Dr. Mark Funkhouser, a former Kansas City mayor and auditor, is the director of the Governing Institute, a government watchdog and advisory organization. He writes “Connecticut’s largest city is the only city I’ve ever heard of where public employees are also members of the city council.” The potential conflicts associated with city employees on the City Council is a campaign issue just days from Tuesday’s general election, particularly in the highly competitive 130th District covering Black Rock and the West End.
From Funkhouser:
Although the city charter prohibits members of the city council from holding any nonelected office or appointment paid out of Bridgeport’s treasury, five of its 20 members are city employees; the council president also is the deputy director of the city’s Department of Labor Relations. Bipartisan legislation closing a loophole in state law that allows these people to skirt the charter prohibition was defeated in the legislature’s last session.
Regardless of what’s legal or illegal, however, the weird arrangement in Bridgeport violates the most basic premise of effective governance: the principal-agent relationship. The city council represents the principals, and the city’s employees are the agents, hired to carry out the work of the city. It is the job of the city council to control the purse strings and oversee the work of the agents on behalf of the citizens. But in Bridgeport, elected council members who are city employees are essentially voting on a budget submitted by their boss–the mayor–and it’s asking a lot to expect them to effectively oversee their own work.
Read full commentary at Governing Institute.
‘ONLY IN BRIDGEPORT’
Sue Brannelly–read this article several times. There will be a test–next Tuesday!
Tuesday will be very interesting indeed. I am not so sure there will be such drastic changes. Some of the council members are qualified and committed to their jobs and constituents. We have huge issues to deal with in this city. If the constituents had a problem with these officials having a city job they would mot be elected. These redundant conversations serve no purpose. If JML were on the council and had a city job how lucky would we be? I respect many council members who also work for the City. THEY ARE also taxpayers.
Steven,
City employees who run for City Council are violating the City Charter and placing their interests and opinions above those of the people of Bridgeport who voted for the Charter. It’s wrong and it will be ended in time.
Steve, I totally disagree. If JML were on the City Council he would know it was an appearance if not an actual conflict of interest for himself or any member of his immediate family to work for the city. He wouldn’t even apply for a city job and if appointed Finance Commissioner would immediately resign from the Council. Ethics are important.
Steve A just can’t stop talking out of his A. A national expert on the topic weighs in on the inappropriateness of this relationship and because you have some friends who are violators of the public trust you claim greater expertise than nationally accredited experts.
Your sucking up is becoming so excessive it truly makes me sick.
BOB WALSH, sucking up to whom? You have been part of the inner circles of this city. I gain nothing from my comments. I am not the individual working on campaigns looking for a handout. The individuals working for the City are not members of my social circle. When I dine at Ralph and Rich’s I am not with the Mayor. So the readers of the blog understand your comments calling me obsequious, please identify why I am doing this. To whom AM I sucking up to? More importantly, why? Am I trying to upgrade my social circle? Lolololololol Not … Honestly, I kid you not, local politics is a joke to me. I am so much more fascinated with the national scene. I just happen to love this city. My circle is wide and I am not anti everything that represents the FINCH administration. You are just a black cloud hanging over this city. You Mr. Walsh rarely if ever have a positive thing to say about this city. You are so deluded you believe replacing Finch with Caruso and Musto with Moore as well as Ayala with Gomes the City would be moving forward with development. I think not. So you can kiss your a$$e$ of choice. Me, there is something really liberating in supporting individuals without any payback. That’s why when I speak to voters they know my number-one concern is Bridgeport and its future. When Fabrizi and the DNC decided he would not run for Mayor years ago, I had Finch signs on my front lawn for 6 months. When Mary-Jane Foster lost the primary, I went back to supporting Finch. I was not a Finch hater I just thought MJF could speed up development. Am I sucking up to Finch? No, I am just giving credit where it is due. I am just not on your CAruso/Moore/Gomes team … Now I am content with Finch/Musto/Ayala. I voted for them and so far, no candidate has come forward yet who offers a platform worth listening to. Just thought I’d share. Bob, just for the record. I have no problem with your criticism of my myself or your insults. Many times I appreciate your insight. Truth be told, I am not a fan of yours and find your negativity annoying. So you think I am a sycophant but I am never the beneficiary of anything you accuse me of. I apologize for this diatribe, but honestly Bob, would it kill you to make a positive comment?
Steve, I’m shocked to hear Finch lawn signs last six months. The Foster signs lasted days. Can you imagine Bob Walsh becoming a movie critic? What would happen to the movie industry?
Obviously it would collapse. There are some people who thrive on negativity and fail to see the positive in anything. You simply cannot please them.
Only when you wipe that brown stuff off your nose. You’re TOO PC sometimes and that clouds your sense of right and wrong.
The fact a national publication focusing on government issues has singled out Bridgeport for conflict of interest on the city council as a factor in financial instability is significant. Funkhouser did not specifically mention the loss of tax base in Bridgeport, but that is a factor shared with other failing cities such as Detroit. Demographics are not stable as he suggests, though. Unfunded obligations such as retiree health benefits, as Dave Walker has mentioned, is a huge issue facing future Bridgeport mayors and city councils. Will Bridgeport be the Detroit of Connecticut? Time will tell.
Dave Walker should hardly be talking about conflict of interest in govt. A major problem has been the revolving door between business and government. Walker’s whole career is part of that revolving door. And of course Walker is concerned about pensions. He wants to screw over public employees by forcing them into 401k type plans as has been done in private industry. The finance industry loves guys like Walker … they make money off these 401k type plans and the average employee ends up with social security as the main part of their retirement income and Walker even wants to take away that.
*** It’s as plain as the nose on your face, it’s a conflict of interest trying to serve two masters. Especially if the master has the power of layoffs, promotions or demotions and even being fired over oneself or one’s family members who work for the city. Steven seems to be in la-la land and gullible to any remote possibility that all who serve on the council and work for the city would always do the right thing and recuse themselves from voting or sitting on a committee if a conflict of interest arose! *** WAKE UP ***
*** Maybe I need to express myself to feel better but at 4:30pm today I took my 14-year-old dog to the vet ’cause she had been deteriorating before my eyes over the last three weeks. Was given some medicine and due to have some tests done. Tonight at 9:30pm my dog passed on in my arms and I am broken-hearted! If there’s a doggie heaven, I’m sure my dog “COCO” is there! *** RIP ***
Aw, so sorry, Mojo. Losing a pet family member is very, very painful.
If I may, can I offer this: Think about the fact the last thing she saw was your face. The last thing she heard was your heartbeat. Coco passed on a happy girl. We should all be so lucky.
Again, my thoughts are with you. 🙁
Mojo, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Here is something that will give you comfort. Look up on the internet The Rainbow Bridge. It will give you comfort and believe you will one day see him again. Losing a pet is as emotional as losing your best friend. You are allowed to grieve and share your sorrow. Every person who has ever had a pet understands your sadness.
Mojo,
I am sorry to hear about your loss. Pets are loved ones too. I have lost a number in my lifetime and it hurts.
Mojo,
Sorry for your loss. Hope to see you runnin’ on dunkin’. You are a good man!
So sorry for the loss of your beloved pet, Mojo. It’s like losing a member of the family. I think all of us who have owned and loved a pet can feel your pain.
“Effectively oversee their own work” is a quote from Funkhouser’s essay. Oversight is not a part of governance oversight in Bridgeport. *Performance of City employees?
*Credible effort as appointed Board or Commission members as reasons to extend a term at its expiry? *Accomplishment of meaningful department goals reviewed annually?
Each of the above and doubtless more would be steps in a positive direction for quality governance and ‘effective oversight,’ but the unique duty of our Budget and Appropriations City Council members is to perform such regarding municipal finances. They don’t perform. They do not see it as an important duty. They go along to get along for the most part. And we pay for their lack of effort.
Yes, you will tell me, they don’t have staffing to assist them in their Council duties. And I will tell you they terminated their only staff member one year ago as well as a long-term ghost position they could have filled.
OK, you may suggest, but they get reports late, inaccurate, and lacking detail they enjoyed as recently as two years ago about variances and with narratives and summaries. And I will suggest they can demand, by Ordinance according to the Charter the info they desire in the form they wish. What is holding them back?
People have asked me to run for office. I have told them to do so will compromise the platform Andy Fardy and I have created with our ‘fiscal watchdog’ reporting, informing and critiques. If I were in the mix I immediately will face one or more conflicts of interest between what my official duties are and the position of a reporter looking to maintain and improve community standards and quality.
Yesterday afternoon I signed up for one of the six 5-minute slots on Monday evening November 4 when the public can address the City Council (or at least the members who choose to show up). I intend to be there with a “snow shovel” and signage to provide a report card to the City Council. It is serious business but a light touch can be a part of the presentation. Let me know by phone (203) 259-9642 or blog what you think might appear at this legislative year-end as: conduct, effort and subject area issues for public grades? Time will tell.
More than likely they will suspend Monday’s meeting due to the elections on Tuesday and the need to use the council chambers for the moderators or asst. registrars to pick up their equipment for Tuesday.