, Fitzgerald says

Board of Education member Jill Fitzgerald, who heads its finance committee, sent this statement along after last night's budget hearing on the school spending plan:
"We had not asked for deep cuts prior to this presentation. We felt it was important for Dr. Solek and staff to make their presentation to the BOF based on what they believe they need to run the Bristol school system.  We have witnessed monumental improvements with the level of detail in the financial reporting and communication since we were first elected to serve on this Board.  This is a huge step in developing trust and confidence between the city and the BOE.  There were great questions asked and we saw a high level of engagement and understanding on the part of the BOF.  We feel confident that the process will produce a positive outcome."
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City may have to pay "Cadillac tax" on its health care for employees

The health insurance plan the city offers to its employees is so lucrative that it may have “to pay some kind of tax” for providing excessive benefits, according to Board of Finance Vice Chairman John Smith. The so-called “Cadillac tax” is supposed to help the federal government raise money for the subsidies provided by Obamacare for people who can’t afford to cover the tab for required health insurance. “We have to be prepared,” Smith said. Smith said the penalty the city may have to pay could be revised if the legislation is overhauled, but it’s possible the government may be eager to get more money to shore up Obamacare plans given the likelihood that people with major maladies will sign up in greater numbers than healthy adults. Smith said it would be up the city, as the employer, to pay the tax on its lucrative health care package for employees. But, he said, officials will try to negotiate with city unions to try to reduce the impact. At this point, it’s not clear how much the city might be on the hook for.
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wilson calls for rigorous budget reviews

Here's a story from mid-September that never got online:

Democratic mayoral candidate Chris Wilson said that if the city adopted a new “regular, rigorous review” of its budget, it could put an extra $1.8 million annually into “public safety, economic development and education” without raising taxes.

But his opponents, including Board of Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski, said that’s just not true.

Wilson said the City Council spends almost the entire budget process “focusing on the 5 percent they cut rather than the 95 percent we keep.”

“The overwhelming majority” of the city’s $180.7 million budget “will be spent without asking what we are trying to achieve by this spending, whether we are producing the results we expect to achieve, whether we can achieve better results through other means, or even whether we should be spending this money in the first place,” Wilson said.

Both Republican mayoral hopeful Ken Cockayne and Miecznikowski, who is seeking a council seat on the GOP line, said that Wilson is off the mark.

During the budget season, Miecznikowski said, “we review everything very, very closely and we decide how the money is going to be spent.”

“He knows nothing about the city budget,” Cockayne said. “He’s out in La-La Land, not looking at the real, true facts as I do on a daily basis.”

Miecznikowski said he performance-based budget that Wilson wants the city to adopt isn’t much different than what the non-partisan finance board does every year.

“Basically it’s the same thing that we do,” the finance chief said. “We evaluate the spending and what’s needed. We don’t just give money out.”

City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said that Bristol, the fourth community he’s worked for in his professional career, has “one fo the most rigorous reviews of a budget that I’ve ever seen.”

He said it has many hearings and workshops that go over the spending plan line by line, with the entire process available online for the public to see and get involved.

Klocko said that instead of budget reviews, what the city really needs are reviews of the services it offers. Some of them could perhaps be changed or axed, he said.

Wilson, the chairman of the Board of Education, said that using performance-based budgeting, the city could “differentiate between what the City Council wants and what Bristol taxpayers can afford,” set performance standards for each department and conduct regular reviews of performance.

“As a businessman,” Wilson said, “if my company is spending money on something and we aren’t getting a reasonable return on that investment, I need to think long and hard about whether or not we continue that spending? I want to apply that same mentality to city tax dollars.”

“I appreciate his enthusiasm,” Klocko said, “but is this what the Board of Ed does?”

Cockayne and Miecznikowski said the reviews called for by Wilson are exactly what the council and finance board tries to do every year in numerous public hearings on every piece of the yearly spending plan.

“It’s obvious that his goal is just to throw anything against the wall and see what sticks,” said Cockayne.

Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Cuts still needed, Czenczelewski says

In response to this story, city Councilor Derek Czenczelewski sent out the following statement:

Gifts are welcomed, but solutions are still needed

In a December 20 article on the Bristol Press website titled “City taxpayers get a major $$ ‘gift’”, the article states that the city of Bristol is going to receive approximately $4.7 million from reimbursable expenses on the high school renovations completed more than a decade ago. Of that $4.7 million, approximately $3 million will be able to be used towards the debt services line item in the City budget. Although this “gift” is appreciated, ultimately it is just a one-time source of “revenue” that will be exhausted. Whether that happens in a single year, or over several years, the end result is that this money is not a long-term solution.

It is imperative that the Board of Finance, City Council, Mayor and City employees work together to help trim the budget and our nearly $7.5 million deficit. That deficit figure is based on a flat-line budget, with no increases for any department including the Board of Education. The reality of the situation is still grim, as healthcare costs are projected to continue to increase yearly. Since 2001, the line item in the City budget for healthcare has increased over 108 percent, from $15 million to $31 million. This is a trend that, without intervention, will continue to result in yearly deficits going forward.

Simply put, the City cannot rely on these funds to balance our budget. This was a practice readily used in years past, and is a contributing factor for the reason we are facing yearly budget deficits. For instance, this past budget cycle, $3 million was “borrowed” from the health contingency account in order to reduce the mill rate increase. This was a practice that neither I, nor my Republican colleagues supported. As we said then, and have continued to stress since, Bristol has a structural problem with our budget. The state of Connecticut has similar problems, and the likelihood of state aid decreasing over the next few years only further underlines the importance of getting our fiscal house back in order. We cannot rely on state funding or "gifts" to make ends meet.

The City received a one-time bandage, not a gift. But before we can use this bandage, we need to make cuts.

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Stortz offers budget suggestions to city

Former Mayor William Stortz sent the following suggestions about the city budget to Mayor Art Ward and Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski to help begin the discussion of how the city can resolve  a looming multi-million dollar budget gap next year:

William Stortz

Mayor Ward, Chairman Miecznikowski,

It is encouraging to hear that a more proactive effort will be made to address Bristol’s shaky financial situation. I sincerely hope that there will be some meaningful follow through and action in this regard.

Back on October 23, 2007, just before I left office, I wrote a memo to the then Board of Finance, with a copy to the then City Council, urging them to seriously consider the apparent deteriorating national economic situation and to consider taking some action... Earlier I had asked most department heads to analyze what impact this less than rosy financial situation would have on the city of Bristol, and the various departments. Their replies were available to the BOF and Council. Councilman Ward and Chairman Rich, among others, received copies.

This request was made because of the constant reporting in various papers of concerns by many economists and business leaders. One had only to follow what was happening and being reported to be concerned. I felt that it was not too early to look at the possible ramifications to Bristol, department by department.

A similar situation is seemingly on the horizon; maybe not as bad, but in light of the fact that we have not fully recovered, we could be facing some tough times again.

I mention this, not because I want to see it happen, but because I would hope that a strong effort would be made to address all of our systemic problems so that we are not as unprepared as we were last time.

With that in mind, I would like to make some suggestions that might help address the overall local problem. Admittedly some are not new, some are not of a large impact. But they all add up. Also, many can be implemented right away, realizing immediate savings. Many can be implemented by management; some may require discussion with the bargaining units. But, I can assure you that the bargaining units are willing to talk: in fact they do have some meaningful ideas to offer.

Remember, virtually all expenditures are approved by city officials, elected and/or appointed, and that the same goes for revenue projections. Maybe that is one area that should be carefully scrutinized.

First, we should have all departments prepare a description of their department’s responsibilities, scope of involvement. Then have this reviewed by the mayor and council to assure that there is agreement in what a department is charged with, what they have to budget for. May sound simplistic, but it will define their role,  while at the same time provide a better understanding to the board of Finance and the Council as to who does what. I am sure it will be enlightening to many, maybe even some department heads. It will be useful now and at future budget times. It will be helpful to those relatively new members, Council and BOF. At the same time, it is a must if there is any consideration of privatization. I do not see how one can consider any effort at privatization without it, and certainly would look askance at any firm that made any proposal without it. Maybe it has been done already, in that regard.

Second, unless there have been some changes, the city does not monitor and control individual departments and line items by month. I suggest that a system be implemented that required each department to project monthly expenditures (this can be done AFTER the budget is approved). Then as monthly expenditures are recorded, a regular analysis would be easy, and provide that months variation and year to date variation.

While Bristol’s accounting system is somewhat archaic, the system I described above is relatively easy and inexpensive to implement. It would be better if it was part of the overall system, but that may take some money. This simplistic report could be easily made available for review.

First, by requiring the department heads to budget by month, more thought would have to go into the process.  Second, a history would be acquired, helpful in future reviews of the budget .Third; redirection could take place sooner, as soon as each month is analyzed. Full benefit would take some time, but would provide for a more accountable budget, and budget review process.

Revenue. It is easy to get more revenue: just tax more, and charge more fees. But that doesn’t improve the situation. Three thoughts: 1), expedite the booting process. This only affects those that fail to pay their car taxes. The city has shown some leniency, but there are many, many, more out there. 2) If it is against the law to have an out of state registered vehicle past a certain time frame, enforce that law. Again, only affects those in violation of the law. There are many, many out of state vehicles out there. 3) Work with the mayor and the legislators to address the issue that would preclude a vehicle can being sold, or traded in, with taxes that are due not being paid. In reality those taxes are lost forever. There should be some way to prevent this: the state should want to help develop a system to prevent this from happening.  In reality, without booting, one could avoid paying taxes indefinitely. Results might take some time, but even the start of a system would result in some payments. This would affect all municipalities, and would only affect those in arrears.

Fourth: surrounding towns are reporting that they are taking in thousands of dollars per month in Blight Penalties.   There is way too much blight in Bristol. By setting stiff penalties and enforcing these penalties, Bristol could take in significant revenue, AND clean up the city. Not a long term solution, but will help in the short term on both revenue and improving the city.

As I said earlier there are other ways to increase revenue, but in most cases, it is just another form of taxation. Cost cutting and efficiencies should be looked at first. And you might get some interesting and workable ideas if you would get the public involved AND spend some time listening to the workers. I know that they have mentioned many ideas to me.

I’ll list a number of possibilities, none with major savings, but none that will lay people off. They may result in reduced staff needs over time. But all savings add up while efforts are made to implement those that have bigger ramifications.

1.       Bi weekly paychecks

2.        Direct deposit of paychecks

3.       3.turn off one set of street lights on N. Main Street

4.       Eliminate or at least reduce use of aerator on Boulevard, and any other location.

5.       Reduce number of extraneous committees, to eliminate need for staff overtime

6.       Reinstitute study to combine City building maintenance, started 5 years ago, and halted. Study may still be available.

7.       Review the street sweeping program. We no longer sand, so streets are not as dirty. Maybe a smaller sweeper might be less expensive and still the job. Also, do all streets have to be swept?

8.       Review cash flow process. Do we deposit so as to get the maximum return?

9.       Review Purchasing policy. Could we do better in any way? Are there adequate controls and reviews?

10.   Require 5-7 year analysis of all new expenditures/projects. Will the city be committed to maintain, repair etc.?

11.    Review Investment policies. Are we getting maximum return?

12.    Look at the planned and or guaranteed overtime.  While this item must be negotiated, there are opportunities for reductions.

13.    Consolidate Emergency Management and The Hazardous Waste position under Police and Fire. Would reduce cost and provide a better service.

14.   Look at elimination of Perfect Attendance rewards.

15.   Eliminate any rental of space by the city, wherever possible.

I know that many of these are minor, but if implemented, would add to a significant amount.

I agree that larger savings are needed, but in most cases, will take time. Any implementation of savings, when made known, will help create a positive attitude among the citizens, and will probably provide more positive suggestions.

There are many others, some which will require negotiations.  The bargaining units have to be included in the process and will certainly consider giving up some of the fluff benefits. Get them involved in the process.

Lastly, I would again point out that virtually all spending decisions are made by you the city officials, elected and appointed, and that most decisions have a budgetary impact beyond the immediate year. That seems to be forgotten, but it does create ongoing costs which have to be met.

I may come up with some additional thoughts, as ideas come from many people during conversations. I will pass them on, for as a taxpayer, as someone who has a great appreciation for what Bristol is, and one who has been involved for many years, I do want to see this effort move forward. We cannot afford not to be successful: our future and the future of our children depend on it.

The first meeting of the city's new budget task force is at 5:15 p.m. today in the City Council chambers on the first floor of City Hall.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Cockayne: Some on Board of Ed not truthful

Here is an email exchange obtained recently through a Freedom of Information request to city councilors and the mayor:
Former school board member Orlando Calfe, Jr to city Councilor Ken Cockayne on April 17:

As a resident of Bristol in your district, a voting taxpayer and a former school board member, I want you to vote in favor of the budget request presented by the BOE.  That is, I want your approval for the fully funded budget to the level of the $105 million request made by the Board of Education.

And Cockayne's response the next day, which he shared with the other Republican council members:

Thank you for your email.  Unfortunately I will not be supporting the full budget.  I believe the BOE must do a much better job managing the money.  I believe the BOE is very top heavy with Administration and the money does not make it to the teachers and students.  I also have a problem with the Minimum Balance Requirement.   Any increase we give the BOE will now be the new minimum for the following year. 

 

I also don't believe some on the BOE are being truthful with the parents.  For example....I was at the Feb 14th meeting for a bit before I had to go to City hall for a meeting of my own.  During that meeting, the BOE when through a presentation explaining why they were cutting band and choirs...( my son who is in 6th grade is in both).  The presentation when on to explain that it was not about the money but that the curriculum was changing, doing away with flex and making each period a bit longer.  However,  a few weeks later after pressure from the parents, the BOE now said if the city gave them the money they would put back the music and choirs.  When I asked point blank to a BOE member why they would tell the parent this since I was at the Feb 14th meeting, they could not answer the question.  So I ask......are they changing the curriculum or is it about money? 

 

Yet another example....The BOE has told the lacrosse parents if the city gives them the money... I believe its about 50k... they will put in Lacrosse.  So again, I asked a BOE member (veteran member) if I make a motion to increase whatever the number is for BOE by the amount lacrosse needs will they put in Lacrosse as was stated at the BOE meeting to the parents.  I was told in no uncertain terms NO!  Again, when I asked why then are they telling parents one thing at the BOE meeting and have intention of following through.  The answer I received was this is not the place to talk about it! 

 

The BOE has also said publicly they cannot take another flat budget....how quickly they forgot about the extra 2.5 million dollars the city was forced to give them last year. 

 

Hopefully you can see why I will not fund the BOE in full.  In my opinion some on the BOE can not be trusted to do as they has said they would do.  The BOE needs to do as many households have had to do and thats tighten the belt and start managing the buget.  The city can no longer be a open checkbook. 

This is nothing I take lightly.  I have a son who is currently in 6th grade at Chippens.  I'm also engaged to a teacher..not Bristol...so I see first hand what the teachers are dealing with. 

Please feel free to call with any questions. 

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City budget hikes property taxes nearly 6 percent

Board of Finance member Robert Vojtek, left, speaks with the panel’s chairman, Rich Miecznikowski, before Wednesday night’s Board of Finance meeting.

The city’s Board of Finance unanimously agreed Wednesday on a $177 million spending plan that would hike property taxes nearly 6 percent.
Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said the focus during budget preparations was to maintain municipal services “while maintaining the city’s strong financial condition.”
The budget maintains education spending at last year’s level — a level that hasn’t changed much in four years — but officials said that educators can pay $1 million less for health care, freeing up cash for other uses, and tap some of the excess bond money from construction projects to buy books and other equipment for the new schools.
That’s still considerably less than the $3.1 million in additional funding sought by educators, perhaps opening the door to more layoffs and making it less likely that music and lacrosse programs that many are seeking to preserve will wind up with the money they are seeking.
Falling short in funding is going to have “a dramatic impact” on the ability of Bristol schools to ensure all children achieve to their capacity, said Chris Wilson, chairman of the Board of Education. LINK TO FULL STORY

Mill rates for Bristol since the last revaluation year:
For 2008-2009 budget - 25.99
For 2009-2010 budget - 25.99
For 2010-2011 budget - 27.24
For 2011-2012 budget - 27.24
For 2012-2013 budget - 28.75

Astute observers will note that taxes have gone up every other year by about the same margin. It is almost certainly not a coincidence that they rise in non-election years while mill rates stay frozen whenever there's a municipal election that fall.
So perhaps next year there will, once again, be a freeze.


Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Alford calls on city to quit CCM

Press release from Republican mayoral challenger Mary Alford, issued today:

Alford: Withdraw From CCM.

(Bristol) Mary Alford, the Republican nominee for Mayor of the City of Bristol today announced that she would give serious consideration to pulling Bristol out of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), a group whose purpose is to champion local issues.

Alford contends that the lobbyists who work for CCM dropped the ball this legislative session relative to the extra money that the City of Bristol had to allocate to the Board of Education this past week.  “Someone was asleep at the switch and it cost Bristol taxpayers $2.5 million dollars they weren’t counting on paying” Alford said.

The Republican Mayoral candidate is also dismayed at the “deafening silence” from CCM regarding Governor Malloy’s recent tax increases. “If the powers that be at CCM believe that these tax increases help Bristol families get back on their feet, stop the foreclosures of their homes or help attract and retain more businesses and jobs, than someone is sadly mistaken,” Alford said.

“As for the education issue, we pay this organization to notify us of pending legislation that affects our community,” Alford asked, “Why didn’t CCM notify Bristol and other communities whose budgets would be affected, should it pass?

Alford also question why Mayor Ward didn’t notify the City Council that this legislation was either pending or that it had passed? “In early June, the Mayor admits that he heard rumblings regarding this issue but held the information close to his vest rather than sharing it with the City Council,” Alford said.

“To witness parents and students begging local officials to fund their marching band or sports teams, makes me extremely angry at this process, “ Alford concluded, “and for the Mayor and Comptroller to be so blasé about taking the money out of the Rainy Day Fund makes me question, again, who is minding the store at City Hall?”

The City of Bristol pays over $41,000 annually to belong to CCM.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Rell takes aim at commuter rail lines

A proposal by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to cut Metro North commuter train service on the New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury branch lines is likely to run off the rails.
The plan, part of the governor’s plan to come up with $38 million for more heating assistance, has run into a storm of protest in Bristol and across much of the state.
“It is cynical of the governor to propose shutting down branch line rail service just as a way of getting lawmakers’ attention to the issue of funding the state’s emergency heating program,” said Jim Cameron, the head of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council.
Cameron said Saturday everyone wants fellow citizens “to stay warm this winter” but looking for funding by wiping out rail funding isn’t the answer.
Cutting off the commuter rail lines starting April 1 would save the state $5 million through the end of June, according to Rell’s list of proposed funding cuts.
“It’s silly,” said Mike Nicastro, who heads the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce.
He said the legislature is unlikely to cut the Waterbury line, “the fastest-growing branch line in the state.”  Click here for full story.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Public works seeks to triple outlay for paving streets

Worried that repairing crumbling streets will wind up costing taxpayers far more in the long run, public works officials are seeking to triple the money the city allocated for road resurfacing during the next fiscal year.

The budget panel for the Public Works Board recently recommended allocating $1.9 million for repaving city streets. That compares to the $650,000 it will likely spend this fiscal year, which ends in June.

“This is what we think we need to somewhat hold our own,” Public Works Director Walter Veselka said.

But with politicians and fiscal overseers fretting that revenues are down and wary of hiking property taxes, the prospects for winning approval for the spending are poor.

Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski, whose Board of Finance does most of the work of setting the yearly spending plan, said, “We’ll look at it very closely, as we do with all budgets.”

“I know damn well they’re going to cut it,” said Don Padlo, a long-serving public works commissioner.

Last year, public works sought $2.2 million for its overall streets budget – which includes paving, sidewalk repairs and a number of related items – but emerged with $1.3 million in its final revised budget.

This time around, public works officials are angling for $2.6 million, despite warnings that city spending will generally be frozen at this year’s level.

“We can’t take another $1 million hit,” said city Councilor Cliff Block.
For the complete story, click here.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

School superintendents to state: Raise taxes

Here's a missive sent out today to the entire state legislature by Joseph Cirasuolo, executive director of the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents:

Beginning with the deliberations by the State Legislature and the Governor regarding the State budget for FY 2010, continuing through the current deliberations with respect to how to address a mid-year a projected State budget deficit and sure to continue regarding deliberations with respect to the State budget for FY 2011, there has been, is and will continue to be strong arguments for cutting State spending.  The Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), along with every other organization that represents institutions that are largely dependent upon State funding for operational and capital expenses, has been and will continue to be advocating for no reductions in State spending for these institutions which in the case of CAPSS is public education. 

This is all well and good but as long as CAPSS and others engage in a struggle to keep as much as possible of a State budget that gets adjusted only on the expenditure side, all of us are  in the position of trying to keep dry our own particular sections of a ship that is sinking.  In other words, to address only the expenditure side of the State budget with no attention being paid to the revenue side of the budget is to engage in an effort that is doomed to failure before it even begins.

CAPSS recognized this in the early 1990s when the State faced a budget situation that was similar to the one that the State currently faces.  At that time, CAPSS was among the first educational organizations that called for the institution of a State income tax in order to bolster State revenues so as to avoid reductions in State expenditures.    A State income tax was established and this made possible the avoidance of a major reduction in State financial support for public education and other publicly provided services.

Since the State faces today a budget situation that is in many ways similar to the one that it faced in the early 1990s, CAPSS has decided to call for a reasonable increase in State taxes as a portion of the effort that the State should make to resolve the current and near future budget problems.  If the State were to do this, it would re-employ the approach that worked well in the past whereby the solution to similar problems depended on a balance between reduced expenditures and increased revenue.

By deciding to call for a reasonable increase in State taxes, CAPSS hopes to focus attention on the following questions.

·         Would a reasonable increase in taxes hurt or hinder a recovery from the current recession?  The conventional wisdom indicates that an increase in taxes would hinder a recovery but this wisdom appears to ignore the negative economic impact of the layoff of public employees at the state and local levels that would be the result of reductions in State expenditures.

·         Would reductions in State expenditures actually balance the State budget?  If state and local employees experience either a reduction in wages and salaries or a total loss of wages and salaries, the State revenue that is derived from the income tax would decrease.  So, reductions in State expenditures would result in further losses in State revenue.  If this process were to be repeated enough times, it could constitute a fiscal death spiral.

CAPSS believes that a candid and comprehensive discussion of these and other related questions would lead to a resolution of the present fiscal problem and would also foster a cooperative spirit among all state leaders, a spirit that would enhance the State’s ability to address similar problems in the future.  CAPSS stands ready to participate in these discussions and to do so in a responsible and cooperative manner.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Hamzy: State should do more

State Rep. Bill Hamzy, a Plymouth Republican whose 78th District includes part of Bristol, weighed in with this response to the mayor:
    Thanks for your email and I do appreciate the frustration that you have with what's happened over the last couple of years.  I completely share that frustration.  As I have been saying for the last three years, everyone knew in early 2007 that our economy was on the brink of a very severe recession.  As you might remember, a conscious decision was made by the Governor and the legislative majority to ignore it and make no adjustments to our state's budget.  That decision has had severe ramifications. 

    Since that time, everyone has talked about the need to restructure government, to cut spending to create jobs and to relieve municipalities of unfunded mandates.  Well, what has happened since?  I'll tell you what has happened; Nothing.  The proof is in the pudding.  Other than transferring money from one account to another and scrounging all of the furniture the state owns for loose change, there have been no meaningful changes in how our state government functions.   

    As I've said repeatedly, no one likes to make unpopular or difficult decisions.  Just like raising children, no one wants to say no to their child.  But, when that's not done, the results are predictable.  We are more than two years into this recession and the primary problem is that there has been no acknowledgement by the legislative leaders of this reality.  They still believe that if we maintain the status quo, this will all blow over and we can go back to doing what we were doing.  (As a prime example of this, just look at the press conference Speaker Donovan had last week when he formed a task force to consider restructuring state government.)  Another task force?  Another task force to consider restructuring state government?  That's leadership?  That's a joke.

    But it's not funny because we're talking about the economic future of this state.  This is the state my parents immigrated to.  This is the state where I was born and raised and where I chose to make my home.  This is the state that I'd like my children to be educated in and hopefully choose to make their home.  But, none of that will happen if there are no economic opportunities.  And there will be no economic opportunties if taxes keep going up to pay for a bloated and inefficient state government.

    It's way past the time to establish task forces or to keep saying what people want to hear.  It's time to make some very unpopular decisions based on some common sense principles;

    Don't spend more than you make.

    Borrow only what you can afford to pay back.

    Provide all the government we need, but only the government we need.

    If a government program doesn't work, get rid of it.

    I do not believe you can be a responsible public servant and fulfill your duties by just opposing proposals made by other legislators.  That is why each time I have voted against a proposal, I have offered an alternative which I would support.  In concluding, I honestly believe that this state is on the precipice of a potential economic disaster.  We will not avoid this by putting our heads in the sand, maintaining the status quo and hoping it will go away as has been the approach over these last couple of years.  We will mitigate this by making some very politically unpopular decisions in order to put our state on better footing for the long term.  As a start, that means eliminating unfunded mandates on municipalities, eliminating government programs which exist because they have a politically powerful ally and expanding the partnership we have with our non-profit agencies to deliver services more cost effectively. 

    Unfortunately or fortunately, we have no other viable option.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City budget getting clobbered

The recession is taking its toll on city finances.
The city ended its most recent fiscal year with a budget shortfall of $1.46 million, according to the comptroller’s office, and is eyeing another deficit this year that could total more than $1 million. Read the whole story here.


Next year looks even worse
The city’s budget picture for next year is looking ever more ugly.
Finance officials said this week they believe it will cost $8 million more than the $170 million in this year’s city spending plan just to keep city services and schools plugging along.
But coming up with that much more money is going to pose some tough choices. Read the whole story here.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City budget running in the red

There will be more on this soon, but the city ended its most recent fiscal year with a budget shortfall of $1.46 million, according to the comptroller’s office, and is eyeing another deficit this year that could total more than $1 million.
That's real money, even for government.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Democrats refuse to let 'Gov. Scrooge' slash jobs

State Rep. Frank Nicastro, a Bristol Democrat, said tonight that when the legislature goes into session Tuesday, it's not going to go along with Gov. Jodi Rell's budget reduction ideas.
"We are not going to accept the governor's plan," Nicastro said.
He said that Rell's proposal would cost at least 4,000 people their jobs.
"Just what people need: 'Merry Christmas, you lost your job,'" the 79th District representative said.
He said the legislature will meet Tuesday as Rell insisted, but it won't do much.
"We're going to reject her plan" and then call for another session "right away to submit our plan," Nicastro said.

He said the Democratic plan will cut more than $100 million without layoffs.

Nicastro said the General Assembly will likely meet early next week, but it could be sooner. It will definitely approve something before Christmas, he said.
"It's not that we're going to proscratinate. We're going to come up with our plan," Nicastro said.
"We will not cut any more dollars from municipalities. That $84 million in cuts to municipalities will not happen," he said.
The municipalities "have been hurt enough" already, he said. Nicastro is a former mayor of Bristol.
The Democrats said that Rell is not pushing for hundreds of millions in federal stimulus cash. That's available, he said, if she goes after it aggressively.
"We lay off 5,000 more workers, that means 5,000 more on unemployment" who won't be spending or buying, Nicastro said.
"There's already been a large reduction in state workers," Nicastro said, and adding to the toll now makes no sense.
State workforce is already down 10 percent through early retirements and leaving vacant positions, he said.
Rell wanted to cut $87 million from hospitals. That would ax more than 2,000 jobs, he said, according to the Connecticut Hospital Association.
The governor's cuts would lead to more than $38 million in federal cuts because of reduced health care reimbursements, Nicastro said.
She wants to whack adult day care centers and other critically needed social service providers.
"What we're trying to do is create jobs," Nicastro said.
"She's failed to balance the budget in other ways," he said, so she has had to seek more cuts. Even the GOP opposes her plan, Nicastro said.
"We have an obligation to balance the budget," Nicastro said, but the state can't add to unemployment rolls and undermining Connecticut's hospitals.
"Laying off another 5,000 people isnt' the answer," Nicastro said. "We know we have a responsibility and we're going to do it. But we're going to do the right way."
"We're going to go after those federal funds big time," Nicastro said.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Mayor meets with state delegation to seek fiscal relief

In a rare news release, Mayor Art Ward had this to say:

In the effort of affording our community the ability to sustain itself through these difficult economic times, I met with our State legislative delegation, State Senator Thomas Colapietro, Representative William Hamzy, Representative Frank Nicastro and Representative Christopher Wright, the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Philip Streifer and Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Michael Nicastro on Wednesday, December 9^th.

The meeting addressed a review of potential actions to be considered if a Special Session of the State Legislature is convened, as Governor Rell has proposed. This Special Session would have a direct impact on the operations and delivery of services, as presently provided though our local government, if proposed cuts in municipal aid to cities and towns is enacted. Considerable attention centered on the renewed call for consideration of relief from the lists of both partially unfunded and totally unfunded mandates.

As always, we welcome and appreciate the ideas and suggestions of all our citizens, our business community and anyone concerned with the economic vitality of our community.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City runs out of economic development dollars

The city owes companies that have received economic development grants about $70,000 more than it has in the account to pay the bills.

City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the fund has $200,000 in it, but the city already owes $270,000 to companies that have been lured into expanding in Bristol or moving town during the past couple of years.

Klocko said it isn't really a serious problem.

He said the city's economic development director, Jonathan Rosenthal, plans to ask the Board of Finance for an additional $150,000 in order to replenish the account.

Klocko said it shouldn't be controversial since everyone has an interest in seeing more growth in Bristol.

What the problem does show, however, is how tight budgeting and a lack of oversight can lead to an embarrassing situation.

Klocko said the city hasn't put any money into the economic development fund for the past three years. That proved a mistake, he said, because Rosenthal has managed to beat the bushes far more successfully than officials anticipated. [Click here for a list of companies that have received grants in 2008 and 2009.]

All of the money involved has been fully accounted for, Klocko said.

The firms that are owned money, he said, will get it.

"We pay our bills," Klocko said.

He said the finance board will likely take the $150,000 needed for economic development from the contingency fund, leaving about $800,000 for other unanticipated needs.

The comptroller said that his office plans "to beef up internal controls" so it will know if similar fiscal issues arise in the future.

Klocko said that a couple of people in the Bristol Development Authority office will also be trained on the city financial database so they can track the spending better.

Klocko said that some have criticized Rosenthal for allowing the situation to occur, but that's not really fair.

He said the city is short because Rosenthal has been so successful in aggressively seeking new companies for Bristol. Klocko said his job is "to go out there and bird dog" potential firms.

In fact, the city is making sure it has more than $70,000 it knows it needs because it figures at least one other company is likely to agree to come to town in a few months because of Rosenthal's efforts.

Klocko said he knows the money situation appears to be a problem. But, he said, it's really not.

It's like spending $950 on Christmas presents with a credit card knowing that the paycheck in December will cover the tab.

Still, Klocko said, "we are immediately remedying the situation."

Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. update -- Read the full story that appeared in today's Press by clicking here.

I should point out, too, that some comments so far have missed an essential point: that the city gives out some money to help lure new businesses. If the account is short of cash, the city would be foolish to refrain from giving out more money and perhaps losing a new company to another town. Instead, it simply has to take the cash from a different account. That's just bookkeeping. It's not something intrinsically irresponsible.

If I had a jar where I was shoving bills to pay for a future vacation in Cancun, say, it wouldn't be crazy for me to grab a great deal that costs more than I have in the jar if it would ultimately save me money -- as long as I have the extra money somewhere else. The city, of course, does.

I, on the other hand, don't. So it appear Cancun will have to get along without me. I could, though, scrape together enough to get a hot dog and a beer in, say, Waterbury. It's not quite the same thing.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Comptroller's office wins budget award

The Government Finance Officers Association recently handed out a national award to the city comptroller's office for its presentation of the city's yearly budget.
Calling the award "a significant achievement," the association said the honor "relfects the commitment" of the cit and its staff "to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting."
The association recognizes exceptional budgets that manage to serve as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, policy and a communications device.
The nonprofit association gave represents more than 17,600 government finance professionals in North America.
Bristol's award singled out a handful of individuals for special recognition for their work on the 2009-2010 fiscal year budget: David Bertnagel, chief accountant; Robin Manuele, assistant comptroller; Tina Bunnell, accountant; and Jodi McGrane, assistant to the comptroller. The comptroller is Glenn Klocko.
The GFOA awards are the only national ones for governmental budgeting.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City upset at possible cut in state aid

The prospect of losing as much as $1.5 million in aid from state budget cuts put on the table by Gov. Jodi Rell has city leaders up in arms.
“Municipal aid cuts would be disastrous for our city,” second-term city Councilor Cliff Block said Monday.
Mayor Art Ward postponed plans for a municipal budget kickoff meeting this week pending more information about the possible mid-year reduction in state aid that would leave Bristol short of assistance it’s already counting on.
City Councilor Ken Cockayne said, “It is awful that we are at the mercy of the state.”
City officials said the state could lift some of its costly mandates so that cities and towns could get by with less money, but given the cold shoulder that mandate relief has received in Hartford this year officials hold out little hope for help.
Rell has called a special legislative session for December 15 to close an anticipated $466 million budget cap. Among the measures she’s calling for is to slice municipal aid by 3 percent, a move she called “the most difficult cut of all.”
“In good times, municipalities shared in the state’s largesse,” the governor said. “In this economy, they must be part of the solution and so it is important they are represented at the table to help us make these difficult choices.”
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which launched a radio campaign against the move Monday, said, “Cutting more state aid in mid-year wouldn’t be a savings. It would merely shift more of the state budget deficit onto local governments and local property taxpayers.”
It said cutting municipal aid means higher property taxes across the state.
City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said there is “so much hardship that’s coming” that it’s bound to hurt.
He said it is like somebody standing on the beach where things are pretty calm but seeing a wave building way out at sea – and rolling toward the short.
“You know it’s coming,” Klocko said, and the impact will be severe.
City Councilor Kate Matthews said that mandate relief is crucial.
“It is time for our State lawmakers to get serious about granting municipalities like Bristol relief from unfunded state legislative mandates. If they did this, Bristol would be better able to bear a 3% decrease in state funds,” Matthews said.
“Our state legislature should now fight for relief of unfunded mandates, which will not cost the state any moneys,” Block said. “This the only way our city could absorb these cuts.”
“For over two years ourmMayor,City Council, and the Board of Education have been pressuring our state legislators to pursue these mandates but to no avail. This is the wakeup call,” Block said.
Cockayne said he doesn’t blame Rell for proposing the cut since “our state seems to be hemorrhaging money. We have been borrowing to balance the budget and it was just a matter of time for cuts like this to happen.”
He said he hopes the curtailing mandates could be part of the answer.
Without mandate relief, a 3 percent cut “will likely result in cuts to city services that our residents cannot afford to lose,” Matthews said.
Cockayne said the city “must continue to be vigilant in addressing our own spending and we must look for other ways to balance our own budget.”
Ward said he guarantees a “vigilant, diligent and responsible means of addressing only the most essential services” in trying to cope with aid cuts.
“Nothing will be considered to be exempt from consideration,” the mayor said.
“The delivery of services other than those of absolute necessity will be curtailed or eliminated while others will experience extreme cutbacks,” Ward said.
Klocko said the Board of Finance “has a very difficult task before them. I don’t envy their position.”

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City may another budget deficit

As state officials scramble to close a large deficit by possibly cutting aid to cities, Bristol itself is eyeing a possible second straight budget shortfall.
City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said the city will likely report a deficit when it finishes its fiscal year report in a couple of weeks.
He said that Bristol will probably also have another deficit during the fiscal year that ends in June.
Klocko said neither figure is available yet.
Klocko said the city did the best it could dealing with the recession, but nobody expected it to go on so long or to reach so deep.
“You just couldn’t plan,” the comptroller said, especially with state lawmakers delaying until September the passage of this year’s budget.
Klocko said it is easy to say Bristol didn’t budget prudently, but if it had nailed the numbers better then property taxes would likely have risen as much as 2.25 mills over past two years.
“If we did a better job, taxes would have gone up,” Klocko said. “So basically we were delaying the inevitable.”

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com