Governor Dan Malloy, in a Thursday press conference at the Troop G State Police Barracks, announced he’ll authorize law enforcement support for the city in the wake of a recent spike in violent crime. Mayor Joe Ganim also announced, at the urging of the federal Housing and Urban Development, he’ll replace the board of the Bridgeport Housing Authority whose public housing residents have been victimized by violence. (Video of news conference above.)
From Dan Tepfer, CT Post
Gov. Dannel Malloy Thursday pledged more money and resources to help local police deal with the recent burst of gun violence that has left one person dead and nearly 20 others wounded.
“We are going to spend some additional money,” Malloy said following an hour and a half meeting in the state police Troop G barracks with the mayor, police chief and representatives of the state police state Department of Corrections, the FBI, ATF, the Bridgeport state’s attorney and even the fire chief. “There is going to be more availability of overtime and a shifting of responsibility.”
Full story here.
Labor Relations’ last contract with the Police Department created a pact that is not so ideal for a Department that says it has 487 FILLED positions with 17 VACANT positions. However, when the real numbers for the roster continue to reside around 350 employees, and have for several years, we begin to understand why Public Safety employees moved from adequately funded Plan B Bridgeport city plans to a State plan that allows overtime pay to inflate your “three highest income years” upon which a pension is based at Normal Retirement date and later. And many questions come to mind:
** What is the annual City cost for the inclusion of overtime earnings into retirement calculations?
** Has the City adjusted its charge to contractors when charging them an hourly fee to include all costs? Or is the new expense charged to the City by the State of CT not able to be recovered and therefore must be paid by taxpayers?
** There was a police training class that started late last fall with 30-32 trainees. By budget time in early spring the membership was reported at 23. How many have made it to the street and are serving? How many members of the PD retired during that period leaving a net gain or loss?
** G2 reported hiring 100 new police, and has left an impression this can be done within one year, while Chief Perez was informing the Council that classes of 30 twice per year was a more likely target on a gross basis. Where is the next class? When does it start? How many potential Bridgeport recruits?
** What is the word on firing range capacity for City PD?
Money is good news. Answers are welcome also. Time will tell.
There are neither good answers nor any answers at all to the above questions. That is the problem.
Reporters were barred from most of Malloy’s meeting with Ganim and about two dozen law-enforcement officials, but participants described the governor as questioning Chief A.J. Perez about progress on the investigation of a shooting of 13 individuals at a party and challenging city officials to explain the failure to maintain police patrols in housing projects.
Ganim told the governor the refusal of the Bridgeport Housing Authority to provide its share of promised funding for the patrols led to their discontinuance, an act that contributed to the city disbanding the authority’s board at the urging of federal housing officials, the sources said.
So JML, here’s part of your answer. A Known hot spot, and the police discontinued their patrols because the housing authority refused to pay. Sound familiar? The statement by the Mayor absolutely turned my stomach.
So why does Joe G. provide any police, fire and public works services or any city services to the Bridgeport Housing Authority controlled areas?
And during the election where was Joe during the shootings and what did he promise the residents? Truly disgraceful, shame on the mayor.
You’re right, shame on Joe G. During the campaign he nearly became a crimefighting vigilante. I voted and supported Joe G but he has fallen or should I say jumped right into the dark side of politics. Surrounding himself with yes men and women isn’t helping the cause. And damn, it didn’t take long for him to be on his hands and knees with Malloy and the three stooges.
Let’s just hope Joe G. doesn’t sell the whole of Bridgeport to Malloy before the next election.
Based on his actions as opposed to his campaign messages, he never left the dark side of politics.
Money makes the world go ’round, as OIB readers know. So revenues of various kinds are announced, or enter a Bridgeport “system,” or become available, or are won in a grant, and sometimes we never see the item again or know how it impacted the City. OPEN books? Not yet. ACCOUNTABLE citizens in positions of responsibility treating money as if it were their own, and had to last forever, until work was successfully completed? No way. Transparent? Think of $1 Million Senator Ayala State money to Bridgeport for NRZ projects; $950,000 taken from OPED for Port Authority; multi-millions lost by Park City Communities with such TRANSPARENCY that we know how and why? Not.
And a new favorite for me. Outside contractor has City agreement for handling Transfer Station waste at +$800,000 or so annually. Reviewed by G2. Alternative bid comes in for half as much but Ernie Newton issue has no one take the bid seriously. What does City do? Lickety split the City goes into action securing expensive capital equipment (budgeted?), hiring employees, and setting up a reverse-privatization operation under Mr. Ricci quickly. Was there a business plan accounting for all costs and expenses drafted and reviewed by City Council? What is the bottom line, and please remember to include the TOTAL COSTS of defined benefit pensions to operate? Remember, most private companies fund defined contribution retirement plans, so an employer’s obligation to retirement funding is over and complete when the employee retires. That does not happen with defined benefit retirement programs agreed to in the first place, but then funded thinly or on pay as you go initially until formal funding begins. Then assumptions about interest returns or mortality costs are used to defer or reduce otherwise full funding and the taxpayer is left with huge future “legacy costs.” Democrats? Republicans? Voters with heads in the sand? Happy Labor Day Weekend. Time will tell.