Update: City Council vote likely Tuesday
How about some extra hot sauce! The City Council’s Budget & Appropriations Committee, with Black Rock councilman Matt McCarthy leading the charge, cut five positions Wednesday night from Mayor Joe Ganim’s spending plan, all mayoral appointees, representing more than $400,000 in salaries.
Here’s the rub. While doing so council members added about $400K in new positions that provide them direct support including three legislative liaisons and their own legal counsel.
Take that, they said.
Well, will the mayor say okay take this–a veto? Or maybe be selective in reversing the cuts? Ganim has strong veto power.
McCarthy, a CPA, has been on a harangue about mayoral appointees he claims don’t put in the work.
The budget committee cut an assistant position to the chief administrative officer. Those jobs are held by Herron Gaston, a candidate for state senate and John Gomes, former mayoral candidate who is once again making noise about running for the city’s top job. That move is targeted at Gomes who council members assert has been disengaged from the job.
They also cut positions occupied by Danny Pizarro who works in the housing code/blight department, as well as Angel DePara and David Papandrea, two special projects positions.
The full City Council will vote on the budget Tuesday night. Expect some crackling debate.
Budget committee co-chair Ernie Newton says he questioned the rationale for going after those specific appointees. “Why limit it to them?” he told OIB the morning after, adding he suspects this is more about selective personality clashes.
The budget committee also added $500,000 to the Board of Education budget on top of the $2 million proposed by the mayor.
Ganim’s budget holds the line on taxes. Following hullabaloo the past few days about state cuts, the city was able to recover several million from the state to balance the budget.
Following the council vote, the mayor has two weeks for veto action.
Predictions?
“Blight department”……Danny Pizarro 😂 😂 you just can’t make this shit up!! Although his job and him being in it was!!! If he’s cut they’ll probably give him free drinks at Mario’s.
Oh wait….pardon me… that’s been happening for years. Maybe he could pick up a job as Mario’s driver.
Oh wait…….pardon me…. thats what he’s been doing for years.
Well, that accident he had didn’t bankrupt the city so maybe they’ll squeeze him back in somewhere. 😝
Cheers!
Danny ‘Let’s throw a Birthday Bash in Trumbull’ Pizzarro during the Covid-19 Emergency Pre-Vaccine and endanger the public.
A $500 fine wasn’t enough, he should have been fired years ago.
and Maritza ‘Health Director’ Bond with the changing stories about her attendance, no way should she be considered for SOS…
There are more city employees that should be remove, there are a number of women who need to be taken off the city’s payroll who are in do nothing jobs just to make the mayor look good with certain communities, they could be placed on Ganim’s reelection team.
Yeah don’t forget to include the rapist battalion chief… I’m sure he’s a good friend on yours
He’s as good of a friend as Joe Ganim is, I haven’t spoken to either of them in the same time frame, in fact we had the same conversation, which was, hi. You do crime then you do the time, just ask Joe.
“Ganim has strong veto power.” Meaning? He does have to run for office next year! Long time to some certainly but maintaining ‘status quo’ budget positions while employing “little show” employees in effect on public service jobs is deadly to the work culture, and difficult to reverse for a leader who, himself, seems to be wandering the civic landscape without a notion worth mentioning, or results worth measuring. Time will tell.
Today is the day that the 2022 Connecticut Democratic Party convention, held in the Xfinity Theatre on Savitt Way in Hartford will start its business. We will see what kind of power Bridgeport has with Mario Testa as its leader with the 2,000 delegates. New Haven puts up the biggest plurality of Democratic votes of anywhere in the state, plus New Haven has three candidates running for statewide office this year. The large Bridgeport delegation mostly their first statewide convention for governor will see how weak Bridgeport is in comparison to New Haven and Hartford who have more political clout than the largest city in the state by population. So, let’s see what Bridgeport comes away with from the 2022 Connecticut Democratic Party convention.