From Mayor Finch:
Mayor Finch Accepts City Livability Outstanding Achievement Award During Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Meeting
Mayors from around the country gather to discuss jobs, education, and hear from distinguished speakers including Vice President Biden. Mayor Bill Finch, and the City of Bridgeport, were recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Award during the Annual City Livability Awards Luncheon held during the 80th Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Orlando, Florida.
The awards, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management, recognize mayoral leadership for developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities. The Mayor and the City were recognized for its Brownfields Remediation and Redevelopment Program–the City’s focus on reclaiming dormant brownfields to spur redevelopment.
“It is an honor to be recognized for improving the quality of life in Bridgeport by the U.S. Conference of Mayors,” said Mayor Finch. “We are committed to redeveloping the brownfields left behind from our proud industrial past to spur economic growth for the future of Bridgeport. We have adopted innovative strategies and taken creative steps to overcome the challenges that brownfields pose for cities like ours across the country. I am proud to see our Brownfield Remediation and Redevelopment program recognized, and hope that we can serve as a model for other cities.”
Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities with populations of over 100,000 were also given to Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston, MA; Mayor Pedro Segarra, Hartford, CT; Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando, FL; and Mayor Jerry Sanders of San Diego. Mayor Greg Fisher of Louisville, KY earned first place in the large city category.
While at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Mayor Finch will be involved in several key sessions including the following:
· On Wednesday, Mayor Finch co-chaired the Energy Independence and Jobs Task Force Meeting along with James Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indiana. Topics included, urban forestry, LED lighting, solid waste disposal and building energy efficiency.
· He also served as a panelist for the Council on Metro Economies and the New American City panel to talk about the $15,000 DollarWI$E grant the City was awarded to strengthen financial literacy in our City’s youth.
· On Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Finch and Joe Carbone, Executive Director of The Workplace took part in a panel discussion during the Jobs, Education and Workforce committee meeting regarding The Workplace’s groundbreaking P2E Program–Platform to Employment, a nationally-recognized job training program for the long-term unemployed, recently profiled on “60 Minutes,” which has had a 70 percent success rate.
· Today, [Thursday] Mayor Finch accepted the Outstanding Achievement Award during the 33rd Annual City Livability Awards Luncheon.
· On Saturday, Mayor Finch, who serves as Chair of the Nominating Committee will recommend the names of Mayors to fill the positions of Officers, Trustees and Advisory Board members. United States Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the U.S. Conference of Mayors Friday morning, June 15. Other noted speakers include: HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA), and Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
More awards for the City! My goodness. And they are about how quality of life is developed in cities? Very interesting. Was the voting accomplished with Absentee Ballots handed out in the Annex? Seriously, did anybody bother to ask the people of Bridgeport for their sense of satisfaction?
And the City received a $15,000 DollarWI$E grant to develop financial literacy among youth. Does anybody out there know who developed that grant proposal, what group was targeted, when the program was run (or will be run), etc.?
Meanwhile the “financial literacy” of adults in the community is ignored. Although, I have some really HAPPY FISCAL NEWS. The March and April fiscal reports came out today together. Because the City Clerk is closed to public on Thursday, I will get to see what happened so far this year. And the Budget & Appropriations group has called a Special Meeting to deal with issues. Look it up. They probably can take a look at how the City and BOE are spending and receiving through 10 months.
Are we running a surplus or a deficit? Your guess is as good as mine at this moment. Does it matter what our guess is, or thoughts are? Time will tell.
Down in Orlando with Micky, Minnie and Goofy.
The awards, sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Waste Management … Is that one organization or two?
*** Disney’s make-believe achievement awards drew quite a cast of cartoon characters sponsored by “Waste Management” think green, USA. *** FORGETABOUTIT ***
Finch can accept a livable cities award with a straight face? He says Bridgeport is a model other cities follow. I have news for anyone who believes this. Look to New Haven and see a model for their Livable Cities Initiative.