The road to $40 million to aid Mayor Bill Finch’s reelection budget goes through Trumbull where a key informational meeting on a proposed regional wastewater treatment authority is scheduled Wednesday night.
Finch, who graduated from Trumbull High School and represented the town in the State Senate for seven years, is counting on Trumbull’s support to turn sludge into millions in moolah. Easier said than done.
Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst wants to make sure he gets the best deal for his town, and hasn’t been thrilled lately with the way Finch has been pushing him to line up the votes in Trumbull. Herbst has told him you pay attention to your city and I’ll pay attention to my town. (That’s putting it mildly.) It’s great to hold the line on taxes, but what’s the sense if user fees get jacked?
That’s what officials will sort out. Trumbull’s Water Pollution Control Authority, Board of Finance, and Town Council members are scheduled to meet Wednesday night for an informational meeting concerning a regional plan between Bridgeport, Trumbull and Monroe. Details will begin to emerge as to what the proposed authority means to all three towns.
In short, Monroe’s commercial development would open up with a connection into Trumbull’s sewage pipelines that run into Bridgeport and eventually processed at the city’s sewage treatment plants. Monroe has no sewers. Trumbull has sewers, but no treatment plant. An agreement between the three towns would create a regional authority with bonding powers to purchase the wastewater assets from the city and Trumbull. Presto, instant money for processing poop. For Finch it’s a one-shot revenue to plug a huge hole in his election-year budget. But how would an agreement impact user fees? Someone has to pay for all that water, poop and processing. If you own a home or a business you’ll be paying for that. That’s what decision makers in all three towns want to know. What will it cost short and long term?
Even if –and that’s a big if–Trumbull officials sign off, Finch still must push it through the Bridgeport City Council that balked on a similar proposal two years ago. It could become noisy.
The Birdie has destroyed our beloved city “` the only thing keeping the masses from forcing a resignation is “` wait for it “` Tommy Mac would be WORSE.
You can bet Herbst will do what’s best for Trumbull, and Finch will do what’s best for Finch and to hell with what’s best for Bridgeport.
I am disgusted with this administration but even more so with voters who continue to let it pull the wool over their eyes. If putting a positive spin on this deal and ramming it through is enough to save Finch come election season, then the people deserve what they get and I’m outta here.
Perhaps Tim Herbst should heed his own warning and stay out of Bpt along with Trumbull’s SHIT. They would still be a cow pasture without Bpt. 90% of its people came from Bpt they just forgot their way home. There is a zoning meeting in Trumbull tonight for new regional HS Trumbull has stalled this for close to 1 year they are afraid of BPT kids going to school in Trumbull. They say concerns about traffic in Trumbull neighborhoods, did they have those concerns when Catholics opened St. Joseph’s HS in the middle of residential neighborhood? I was at wetlands meeting when one of the wetlands commissioners asked how would city control who came on school campus he was admonished by chairman of wetlands for bringing that into the hearing, but this tells you what this delay is all about. Tim Herbst said to BPT POST that he just found out about this school (this was 7 mos ago) he was chairman of zoning board prior to being 1st selectman that was bs also this is their kicker to getting Regional Sewer passed. Wake up Bpt. This admin is going to force this down your throat.
Not everyone who lives in Trumbull voted for Herbst or shares the attitude expressed by bpt guy. I’m just saying.
*** This project like many can drag for years so a $40 million shot in the arm for Bpt’s city budget would only be assumed come next election, no? I remember this admin 3 years ago claiming they would “never assume” projected future incoming money towards the city budget! *** SOS ***
Mojo, if the regional authority is created before the City Council acts on the mayor’s 2011 budget late spring, city bean counters will plug in anticipated revenue from the authority for the next budget year that begins July 1. That sounds ambitious, but that’s the thinking.
*** Hey Lennie, assumed or anticipated it’s still not real money in the budget, no? Seems like Fabrizi was criticized by this admin. for the same type of “ambitious” thinking 3 years ago. *** Who’s zooming whom? ***
Fabrizi would have counted some inflated revenues this year and avoided the layoffs.
I’m so sick of these Heinz “Anticipation” budgetary policies. How did that Steal Point $5 million ever work out? Oh yeah, it got discounted down to $500k with the remaning balance due in 2021 or thereabouts. What’s real-time value of money on these deals? We are still close to $8 million in the hole and counting with less than 7 months to close out or rather cook our books.
So we are to believe that Mr. Hanky will save Bridgeport this Christmas? Great storyline for “South” Park City.
Hector, maybe we could sell some sponsorship opportunities to Mr. Hanky in naming rights for our Park City. “Sneezin’s Greetings!”
“… Herbst has told him you pay attention to your city and I’ll pay attention to my town …”
Lennie, outsiders pay the price for getting involved in the electoral process of other towns and cities. The consequences depend on who wins. It’s no secret to Republicans that Bridgeport operatives have been meddling in the electoral process of Trumbull and Monroe. MCAT is one example that comes to mind and we all know she would have been in favor of the proposed regional wastewater treatment authority had she been elected. Last year, the Bridgeport machine made their strongest effort to defeat Tim Herbst. Bridgeport city employees were given days off to campaign for the Democrats in Trumbull and Monroe. It’s true that many residents of Trumbull and Monroe moved there from Bridgeport. But don’t make the mistake of assuming they are all Democrats. Ever wondered where the Bridgeport Republican voters have gone? Keep in mind that the mission of the Bridgeport operatives in Monroe and Trumbull was not just to oust the First Selectman–the Town Council was also their target. The towns of Trumbull and Monroe will not approve the proposed regional wastewater treatment authority, no more than Stratford would approve the expansion of our airport.
Back to the voting and recount:
Ayala also stated that her office ordered more ballots on Election Day from Adkins Printing by as early as 11 a.m.
But in a Nov. 5 interview, Clifford Lee, the company’s print manager, stated that Bridgeport did not place any subsequent order until mid-afternoon. “They were so far behind then,” he stated, “that nothing was going to save them.” Added Lee: “I tell (registrars) that I’ve got to know by noon if I’m going to do anything for you. They shouldn’t be placing their order on Election Day.”
Plenty of buses. Plenty of bodies.
Surprise, it’s Bridgeport.
And more pearls of wisdom from Santa:
At the commission’s hearing, the registrars suggested they might have thought to order more ballots leading up to Election Day if they weren’t so busy training last-minute poll workers, crossing off roughly 1,300 names of absentee ballots from voter check-in lists, ensuring the scanners were correctly programmed, and that the 25 variations in ballots they did have were properly distributed to specific polling stations.
This is the lamest piece of BS EVER in the history of B-port.
Plenty of Buses. Plenty of Bodies. Surprise, it’s Bridgeport!!!
Dump this moron dot com.
The registrars also complained Monday of the campaign workers who loitered near polling places and, in some cases, were telling voters to go home because there were no more ballots. Many of those workers neglected to say that more ballots were on their way, Ayala said.
How would Santa know what was going on??? She was hiding in her bunker refusing to take phone calls.
Plenty of Buses. Plenty of Bodies. Surprise, it’s Bridgeport!!!
Many people and the CT Post thought it was easy counting votes on election night after working all day and night; why are they not finished yet? If it were so easy everyone would want to work the polls. Most of us stick to what we do best because even then we screw up.
Fire chief at Trumbull’s White Plains Road Station (Trumbull Center) is against new regional school when told Bpt would cover fires if god forbid needed he stated BFD should stay out of Trumbull we should remember that when they call for help. Oh volunteer firemen are pretty good at starting fires so as to stay busy. I was at zoning meeting last Thursday when he made this statement. He does not get along with Trumbull Fire Marshal Megan who signed off on bldg plan see it’s not only Bpt who can’t get along on the playground. Big cities big problems little cities and towns all problems. I guess Trumbull folk don’t like us folk, they just want to folk us.
The Trumbull chief is wrong in his thinking. Trumbull needs the BFD a lot more than BFD needs Trumbull. It’s not the Trumbull Chief’s business to be in favor of or against the new school it’s his job to provide whatever fire protection is necessary.
Just so people know this new school is less than a mile into Trumbull. I live on the border with Trumbull and have a question for this Chief who by the way is elected (popularity contest). Who are you going to call for help if god forbid there is a fire in the ugly monster that Trumbull allowed to be built on Huntington Turnpike? You don’t have the manpower.
Let’s see:
About 60% of Bridgeport sewers are old or very old and combine street runoff water with household waste. Is that a problem for those of us in Bridgeport?
We have more than one Sewage Treatment Plant in the City that is not as fully upgraded and certifiable as neighboring Fairfield. When we get half an inch of rain or more, our City sends the bad stuff into Long Island Sound. Mayor Finch is this stuff green? Is the effect on the Sound green? Is that “untreatment” a problem for us in Bridgeport?
Are we looking for economic development here in the City? Is attention to our sewer infrastructure important to commercial development in our City?
Is that a problem for us?
Do one or more of these problems have a price tag? What time span would be necessary for remediation? Anytime in our lifetime? And, let me guess, the price tag is in excess of $40 Million? So why is anyone salivating about such a deal? Shouldn’t any money from regional sewer deals get Bridgpeort deal “sewer” money before it goes anywhere else? Doesn’t Finch’s green way of doing things really put us deeper in the red zone? Why aren’t we looking at getting “back in the black,” a potential campaign slogan for our City? By the way has your local Council Person provided the current uncommitted City Fund Balance? Does anyone know this number? Does Tom Sherwood mumble it?
The Wednesday meeting: Time? Location? Called by whom? Wonder if the information at an out-of-town meeting is any different than the information at a Bridgeport meeting? Let’s see.
Tc I was at the Westfield mall the night of their fireworks for emergency water main break and Trumbull fire dept was there for fire watch. They pull up with their quick-response trailer, opened the rear door and pull out a barbecue grill and start burning the dogs and burgers and the lounge chairs their idea of fire watch. Believe what I said of zoning meeting I was there it was a joke, as is their charade to fight and stall the bldg of this regional magnet school others would pride themselves to host this school but Trumbull fights it tooth and claw they are showing their bigotry. Not all Trumbull people are bigots just the ones who show their faces at these hearings with only bogeyman tales to tell about Bpt. Finch is going to sell us up the river for a few dollars sad to say Bucky will be helping him. Buck you’re a Bpt boy remember your family restaurant in Bpt. You can get a job anywhere but there is no place like home. Finch will never see that Regional Sewer money it’s the carrot at the end of the pole and Finch is the jackass chasing it.