The City Council will conduct a virtual meeting Monday night at 7 p.m. See full agenda here. Agenda addendum here.
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When is the Council going to take up residency requirements for police and firefighters. Hartford says, you don’t have to stay a resident to be a firefighter or a cop when you come on the job, but you sure as HELL have to start out as a Hartford resident. If the City of Bridgeport adopted these rules there would be less of need to change the policies because people from Bridgeport are less likely to brutalize its residents than white males from the suburbs. Does the Council members have to wait until Mayor Ganim and Mario give them the ok to do that?
“For immediate consideration”…. we will immediately continue pandering. And Don, of course they (the majority of them) will NEVER bring anything of real substance or issues of residencey to the forefront unless they are told to. Besides, as you probably well know, it’s more than likely a contractual issue so you’ll have to wait for the next round at the collective bargaining table.
Cheers!!!!
Rich, hiring new employees has nothing to do with collective bargaining, first, they are not union members and there are no laws preventing residency BEFORE taking a exam, they don’t have to reside in Bridgeport after they get hired and pass their probation but that can be change by law and the courts.
Yes I am well aware of that. We had the same sentence in our contract which read that new employees ‘may’ have to reside in the city for the first four years etc.. That was never adhere to or even referred to let alone enforced.
Don, all we hear are words from Mayor Ganim and City Council President Aidee Nieves, just words and no action and especially any type real solutions. Here’s what the mayor said in a video concerning the protesters across America who are demanding changes of systemic racism that cause the death of George Floyd, “Ganim: We Stand In Solidarity With You,” and then said this, City Council President Aidee Nieves issued this news release on Wednesday:
As a significantly diverse community, we believe we can rise to the challenge before us together as we are all invested and united in the betterment of every aspect of our beloved Bridgeport. Don, just words.
What is systemic racism? Systemic racism, aka institutional racism, is racism on a grand scale – present in political and societal organisations.
‘It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people’.
Don, the mayor and the entire city council don’t even know what “systemic racism” is but it’s right here in Bridgeport super big time. The black community looks at the Bridgeport Police Department as a occupying force and who are the majority of that occupying force, they are white males who are not from Bridgeport and they don’t live in Bridgeport, they have absolutely NO vested interest in Bridgeport except for their paycheck and their pension. They are not our neighbors or associates, they no concern about our schooling, trash collection, our parks or any of daily concerns that those who pay taxes of those police others. Don you stated it very clearly and they are listening to Charles Ramsey and all the other police chiefs on TV who list residency requirements and the type of testing to make real change. This city council doesn’t understand the past systemic racism in both the police and fire department that cause the city of millions of dollars in lost lawsuits from federal court cases and with the federal court appointing a federal “Special Master” to monitor the running of the BPD, that’s systemic racism and it still here.
Allow me to show the City Council how systemic racism is active and doing well right here, the Bridgeport Fire Department has not hired a black woman to be a firefighter in 12 years and for those black females on the council who support the protesters who are marching for change in America are they saw a black call out for his mother before his life from taken from him by a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by a white police officer who didn’t care about him because George was black, well the knee has been on black women from becoming firefighters right here in Bridgeport and what you black women and council members are going to do?
A long long time ago. I can remember when my father was a member of the BFD. and let me tell you residency worked.
When you live in the city and work in the city in public safety you have many, many more eyes and ears on safety in the city.
My father would see a fire hazard in the neighborhood and would call it in.
My father had many friends on the police force and when they came across a police alarm going off they would check it out.
It is a matter of public safety plain and simple. And it would significantly increase the force off duty.
A few ideas would extend the probationary period. In addition to negative enforcement you could have positive reinforcement.
You could have a tax rate half of the regular rate. You could have special magnet schools that would target the families of Bridgeport first responders. You would have to have serious harsh penalties to make sure that it wasn’t abused. And the list is limitless.
But it would take a lot of effort and commitment of which I have seen neither in the last ten years except on a very limited few. Lip service and studies will get you nothing except stall techniques.
When is the Council going to take up residency requirements for police and firefighters. Hartford says, you don’t have to stay a resident to be a firefighter or a cop when you come on the job, but you sure as HELL have to start out as a Hartford resident. If the City of Bridgeport adopted these rules there would be less of need to change the policies because people from Bridgeport are less likely to brutalize its residents than white males from the suburbs. Does the Council members have to wait until Mayor Ganim and Mario give them the ok to do that?
“For immediate consideration”…. we will immediately continue pandering. And Don, of course they (the majority of them) will NEVER bring anything of real substance or issues of residencey to the forefront unless they are told to. Besides, as you probably well know, it’s more than likely a contractual issue so you’ll have to wait for the next round at the collective bargaining table.
Cheers!!!!
Rich, hiring new employees has nothing to do with collective bargaining, first, they are not union members and there are no laws preventing residency BEFORE taking a exam, they don’t have to reside in Bridgeport after they get hired and pass their probation but that can be change by law and the courts.
Yes I am well aware of that. We had the same sentence in our contract which read that new employees ‘may’ have to reside in the city for the first four years etc.. That was never adhere to or even referred to let alone enforced.
Don, all we hear are words from Mayor Ganim and City Council President Aidee Nieves, just words and no action and especially any type real solutions. Here’s what the mayor said in a video concerning the protesters across America who are demanding changes of systemic racism that cause the death of George Floyd, “Ganim: We Stand In Solidarity With You,” and then said this, City Council President Aidee Nieves issued this news release on Wednesday:
As a significantly diverse community, we believe we can rise to the challenge before us together as we are all invested and united in the betterment of every aspect of our beloved Bridgeport. Don, just words.
What is systemic racism? Systemic racism, aka institutional racism, is racism on a grand scale – present in political and societal organisations.
‘It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people’.
Don, the mayor and the entire city council don’t even know what “systemic racism” is but it’s right here in Bridgeport super big time. The black community looks at the Bridgeport Police Department as a occupying force and who are the majority of that occupying force, they are white males who are not from Bridgeport and they don’t live in Bridgeport, they have absolutely NO vested interest in Bridgeport except for their paycheck and their pension. They are not our neighbors or associates, they no concern about our schooling, trash collection, our parks or any of daily concerns that those who pay taxes of those police others. Don you stated it very clearly and they are listening to Charles Ramsey and all the other police chiefs on TV who list residency requirements and the type of testing to make real change. This city council doesn’t understand the past systemic racism in both the police and fire department that cause the city of millions of dollars in lost lawsuits from federal court cases and with the federal court appointing a federal “Special Master” to monitor the running of the BPD, that’s systemic racism and it still here.
Allow me to show the City Council how systemic racism is active and doing well right here, the Bridgeport Fire Department has not hired a black woman to be a firefighter in 12 years and for those black females on the council who support the protesters who are marching for change in America are they saw a black call out for his mother before his life from taken from him by a knee on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds by a white police officer who didn’t care about him because George was black, well the knee has been on black women from becoming firefighters right here in Bridgeport and what you black women and council members are going to do?
Kind of hard to force residency requirements for police and firefighters when the police chief & Mayor don’t even live in Bpt..
A long long time ago. I can remember when my father was a member of the BFD. and let me tell you residency worked.
When you live in the city and work in the city in public safety you have many, many more eyes and ears on safety in the city.
My father would see a fire hazard in the neighborhood and would call it in.
My father had many friends on the police force and when they came across a police alarm going off they would check it out.
It is a matter of public safety plain and simple. And it would significantly increase the force off duty.
A few ideas would extend the probationary period. In addition to negative enforcement you could have positive reinforcement.
You could have a tax rate half of the regular rate. You could have special magnet schools that would target the families of Bridgeport first responders. You would have to have serious harsh penalties to make sure that it wasn’t abused. And the list is limitless.
But it would take a lot of effort and commitment of which I have seen neither in the last ten years except on a very limited few. Lip service and studies will get you nothing except stall techniques.