Pete Spain, who lives in Black Rock, was among the speakers to address the City Council Monday night. Educated at Yale, studious Spain is one of those guys in dogged pursuit of information and facts. OIB asked for a verbatim transcript of his remarks and he obliged.
I was trained at Yale University in clinical investigation and public health.
In those fields, you determine upfront WHAT THE COMMUNITY OF EXPERTS ALREADY KNOWS, and WHAT IT DOESN’T KNOW. You demonstrate to your peer group that you have a working knowledge, and then you state the question you’re aiming to answer. That’s your clear starting point.
That’s WHERE we need to get to with Bridgeport’s finances.
KNOWN. UNKNOWN. And Key Questions.
Here’s a question:
IS Bridgeport in a financial DEATH spiral?
Its tax base continues to shrink.
Its budget, property taxes, and unfunded liabilities continue to grow–excessively.
If so, how does Bridgeport avert bankruptcy WITHOUT further HARMING taxpayers, DECREASING property values, and DRIVING OUT investment, and all of us?
To answer these questions we need a group of independent outside FINANCIAL experts. And they must have authority from the state to make the hard decisions.
There are examples of financial control boards that have worked. And worked well.
New York City’s–from 1975 through 2008, and Washington, DC’s-from 1995 through 2001.
Google them.
Washington, D.C. Mayor, Marion Barry, had initially called the Financial Control Board in his city [QUOTE] a “rape of democracy.”
But after the Control Board stabilized D.C.’s finances, Barry said that the BOARD was good because it [QUOTE] “was able to do some things that needed to be done that, politically, I would not do.”
President Clinton’s Budget Director, Franklin Raines, who assisted the D.C. control board, characterized it this way: “Prior to the control board, What were the consequences? Someone might yell at you … BUT … you would still get elected.”
Sound familiar, Bridgeport?
Ten years after the DC control board had completed its work, Eleanor Holmes Norton said that the control board’s [quote] “shadow is over every local official today. It has promoted a kind of fiscal responsibility.”
In addition to the successful DC and New York examples, we have a resident expert in government accounting and finance here–David Walker. David is the former U.S. Comptroller General. He is on a short list of experts being considered to oversee the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt.
David has offered his expertise to our city for free.
To date, Mayor Ganim–according to his staff –has been too busy to meet with David.
Earlier, David shared with you what is KNOWN about the financial health of Bridgeport. John Marshall Lee has been at that for years now, too. And John’s been uncovering a lot of the UNKNOWNS.
David and John present clear and compelling evidence that Bridgeport is in financial distress and heading for bankruptcy in the next several years … if there’s no significant change.
THIS goes BEYOND politics.
It’s about survival.
So WHAT MUST BE DONE now?
FIRST. Mayor Ganim–PLEASE meet with David Walker and John Lee! You’ve met with first graders. You’ve even met with an elephant … Surely, you can find time to meet with Walker and Lee this month.
SECOND. The City of Bridgeport must help seniors who were hit with a total property tax increase of 5% or more. How? Cap their tax increase at 4.9%. And give them back the rest of their hard-earned money.
That’s the least you can do for our seniors! Many have been paying extremely burdensome taxes to Bridgeport–for decades. Besides, the annual Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment over the past 11 years has averaged under 2.0%.
This past Saturday, I got an e-mail from a senior citizen I’d never met.
“I am 70, still working, lost my husband 2 years ago. We bought our first home with a VA mortgage, before Art died. I cry every night, will be on SS in 2 months and I can’t pay a mortgage and a tax increase. I know I will have a heart attack. I put my lovely little well maintained home on the market, but where am I to go? I called city hall and they told me to downsize.”
Mrs Claire Benoit
29 Harbor Ave“I cannot attend [Monday’s] meeting. I have to work. It’s not fair. None of this is fair.”
Look, by raising the mil rate 29% in one year:
YOU have turned an already difficult situation into a crisis.
It’s bad enough that our mayor and some of you on City Council ran campaigns last year promising to reduce property taxes. But now, NOW that you’ve been given the privilege and power of your office … you’ve not only gone back on your WORD, you’re hurting people across the city and driving away future prosperity.
It’s time for a Financial Control Board for Bridgeport, authorized by the state.
When New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1975, the state and real experts had to come in and take over the finances.
It could be argued that our situation in Bridgeport is not YET as imminently dire as the near defaults that almost crippled New York City and D.C.
But why wait?
Why continue in our WORSENING financial condition?
We need a Course Correction, led by outside financial experts.
Don’t WAIT for bankruptcy.
Avert bankruptcy!
Sources:
www.nytimes.com/1986/06/30/nyregion/financial-control-board-loses-most-of-it-s-control.html
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013003901_pf.html
Peter Spain, you are one of my favorite people to talk to and I find you to be wise and honest. Change needs to come but to the public it looks like this is a Black Rock problem but it’s not, so we both can agree on that. You are looking for a political solution without understanding you need to expand your base politically and that has not been done. The mayor and the council have no fear of those at those meetings because you can’t do anything to hurt them. Sure you can vote out of office your two council members but that’s it. Ganim knows those at those meetings didn’t vote for him as do most of the council members. Maybe those involved need to rethink their approach and speakers. The approach that’s being used will not bring in other districts. Pete, everything I said has nothing to with your questions, I’m talking about the plan and approach and in my eyes there needs to be changes. Pete, you need to be more of the true leader because you have a much better way of dealing with people than Walker or JML.
Well said Ron, and accurate. The truth is the Mayor won’t dignify JML, Dave Walker, Pete Spain and others in their league because he knows he’s not in their intellectual and knowledgeable club. He’s limited to fluffy PR that he believes the public is buying.
Lisa, we both know to get a majority of the City Council members to make the changes this group wants will be hard because yes they could vote out some council members but not a majority because there are districts that won’t go along with this change.
Lisa, this group is not using political tactics and strategy to make the City Council move, they have not reached out to expand their base, they don’t have talking points to sell what they are looking for to other districts. This looks like a white Black Rock issue, now we know it’s not that but they have not brought other groups and residents into their group. I don’t believe Dave Walker and JML have the political skills and ability to talk and convince certain districts to go along with them but I do think Pete Spain and someone of color who the voters have confidence in could greatly help.
Excellent job, Pete.
In the meantime:
www .ctpost.com/local/article/Federal-grand-jury-subpoenas-state-Democratic-9070965.php