Government Reform Bill Approved By Legislative Committee, Future Still Uncertain

City Council, News and Events35 Comments

UPDATE

: Legislation introduced by State Rep. Jack Hennessy that seeks to “prohibit municipal employees from serving on any governmental body charged with preparing the municipal budget except when authorized by charter or home rule ordinance” received a thumbs-up today by the state legislature’s Planning and Development Committee. If the bill becomes law it would validate language in Bridgeport’s City Charter that bars city employees from serving on the City Council. Hennessy’s trying to close a loophole in state law that allows it. Supporters of the bill say this will go a long way toward eliminating conflicts of interests such as City Council members approving their own wages and benefits. Shortly after the vote early this afternoon Hennessy told OIB the bill is now in the hands of Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey for further direction.

Hennessy’s bill is co-sponsored by Democratic State Rep. Auden Grogins, as well as suburban Republican members of the State House, Tony Hwang, Brenda Kupchick and Terrie Wood. The bill still faces strong opposition for passage, particularly from local and state labor leaders leaning on Democratic members of the legislature to vote it down. Many Democrats rely on union support for reelection. The City Council approves municipal collective bargaining contracts.

If passed, the bill would not impact employees of the Board of Education. Five of the city’s 20-member legislative body are on the municipal payroll.

Bill language here.

Committee agenda here.

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35 comments

  1. I said earlier I could not support this bill if it included board of Ed employees from seeking election. From what I am reading if you are employed by the BOE you can run for the city council. I now realize two things; I support the bill and I can still run for a council seat!
    Look out, Marella. You might get the appointment to fill Curwen’s seat even though you don’t live in the district and would never represent the people of the 138th. And you might very well be facing a primary!

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  2. Ann,
    I know you are busy, but also you are a multi-tasker. I hope you will participate with Budget Oversight Bridgeport 2013 as you have in the past two years. Your understanding of systems, changes and outcomes is practical and helpful to OIB reader understanding. You would be a very good candidate, bringing some genuine concern, a sense of personal accountability and serious intelligence to the City Council. Time will tell.

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    1. John,
      I plan on attending as many budget meetings as I can. I haven’t had a chance to look online to see if the schedule of meetings is posted. Can you let me know if they have been posted yet?

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      1. The City web site does not yet contain reference to the Special Hearings of the Budget & Appropriations Committee over the next 4-5 weeks. Likely, the City is holding this material back until the Mayor hands the financial plans to the City Council this evening. Stay tuned. Looking forward to your participation. Time will tell.

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  3. Not a surprise of course but it is a disappointment Mayor Finch, his administration and the Bridgeport business community are not supporting this bill. They’re only for good government if they (and all their friends) are on the gravy train.

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  4. This bill should be reported out of committee with very strong bipartisan support. Anyone who does not support it just doesn’t believe in good government and home rule. Last year’s Council vote to raise taxes and also raise the Mayor’s salary and those of a number of city employees, including the President of the City Council, was a prime example of the types of conflicts this bill will prevent.

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  8. My prediction is it will be reported out of committee with a strong bipartisan vote of support and then be sent to the desk of the Speaker. The next phase will be to get a vote in the House. Anyone who votes “no” on this bill should be embarrassed. There simply is not a good reason to oppose it.

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    1. The State sent $270 Million to Bridgeport in Fiscal Year 2012 for schools, etc. Local taxpayers contributed $273 Million, and the Feds sent over $50 Million. Can anyone tell those folks the plan for spending was well understood by anyone other than Tom Sherwood, it was monitored regularly by non-conflicted community members as well as by strong internal controls, or it left us fiscally stronger one year later? Heck, the Mayor never even claimed the budget was balanced when the CAFR came in because he is afraid someone will look at that report and argue he has held onto ECS or Library funds to provide “balance” or some other financial legerdemain! CT citizens, especially the legislators, ought to be concerned about how well we handle municipal finances and remove impediments, especially ludicrous loopholes, that prevent basic quality structure. Of course, it still will be up to us to encourage, support and select strong, energetic and independent community members to run for office by convincing the DTC they will win the district, or by primarying and winning, or by just going out with lots of local support that is currently fed up, and just doing it! Time will tell.

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  10. If our state legislators refuse to act on this bill HB5724, then the entire State body can help us with a new name, Corruption-port.

    Corruption-port:
    An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves trading in influence.
    This City has suffered over 30 years, with corruption on every level.
    I thank those Legislators who have supported HB5724.

    Jim Fox, Corruption-port CT

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  14. Several of us were told this bill would die in committee. It passed with a 15-5 vote on a strong bipartisan basis. Congratulations to Rep. Hennessy, Rep. Grogins and other co-sponsors of the bill. Thank you to the leaders of the P+D Committee, for all members who voted for the bill, and for all concerned citizens who helped to make this happen. This is a Good Government 101 and home rule bill. It’s time for all members of the state legislative delegation from Bridgeport to state their public support for this bill. It’s a litmus test issue for November. CW4BB will join with other groups around the state to fight for this bill’s passage by the legislature this year.

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  17. Still no word from most of the Bridgeport Delegation. They need to realize they work for the people of Bridgeport, and the Charter is clear on this topic, they need to support the bill. The BOE issue has been cleared up. Where does Senator Andres Ayala stand now?

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    1. Federal law allows municipalities (e.g., cities, towns, counties) to file for bankruptcy but not states. California law allows municipalities to go directly to Bankruptcy Court but Connecticut law does not. Bridgeport needs a state-appointed Financial Control Board to restructure its finances. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before the city will follow Stockton’s lead.

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      1. No we don’t. We don’t need to replace the lack of democracy in this city with some union buster, which I think Mr. Walker would love to see.

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        1. BlackRockGuy,
          You need to do more homework and speak for yourself and not for others. I am not an anti-union person. Both of my grandfathers were members of a union. The former head of the SEIU in on CAI’s Board. In addition, I did not oppose having a union at GAO if that is what the employees so desired. I do, however, believe the City’s financial condition is at serious risk and restructuring is essential. How and when you do that matters. We should not have to go to Bankruptcy Court, but if we do, the result on union retirement arrangements will be much worse than if we go ahead and restructure now.

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  21. James,
    You should search for them on the IRS’ Form 990 web site, not via Google. They are a family foundation that is concerned with many things, including fiscal irresponsibility by government. By the way, you weren’t looking at CAI’s latest Form 990 which is also on our web site.

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