The mayor’s office budget proposes an increase in Mayor Bill Finch’s annual salary from $126,538 to $129,862 for the budget year starting July 1. Democratic mayoral candidate John Gomes says this is no time to be increasing mayoral pay. Mayor’s office budget: www.bridgeportct.gov/OfficeofPolicyMgmt/Documents/2012Proposed/MAYOR.pdf
From Gomes:
GOMES CALLS MAYOR’S RAISE “OBSCENE”
Responding to Mayor Finch’s City budget proposal Democratic mayoral candidate John Gomes called the 3.4% increase that the mayor has rewarded to himself, “obscene.”
Gomes went on to say, “This raise is especially disturbing in light of the fact that the Mayor boasts that savings have resulted from a ‘hiring freeze,’ and a change in healthcare cost-sharing payments.
“During this difficult economic climate, when the city is asking its workers to do more with less, to contribute more towards their health care costs, when rising gas costs continues to eat into the average families budget, when the everyday working men and women have not seen any increase in several years, this gluttony is just not right. It shows just how out of touch the Mayor is with the average resident of this city.”
Gomes added, “Compounding this insult, the Mayor has also awarded this same salary increase to the rest of his staff and appointees. This climate of cronyism, patronage and politics must stop. This is of no benefit to our City. We can no longer afford decisions being made on the basis of politics. Decisions must be made for what is right for our 144,728 people of Bridgeport.
“It is also disturbing that in this budget the pension shortfall is not addressed. At some point we must face reality. The average worker does not have the option of ignoring their debts. But that is what the mayor does in this budget. We have an obligation to confront our problems, and not wait for the state to impose financial controls. The decisions about Bridgeport should be made by those who live in Bridgeport. Not be forced down our throats by outsiders.”
Gomes graduated from the Bridgeport Public school system, UCONN with a business degree and the University of Southern New Hampshire with a graduate degree in International Business. He is fluent in five languages and has worked in international business and established several local businesses in Bridgeport. A long-time community and civic leader he was appointed Director of CitiStat, which was established with a mandate to create accountability, efficiency and transparency of operations all across city departments. In this capacity he made numerous recommendations for efficiency, cost cuttings and improved communications and services.
He’s right, this is obscene.
Mr. Gomes is right on the money. I also blame Finch but I also blame Sherwood. I attended almost all of the budget hearings and there is no doubt in my mind Sherwood has created this financial mess we are in. The council members are also to blame.
town committee // Apr 30, 2011 at 3:10 pm
To your posting
tc,
It’s been SHERWOOD for three Mayors now.
He will not continue in a Gomes administration.
He is not good for Bridgeport.
John Gomes, you bring to light something that should not be happening. There are 15 employees who will be laid off come June. If Finch really cares, he would pass on this pay increase.
JOHN GOMES FOR MAYOR 2011!!!
Tell me this is some sort of late April fools joke … the Mayor actually is giving himself and his low-talent squad a hefty pay raise while the house is burning down??? Disgusting. He should be cutting salaries 3.4% for himself and his cronies. After all, none of them could get a job anywhere else for half of what the city pays them. Absolutely unbelievable. Sick.
RedWhiteandBlue // May 1, 2011 at 12:05 am
To your posting
RWB,
The joke is even going to be more terrible when we watch council members simply bow in agreement to this plundering by the thieves who call themselves city officials.
Maybe B2 or tc could help me compute the actual dollars lost when we take the raises given to appointees. We know for sure these raises could have been controlled by the Mayor.
Maybe not when you think of the control SHERWOOD actually wields over this Mayor. Almost as much power as Mario!
Another example of how “liberalism is mental disorder.”
Remember there seems to be two budgets that do not get hearings: Mayor’s and Legislative. Don’t understand why, do you?
I have said it before. Perhaps it is because they are perfect. But only in the eyes of those who created or live with the responsibilities put on the taxpayers.
Look at the Legislative budget, specifically at the stipends. Created by an ordinance and that means approved by the City Council. Not all funds are used. Who has been using them and for what? If trips to other US cities for learning is funded, shouldn’t those who travel post their report for the taxpayers to see what was produced with taxpayer funds? If a Council person is using little or none of their funds, shouldn’t that be recorded publicly? Why should these funds be subject to FOI requests? And if half of the $180,000 is not needed one year, why is there not a cut the following year? The language of the regulation does not speak to a budget amount, but rather to the equal distribution of the sum appropriated to each Council person quarterly when they file expense reports. Is that the way the stipends are functioning today? What do you think?
Finch is only padding his retirement package. The more he makes as a mayor, the more he gets in retirement. I certainly hope practices like this become illegal and there would be accountability (read, retirement reduction plans for thoughtless bureaucrats) and correction. I don’t think any of us can give ourselves a pay raise in this economic environment and then look our constituents in the face with a viable explanation.
LOL …
He’s padded the payroll, now he’s padding his pension. It’s time for the voters to paddle his butt.