Governor Dan Malloy Wednesday afternoon will address the city’s business community for an update on the latest session of the General Assembly at the Holiday Inn Downtown. This has been another difficult budget cycle for Malloy who’s sparring with Democratic legislative leaders on how to close a roughly $900 million projected deficit for the budget year starting July 1. What happens in Hartford has critical impact on Bridgeport’s municipal budget.
Mayor Joe Ganim’s proposed budget under review by the City Council is a leap of faith with many assumptions based on the state budget. Ganim says under his budget about 60 percent of residential homeowners will receive a tax cut in a revaluation year. That could change if the state legislature cuts expected funding for the city in the last days of the session.
The State of Connecticut is REALLY in charge of EVERYTHING. Everyone here on OIB needs to wake up to that fact as they peruse all the lines in the budget proposed by “Mayor” Joe Ganim. Time to wake up.
WHAT?
*** Why, year after year, does the city start earlier than the State on its own budget to only assume with fingers crossed on what they hope the State’s Budget will or will not do and how much money will filter down to the Park City? Nothing more than an assumed projected city budget based on bogus figures that can be plus or minus either way! Then topped off with a B&A Committee with little or no experience in finance, to access, review and return back to the Mayor’s Office with their overall input that could shape the next year’s future of our city! ***
WHAT?
Joel, let asking you something different. Are you involved with any gun violence program?
Ron Mackey, about a year after the Finger Chopping event of March 8, 1994, I was still a very recognized person around Bridgeport. Keep in mind during that period of time, there was no Facebook, search engines like Google, YouTube, etc. The Newspaper often incorrectly reported my view and position on gun violence. For about nine years, I put together a group of seven men and we regularly took time to go into areas of high levels of gun violence and talk to mostly young men about gun violence. We stayed low key and never tried getting media attention. Why, you ask? I’ll tell you one thing, Ron. If you or anyone you know sets up an event with hardcore youth, teens and adults, I am willing to take the time to deliver a speech or message to them of the kind you haven’t heard or seen before. The few who have are no longer involved in criminal activity. I was thinking of participating in the recently held youth summit but no one ever invited me. I rarely invite myself to anything.
Joel, NAACP Criminal Justice Conference to be held on May 14, 2016, at Mt. Aery Baptist Church.
DATE: MAY 14, 2016 TIME: 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM
LOCATION:
MT. AERY CHURCH BASS HALL
73 FRANK STREET
BRIDGEPORT, CT
Mojo,
The timing is referenced in the Charter.
The Mayor gets a proposal to the Council “not later than the first Tuesday in April” and the Council, per the Charter owes a decision back to the Mayor by “the second Tuesday in May.” That leaves five weeks of MEETINGS with no well developed process able to be used by the B&A members.
It is not the five-week budget season or the starting date that causes problems in our City, but the general unfamiliarity with Department goals and success, metrics, employee duties, problems, dependence on grants and grant employees, and routine employees active each month (that should be a part of each monthly financial report). And of course, staff with appropriate expertise in budget formation, monitoring and commentary. Time will tell.
These are the types of problems the state and municipalities face when elected officials ignore future projections from the Independent Office of Fiscal Analysis. For the last decade, their figures, projections and heeded warnings have been on target. Instead, elected officials have been running with the bogus budget projections presented by the majority leadership.
Governor Malloy needs to be asked two critical questions:
When is the state going to restructure state employee compensation to make it reasonable, affordable and sustainable? CT has the highest total compensation premium as compared to large private sector employers of any state in the union!
When will you appoint a Financial Control Board to restructure Bridgeport’s finances and try to avoid bankruptcy? Bridgeport’s relative financial statistics are worse than several cities that have already declared bankruptcy and they are getting worse. In addition, Mayor Ganim’s proposed budget shows he is out of touch, can’t be trusted, and is not up to the task.
Dave Walker, you wrote, “CT has the highest total compensation premium as compared to large private sector employers of any state in the union!” Dave, they are not the same, the private sector can pick up and move overseas to another country and those employees are left with nothing. The private sector’s main concern is making money for their stockholders and they don’t have to locate their employees in their city, state or America.
Ron,
You should as Dave is who performed this analysis. The answer is probably Dave Walker.
Bob, oh god, please Hillary, take Malloy with you whether you win or lose, please.
Ron,
You missed my point. CT state workers are way overpaid as compared the comparable private sector workers. We need to restructure their compensation program in a equitable, affordable and sustainable manner. The problem is not cash compensation. It is unreasonable, unaffordable, unsustainable and unfunded retirement promises, especially retiree health care.
Dave, do you see professional football players’ benefits being compared to professional baseball players or police officers?
Ron,
Are you suggesting those citizen neighbors who gain a job at some level of government using their skill sets, hours and motivation as public servants are serving in such vastly different work environments from their neighbors in private industry? And therefore valid comparisons cannot be made?
Could it be that “metrics” are used in the sports industry to rate ‘players’ to a lot better effect than is used in municipal government today?
Ron, when are you going to have a friendly cup of coffee? I can see if Dave Walker wants to come along also, if you so stipulate. Then I’ll show you the “red rubber boots” Denese Taylor-Moye wants to receive. They are the right size for her, but she is going to have to show we have solved one of our budget problems facing us today. Operating budget? Or Capital budget? Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, let’s measure the police and firefighters in the public sector and you compare them with private sector.
The only question I have for the Gov is “Will you be heading to DC if Hillary wins?”
If the answer is YES then I will be voting for Hillary in November.
Perhaps Mayor Ganim’s budget should be called “the diaper budget.” Why? Because its accuracy DEPENDS on legislative decisions. Bridgeport is way too dependent on state revenue.
Don’t be surprised if Governor Malloy is here to tell the local biz community he’s serious about reform and what that means to them.
Is the sky falling?
Or does it just seem that way to folks who do not bother to pay attention to City or State finances but once per year, or maybe not for two decades, like Rip van Winkle? Sleepy Hollow?
The Operating spending budget proposed by the Mayor both City side at $300 Million and BOE side at $260 Million (with no additional money proposed from the Mayor in the coming year so far) totals $560 Million.
Local property tax projections increase $13.5 Million to $310.5 from current year for City side leaving $250 Million to be gathered from other governmental State and Federal grants.
Big increases in fringe benefit projections and other pension-related categories as well salary increases from November City Council vote and overtime from Public Safety, out of control for the past five years. (When the Public Safety contracts were effective, the City Plan B Police fund that was adequately funded was sent to the State and Police could then have career overtime credited in MERS for increased monthly benefits beyond Plan B.) Now we are paying for this, with a budget that tells us about a Department with 478 F (standing for Filled or Full time or f*****?) and 17 V (presumably vacant or ?).
There is no honesty here, Mayor Ganim. When will we see the Chart of employees? When will Service Indicators become reliable and genuine metrics for the public? Department Directors are not using them to sell their budgets and CC members are making no inquiries. What’s up? Does everybody realize it’s a stacked game? Still? Time will tell.
The sky is falling so hard the chunks of stratosphere are leveling houses, eliminating lakes and destroying satellites as they crash to Earth. No, I don’t have time on my hands, just awesomeness to spare.
Sooo, yesterday, Primary Day in the State of Connecticut. The Mayor of East Bridgeport, Joe Ganim, pulls city cops off and away from all polling places. The article in the CT POST says overtime is out of control. Ganim’s good buddy Bridgeport Police Union Chief Chuck Paris says WTF is going on here??? No mention of Acting Chief of Police AJ Perez. Has anyone read about the cuts and school closings the BOE is being forced to look at? I have heard nothing from the Library Board. They may still be in a state of shock.
Library Board meeting tonight at 7 PM at Main Library (continuation of March meeting).
Frank, Public Safety will speak to the City Council on Thursday evening. Chance to hear what is going on with OVERTIME. Failure to reign in for five years. Maybe SUPERMAN is required. Will the PD report the actual number of uniformed and non-uniformed positions in the Table of Organization today? Will they explain why the goal of 32 trainees for the initial class shows only 23 receiving pay in the G2 term since December? Is Civil Service the holdup? What is the status of Federal grants that may have been extended but are never likely to be needed unless total department strength is increased?
Why did Labor Relations and the former Mayor move the Police pension from a reasonably funded Plan B to MERS, if not for the opportunity of Police to enjoy significant increases in retirement income, if they have a way to post large overtime for three years during a 25-year career? When Police earned overtime in past years before becoming eligible for MERS, did they pay 8% of earnings on their overtime pay? If not does that mean taxpayers are footing 100% of that extra monthly benefit? How does that feel, taxpayers? Time will tell.
Very busy time of the year. PUBLIC Hearing tonight (6-8pm) on the budget AND the Library Board at 7pm and the Library Board has a very interesting agenda.
JML, “When Police earned overtime in past years before becoming eligible for MERS, did they pay 8% of earnings on the overtime pay? If not does that mean that taxpayers are footing 100% of that extra monthly benefit? How does that feel, taxpayers? Time will tell.”
What if they did? If they did, but it was let’s say 4% for example, then what? Give me a figure. In this example, time has already passed. What did it say?
Joel, just one correction. Pension Plan A members paid 8% of their pay and those who are in Pension Plan B pay 6% of their pay. As for police overtime, I don’t know.
When benefits are negotiated Joel, is it fair those who will pay for them should understand the price tag?
When it came to the 2012 (or latest, if I have used the wrong date) contract that moved Police Plan B active employees from a safely funded Plan B to a State MERS plan, what was and what would be the cost/expense to officers and to the public for whom they work? Did you ever see the City Labor Relations or Mayor Finch touch on such a subject?
I have heard it said the transfer to MERS was sought because being a larger plan there was more safety and discipline. Is that what people have thought? Of course with funding a local plan, Mayor Finch used to go to the State OPM, or wherever, and ask for a deferral or partial deferral of actuarial costs. And the State cooperated in kicking the can down the road. That pattern has made today’s coming to terms with the budget that much more difficult. Today the State is telling us what we must pay. Good cop? (Finch term?) Bad cop? (Today?) Or nothing personal about policing the payments for that which was voted upon, but just look at the facts, before you vote and figure how you will pay for the benefits. Was this done in the past? Will old City practices change? What was paid in the past? Where will we go for such information, however, I suspect once base pay was exceeded and police received overtime, why would they make a contribution towards retirement benefits for the overtime portion if they could not cash in on the overtime pay for retirement purpose? True or not? Who foots that bill, if not the Bridgeport taxpayer? Who can disclose a full story with numbers? Time will tell.
I attended the BRBC luncheon today and asked the first question to Governor Malloy. I asked him if he would appoint an independent Financial Control Board to restructure the City’s finances. I also stated it is clear the City is headed for bankruptcy absent the appointment of such a Board. Mayor Ganim’s proposed budget demonstrates he does not understand how serious the problem is and he is evidently not willing to make the required tough choices. Unfortunately, while the Governor acknowledged the problem, he did not answer the question. If Mayor Ganim cares about the future of this City, he will support the need for an independent Financial Control Board. We need one ASAP.