Mayors, for the most part, live and die by budgets. If you think the city budget is bleeding red this year wait until next year when Mayor Bill Finch’s election is on the line. So city bean counters are searching for new revenue sources.
Yeah baby, whoever thought poop could be a major revenue source. It can. That’s why city officials are asking Trumbull and Monroe to revisit a regional sewage treatment authority that could generate tens of millions for the city.
Last year Shelton-based developer Bob Scinto began a conversation with Trumbull and Monroe to allow a sewer hookup for his proposed relocation of the Jewish Home for the Elderly from Fairfield to property he owns in Monroe that would eventually end up at Bridgeport’s mothership sewage treatment plant. Tax revenue from the development would have been be shared by the three communities, connecting Monroe to Trumbull that’s tied into the city system.
Monroe has no sewers, Trumbull has sewers but no treatment plant, the state’s largest city turns Trumbull’s poop into treated wastewater. Talks broke down when many members of the Bridgeport City Council were opposed to opening additional sewage capacity to another suburban town. But now, with Bridgeport’s budget bleeding and looking worse next year, city officials hope they can persuade the two towns about creating a regional wastewater authority that would accommodate Monroe’s development needs while transferring debt service from the city to basically a mini municipality, helping the city’s fund balance, and perhaps Trumbull as well.
Bridgeport officials want this regional authority to happen to help future budgets, Monroe officials want it to happen to open up development and new tax revenue. Trumbull is stuck in the middle trying to figure out if it makes financial sense. Trumbull’s wastewater and storm water systems are separated (much of Bridgeport isn’t) so town officials want to make sure they’re not subsidizing the city’s antiquated system at its own expense.
The city is pushing for an agreement that would help the budget year starting July 2011. This is far from a done deal, but if the city can pull off the tri-town deal it would be a royal flush so to speak for the mayor’s election-year budget. Stay tuned.
A Royal Flush beats a Full House!
Has anyone seen the HUGE WELCOME HOME JOE!!! sign affixed to the side of the Nutmeg Assoc building on Congress Street? I spotted it over the weekend. Apparently, Nutmeg missed Joe. And, I suspect from what I hear on the streets–a lot of folks missed him.
Here we go again. Regional sewage treatment plant. Why do I get the feeling with these bunch of idiots running city hall we are going to get a royal screwing?
This is all wonderful but they still have to balance the budget this year and to date have not done so. Isn’t this the same administration that said every day that passes after July 1 the deficit gets bigger and the employee givebacks need to get bigger?
Please Please Please get off your asses and get this budget balanced. Start with doing away with that 4% increase for appointees. These appointees got us where we are today.
Much of what could have been done and should have been done by the council budget committee was not done. Cut every budget by 5% and you end up with a surplus. Please do’nt tell me every department submitted a bare-bones budget thus no cuts. That’s pure and utter bullshit. If by chance somebody did that they should be fired for having Terminal Dumb Ass.
TC don’t worry about this the idiot they have as a first selectman in Monroe can’t manage to tie his shoes let alone put together a deal. Interesting thought that Trumbull is now interested again. I still think done correctly a regional WPCA could benefit everyone involved.
John I agree with you it’s just the people we have running this circus scare me and make me worry that in the end we will get screwed.
TC, as a member of the town council in Monroe I would like to tell you we are on top of this. However, the first selectman does not keep any of us informed on any progress or give us any information at all. I would like to see an equitable solution for all parties as I believe it would be very beneficial to both Monroe and Bridgeport. I don’t know if the Bridgeport Council is consulted but this is something that all councils involved should be discussing as well. Tom Buzi, a wonderful man that Monroe misses dearly, who was part of the original negotiations and should be credited for getting Monroe this far was much more transparent and involved other council members as well as getting the WPCA, which I served on, a lot of information. You and I spoke at length during one such information session. Hopefully, all parties to this negotiation will learn from past mistakes and try to build a mutually beneficial coalition, rather than be suspicious of other members. This is the kind of regional collaboration that will help save the state in the long run. New Haven’s regional WPCA is an excellent example of how well this process could work.
PS JohnB, please try to avoid the personal insults. There is plenty of evidence, no need to editorialize.
I did not know that shoe-tying was a requirement here in CT for winning municipal elections. Perhaps you are suggesting it does have something to do with leading a community through difficult financial times.
If a Regional WPCA project were to be considered seriously, what would Bridgeport need and want, from a facility and infrastructure point of view and from a financial viewpoint?
The City continues to look for the “big buck” that splashes in and “solves” their immediate budget problem. They forget it is a dependable source of revenue that really solves the financial equation and if there are risks and responsibilities down the road, these need to be contemplated, funded and shared fairly.
The lack of financial reality the Finch team showed in running for office, in handling employment issues, and in claiming superior regional financial administration while leaving a $6-8 Million question mark in the current budget is more than distressing.
So OIBers, what would seem fair for the City to expect financially? And, in the longer term, being part of a successful regional deal, should bear fruit in the future in terms of State delegation solidarity, something that has not worked in Bridgeport for years.
BEACON2, first let me tell you I’ve read your post here and I find them to be both well written and informative. In a perfect world this regional solidarity you write of would be expected, but this is hardly a perfect world. The region uses our hospitals, social services etc. and to this point have never fought cooperatively with us on any issue that would benefit Bridgeport. I would like to see legislation that would charge a surcharge to anyone using our services (hospitals, sewage treatment plant, etc.) As far as “what is fair for us to expect financially” I would like to see them charge a per-residence/business fee, that can be calculated weekly, monthly (in much the same way the electric co. does it). Those with the most flushes would be charged the most.
Hector,
Thanks for the reading. I will always err to the optimistic side of the equation. In the long run it seems to me that “Expect the best, and get it” works better than “Expect to get little or nothing, and fail at that.” It does not mean you win all the time. Indeed that is the unrealistic attitude that gets the public in trouble when it pays little or no attention to events, structure and process and so much to personality.
Anyway, the discussion today already tells us to look at the regional agreement in New Haven. We aren’t the first to consider this. Let’s see what is working there. Why they structured that deal in that way. What changes have been made and how. And then we can consider what is different about the Bridgeport area. This is not rocket science, is it?
In terms of regionalism at least an agreement between neighboring communities places the responsibilities on locals. When we get into hospitals and the whole range of governmental buildings that may bring in some payment in lieu of taxes, the State legislature is the one that gives us a 30 or 40% haircut by reducing what would otherwise be a fair payment, and we have little control over that.
Finally, how do you meter “flushes” and when you equate water at the tap with waste water into the pipes, are there agricultural or other uses that cause a hiccup, or is the combination street water and residential waste system in Bridgeport force unnecessary and excess water through our treatment plants. Lots of questions to be resolved in an open, accountable and reasonably transparent manner.
Finally, I like your flush.
Here is the web site for New Haven’s regional authority. gnhwpca.org
BEACON2 I enjoyed your post and I agree with you.