UPDATE, meeting locations: Fire up the espresso machine. The City Council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee enters the guts of the budget-review process in the next week with meetings scheduled to examine the spending plans of Economic Development, Capital Plan, Public Facilities and Police and Fire services, areas that account for a large chunk of city-side spending (non Board of Education) in Mayor Bill Finch’s $520 million budget proposal.
The budget committee, led by co-chairs Sue Brannelly and Angel DePara, has entered the daily overdrive period of the budget process as constituents urge them to put the brakes on the tax increase proposed by the mayor. They will be facing department heads who don’t want their budgets cut. On Thursday (tonight), 6 p.m the committee is expected to review the budget of Economic Development in the Legislative Services Office, second floor in the Morton Government Center, 999 Broad Street. On Saturday 9 a.m. a review of the city Capital Plan also in the Legislative Services Office.
On Tuesday 6 p.m. a review of Public Facilities, the department that includes garbage pickup, snow removal, street paving, parks, airport in the Legislative Services Office in the Morton Government Center. On Wednesday 6 p.m. Police Department, and Thursday, 6 p.m. Fire Department as well as Information Technology, also in Legislative Services Office in the Morton Government Center.
Every year, for the past several years, the millions paid out in police overtime is raised as a concern at budget time, but the council rarely tinkers with the overtime request. Meanwhile dozens of cops make double their salaries in overtime. Is this the year the council says no more?
Full budget committee schedule here. Note that meetings will take place in the Legislative Services Office, except for public hearings conducted in City Council Chambers.
Lennie,
I am a student of Bridgeport governance structure and financial activities. I attempt to move our City towards OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT behavior. No one objects to those goals, but then again most people are not interested in governance structure or fiscal matters unless they pay property taxes, right?
I have a copy of a Capital report that may be the basis of a B&A meeting next week. I know my paperwork from last year was more extensive. An oversight? Don’t know.
What I cannot find on the City or Public School site is a listing of all of the projects, currently active, moving through design, or just plain getting approvals that are contemplated (and commented on regularly in the Finch roadshow). I have heard funding approaching $500 Million. Lots of money, even borrowed with 80% paid by the State of CT. What Board or Commission has oversight? Where are they listed? Where do they meet and when? You get the drift … where is the openness and transparency in spending the big bucks?
By the way, several of us were at Marin School last evening with our Finch 6% increase signs. Andy Nunn asked me where my shovel was? I thanked him for the reminder and let him know I would meet his expectation next time. The Mayor said we had our 6% number wrong as he breezed in 20 minutes late for his own show. So we asked a group of three neighborhood kids how you would figure out what percent of increase between two numbers, in this case a mil rate increase of 2.5 when you have a base of 41.1? The young woman in the group said, “You use long division.” And I said what do you do first and she responded, “You create a fraction.” Yes, OIB readers, there is some learning going on in the schools. 2.5 mils put into a fraction format divided by 41.1 Mills comes to a rounded 6%.
The Mayor says the number is wrong. As always he is way ahead of me. I guess he knows the BOE has not yet voted on the Public School budget, but last night according to the CT Post the Superintendent presented a $231 Million budget that is about $12 Million more than the ZERO variance $219 Million the Mayor has proposed. So more math will be required along with more adjustments, and the potential tax increase can even rise some more, maybe? It’s in play. And State regulations and revenues may seem less clear to some than others, and Federal funds and sequestration may cause hiccups, but the City could start cutting the $11 Million additional requested for a start, just to experiment with the solid idea of budgeting for a change. Time will tell.
THE CITY COUNCIL CAN’T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES
BEACON2 // Sep 20, 2011 at 11:10 am
Last night I spoke before the City Council regarding Bridgeport fiscal matters. After all you only get five minutes.
Comments below, but oversight is so badly called for when you think of the Charter issues not adhered to, the conflicts of interest on the Council where people do not recuse themselves, the absolute trust Budget and Appropriations have in whatever is presented to them by the administration, the continuing failure to attend to Significant Deficiencies and Material Weaknesses raised by the City auditors, and the lack of any demonstrable Internal Audit function.
Who is minding the store?
Can you show me the Bridgeport fiscal picture?
If not you, who can?
Comments to City Council 9-19-11
City Council members, I come here tonight to talk with you about City finances. Many of you are approachable as individuals and concerned as well. Each of you is in a more favored position to learn about City finances than I am. That is why I am here tonight, to ask some questions, important to the City, its development and on behalf of all taxpayers as well as to provoke some answers.
Q. How does the City look from outside regarding the fiscal picture?
A. Mayor Finch says he is happy to have the Fitch rating of A. Do you feel the same way? Do you understand that this is the worst rating of the 30 cities and towns rated by Fitch in CT? We are the only one with an A rating.
Another outside source is the “external auditor,” Blum Shapiro. Last February they forwarded information supplementary to the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report – 2010 (CAFR) in the form of two letters (as they had done in previous years) commenting specifically on the handling of State and Federal funds. Curiously, their letter was sent to the BOARD OF FINANCE, City of Bridgeport. You know we do not have a Board of Finance which makes you our last stop for “check and balance” duties. The auditor identified both material weaknesses and significant deficiencies in the recent audit. Do you know such a finding was repeated from the previous year? This is serious business!
Q. How do we look from inside through the City’s internal audit function? When the City presents the Budget it includes “Accounting Policies,” titled Internal Controls. In the 2012 budget this section says, “In addition, the City of Bridgeport has an internal audit staff responsible for monitoring the various City departments in compliance with the City Charter, ordinances, and all other policies and procedures.” In which Department is this function handled in the City since 2008 and by whom? What is your knowledge of any findings for the past several years to the Council as a whole or to any sub-committee?
A. Recent budgets do not identify personnel assigned to that financial duty. Who handles this? An internal audit function follows a plan that looks at risks like fraud, misappropriation of assets, financial statement accuracy, information technology issues (like protection and privacy), various compliance issues and monitoring practices with statements in the Charter. For instance the Charter calls for the availability of monthly reports to the public on the fourth Friday following each month. Last year that happened less than 50% of the time. And the July report was released on September 12, although there is no June, 2011 report. Perhaps there is no internal auditor currently?
Q. How do you monitor the City balance sheet? Who looks at assets and liabilities, particularly off-balance sheet responsibilities of the City?
A. What I have discovered by reading the CAFR-10 is from 2007-2011, the City obligations, responsibilities, and debt have increased about $45 Million per year or overall about $180 Million. Some of the increases may be known but when and where has a public conversation occurred about retiree healthcare that showed an $861 Million liability in CAFR 2010. If our debt and responsibilities are increasing faster than assets and some of them should have been handled within budgets of the past four years, how can the City call budgets balanced?
Q. The Council passed the 2012 budget with no credible Board of Education numbers because of the problems of that body. However, 66 positions on the City side with over $4.5 Million including benefits were unfilled, some for more than one year. How do you account for providing money for vacant positions? How and when do you review those dollars and positions through the year as our check and balance body? What meetings specifically look at the approved budget from the current year with questions that arise from within your body or from the public in general?
A. I have no clue as to regular monitoring of the monthly, quarterly or whatever reporting process the City Finance department is following today. Based on last year’s report availability you would have had severe difficulties. And since there is no public hearing and speaking session to the Capital Project budget, and no published record of same, the Capital Budget remains less understood than the operating budget, if that is possible. Last April the administration reported to you over $250 Million of Available Budget with regards to Capital projects. Where does that stand today? Why is that chart of projects with meaningful detail not on the City Internet site?
Do you think Bridgeport is truly “open, accountable and transparent” in its fiscal processes and governance already? Then there is little reason to change. But I would disagree. Other communities with ratings we would welcome, encourage taxpayer citizens to attend meetings, listen, learn, indeed to question and comment as well. We do not have a Board of Finance and we may badly need one. My Budget Oversight Bridgeport attendance made me aware of how busy you are as Council persons. There is so much work as each of you face multiple sub-committee duties already. Why would you not welcome competent experienced fiscal assistance from the folks who are paying taxes too? It would lighten your burden and not change your duties and responsibilities. Think about it, talk about it, with the public. Let some light and air into your process. It can only be positive for the City. I have invested time and attention to learning about these matters. I welcome dialogue with you as well.