What is the most important issue facing Bridgeport?
- Property taxes (47%, 104 Votes)
- Jobs/economic development (32%, 71 Votes)
- Education (12%, 26 Votes)
- Crime (8%, 17 Votes)
- Other (2%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 222
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OIB Poll: Bridgeport’s Most Critical Issue
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One man’s opinion: Bridgeport’s most critical issue is the weakness of the City Council encouraged and created by the administration in power, whether by jobs enjoyed by CC members, jobs or positions of responsibility for one or more family members, the failure to attend to Charter and Ordinance provisions, the removal and non-replacement of any legislative independent staffing for the Council and its committees, and the failure to educate Council members as to their broad role in representing more than just their District at times, indeed the City as a whole for today and into the future. Basic to “checks and balance” functioning, isn’t it? Time will tell.
Weakness and lack of even marginally adequate leadership skills, panoramic vision, and judgement for the City at the Executive level of this Municipality.
All problems cascade from that one.
Property taxes will emerge as the winner. Here’s why I’m writing: Taxes were never raised during Ganim’s term. Count on me to draw a direct connection between Ganim’s good fortune and his ultimate political setback.
During the first two of Ganim’s terms he had to answer to the Financial Review Board’s oversight. After the end of the FRB’s term he had the advantage of a $50 million reserve fund to use to defer tax increases. During one of the nation’s most robust economic times, albeit a financial bubble, the best Joe could show was a strip mall with Bob’s Furniture and a Dunkin Donuts. Hardly a stellar record.
flubadub, you are sadly on the money. During our economy’s most prosperous times, that is the best the Ganim administration gave us. This is perhaps the saddest part of the Ganim legacy his followers neglect to acknowledge. While every city was cashing in on a robust economy, Joe Ganim was enjoying kickbacks and promises to developers who would fill his bank account for a run as Governor.
A famous quote from Mayor Bill Finch back in the 2008 revaluation was “some people’s taxes will go up and some people’s taxes will go down.”
The average property tax went up 50% under Mayor Finch.
Almost all of Mayor Finch’s friends like John Stafstrom and Richard Deparle’s taxes went down!
While their neighbors’ taxes went through the roof!
Did you ever hear Finch say he was holding the line on taxes? Not once, in seven years!
Jim, I pay $2000 more than anyone else on my street. A coincidence?
Bob, it’s been obvious to me for the past seven years, someone other than the Tax Assessor has access to the city’s property tax database, and that person has been using it like it’s his or her personal candy store!
It’s time for a complete investigation!
I want names, Mr. Fox!
Not many cities have escaped a tax increase since 2008. Nobody “holds the line” on taxes. Mayors everywhere are hostage to Federal expenditures and local union contracts. What’s bad for the U.S.A. deficit is bad for Bridgeport taxes, too. It’s national trend not limited to Bridgeport.
Thank you, Professor Pangloss!
Geez Bob, I thought that was my nickname.
Bob Halstead is a dunce disguised as a City Councilman.
LE is an undocumented provocateur in Bridgeport who believes he has standing because Lennie provides him with space to type his “visions.” Cities like Bridgeport can do a much better job of directing scarce dollars at priority needs if the financial review people are up to the task. That is clearly not the case in Bridgeport with the current members of the Budget & Appropriation Committee. Where have you seen a challenge to a budget issue in the last two years after the budget is passed? Where have they demanded more information on the interrupted revaluation process we will pay for once again this year? Where have they requested a listing of all the properties in the City with special tax deals, for how long, at what current expense? Yes LE, part of our problem is we depend as a City and educator for large public dollars, but are we getting the most from our local dollars? Are employees trained, evaluated, and performing the most important duties for which they receive pay and large benefits? Any specific answers LE that might be better treated in Trumbull relative to “best management practices?” Time will tell.
Confucius say: why settle for being an ordinary blogger when you can become a political provocateur instead? I have political capital and JML’s disapproval–that’s the combo I will start with.
Look at it as a “challenge” rather than “disapproval.” Disapproval is too easy. If you have a point to make, if you can find the best words to use to make the point simply, well fire away. That is what a “challenge” is about. You may earn my “dismay” or “disappointment” yet but not my “disapproval.”
Therefore you are not at the starting line, despite what you imagine, but rather out on the course with your “political capital” that is non-taxable in Bridgeport, like so much of our small City footprint. Challenge the fray, stop popping your cork and waving the spray. Earn some respect for your contributions, with or without the wink. (Wink!) How can you lose? Time will tell.
Nowhere in the world is political capital taxed! BTW, I’m in a three-point stance at the starting line awaiting your next challenge. Otherwise, I’ll get in the guppy and row back to my pirate ship buoyed offshore of Black Rock.
Aye.
There is a good guy Pangloss and a nasty Pangloss. Look it up.
If there were more economic development of substance, new businesses would be bearing some of the tax burden homeowners currently have to bear alone. It would also provide jobs for Bridgeport’s unemployed.
But I repeat, “businesses of substance.” Dollar stores, coffee shops and art galleries just aren’t going to do it. Neither are fast-food restaurants.
A little bit of knowledge is dangerous.
You can judge a man by who his enemies are.
Needless to say, in my opinion the most important issue is education. If we could significantly improve our education system we would see a significant drop in crime, unemployment, public assistance, imprisonment, etc., and you would see significant expansion in economic development, increased property values which would in turn reduce real estate taxes.
Education is the proven equalizer, and would elevate thousands out of poverty.
Excellent post, Maria.
I spoke with Ernie Newton this afternoon who shared the following:
A female resident of the East Side who is associated with both Dr. Ford and Ernie Newton was contacted today regarding a poll.
The pollster informed the woman they would need to ask a few questions to see if she “qualified” to participate in the poll. The pollster proceeded to ask her if she was white. She responded “no.” The pollster then asked her if she was black. The woman asked what does that have to do with the poll.
The pollster then asked if the election was held today, would she vote for Finch, Foster or Ganim. She answered “Ganim.” The pollster asked her why would she vote for Ganim. She replied by stating that Ganim did a good job when he was Mayor. The pollster responded by telling her she wasn’t “qualified” to take the poll, and proceeded to hang up the phone on her.
I wonder whose poll this is. Probably Finch.
This is absurd. Absolutely painfully absurd. So sad. Leave it to Ernie to share that story from a woman who had a need to tell him. This is why Ganim will Not win … Oh wait … Ganim should get an endorsement from Ernie, Ganim’s number-one supporter.
Steve, what does Ganim have to do with this woman’s experience? I haven’t seen Ernie at a single Ganim meeting or event. You are over the top.
Maria, this is so true. It seems Mayor Finch has addressed this issue on so many levels. He acknowledged the Bridgeport schools are awful and need an overhaul. I understand from many teachers they appreciated Vallas’ efforts. What did Ganim do to address our schools, Maria? Was it just a kind word? Since it is your main focus and you are a staunch supporter, please share what Ganim did in 10 years.
Ganim met his funding obligations to the BPS. We all know Mayor Finch could never make that claim with any level of credibility.
There aren’t “many” teachers who “appreciated” Vallas. The vast majority of BPS teachers despised him. You are not living in reality, Steve.
Ganim met funding and the Bridgeport schools are abysmal. Ask Janiya and her family, they want charter schools. Ganim did nothing to improve the schools as he did nothing for economic development.
There are only two legal responsibilities Mayor Finch has to the BPS. They are to fund them and provide any and all schools/facilities needed to facilitate the needs of the BPS.
Every other responsibility is assigned to the BOE.
The most critical issue facing the BPS is the inadequate funding that has been allowed to continue for three decades.
#1 Priority is economic development. Economic development of substance will bring jobs–permanent jobs–while at the same time relieve some of the tax burden presently laid upon the home owners’ shoulders. The current Mayor Finch nor former-mayor-turned-convicted-felon Joe Ganim have what it takes to move Bridgeport forward, make Bridgeport better and turn it around. Ganim is responsible for taking all those homes and business down to clear way for development without a viable plan, other than to line his own pockets and secure his own future in Hartford. For the past 15/16 years Bridgeport has not reaped a single tax dollar from all that property. The budget has been short by almost that exact amount of taxes generated from those properties. Ganim did that. He raped and looted the City. He and his cronies made lots of money off all the demolition, the legal work. Ganim had no real, viable development plan. If there was a viable development plan in place, that plan would have materialized regardless of his conviction. Now we have Finch in there giving the City away to anybody who will contribute to his coffer. RCI. Look at what’s happening to all that property, that was taken by eminent domain, just to build a bunch of mediocre stand-alone retail spaces to house a Starbucks, Chipotle, T-Mobile and a few more stores and restaurants. The announcement of a luxury movie theater takes the cake. A movie theater in Stratford and one in Bridgeport just closed down. None of these businesses, except for Bass Pro, will create more than a few low-paying jobs. And none of that property will be taxed like the already over-burdened property owners of Bpt are. It’s a disgrace. Finch needs to go home and Ganim needs to go on back to Easton. The Connecticut Bar Association won’t take his lying, cheating, stealing, full of himself back–so why should the residents of Bridgeport? Wake up, people. Maybe the keys need to be taken away from Finch, but the keys most definitely do not belong in Ganim’s hands. Finch may be stupid, but he’s not a thief. You can fix stupid. Ganim’s a little smarter, but he’s a thief. Once a thief, always a thief.
Valkyrie, that was an interesting and brutal post. You did bring up a fascinating point that is a fact many in the black community have not forgotten. Joe Ganim did take so many homes from people on the waterfront. The money they received was a joke. He had only one plan for steelepointe. Give it to a developer in a pay-to-play scheme who would give him $500,000 dollars for his gubernatorial campaign.
Valkyrie, I agree. We need “long”-term skilled jobs if Bridgeport is going to get better. Not more parks. I don’t understand how we in Bridgeport keep inflicting pain on ourselves over and over by voting the same political and policy failures. I’m a lifelong resident of the Lower East Side and I remember a time not so long ago where we had 10,000+ jobs on one street, Seaview Ave., between GE, Remington and Carpenter Steel. Then the administrations of the last 25 years came in and taxed them into oblivion. So now we come to another election and all we hear is Finch and Ganim. One has doubled our taxes in the last seven years and one, well we all know the story, and we’re fighting over which one is going to get us out of the problems they created. We do have a real choice! We have a hard-working, honest man in Rick Torres, who has a plan to turn things around and is willing to give of himself, again, because he loves this city and we don’t hear a peep about him. This is a man who is a Bridgeport business owner, not a lawyer, who knows what is takes to run a city as a business. And that’s what we need, someone who is for the people and not personal gain and/or for his cronies. Not someone who until recently lived in Easton. Wake up, Bridgeport!