As a young music teacher in 1981, Ernie Newton was elected to the City Council and then named president of the legislative body by his peers. Back in the day, rather than the City Council, something called the Board of Apportionment and Taxation was tasked with reviewing the budget and setting a tax rate. Newton told the City Council Monday night that maybe it was time to go back to the way it was–prior to voters giving the council budget authority starting in 1988–because the legislative branch of government also with budget authority has failed to provide a check on the executive branch that submits the spending document. But in lieu of that Newton urged the council to hire professional help to navigate the budget and he offered a suggestion to finance it without costing taxpayers additional money.
“Cut your stipends in half,” he told them at the public speaking portion of the meeting and hire someone who knows what they’re doing. Newton rattled off a series of governmental gaffes in which he cited council members asleep at the switch with no oversight of the executive branch. The budget process, he argued, makes uninformed councilors prey to the executive branch. All 20 council members can access a $9,000 annual stipend that theoretically is supposed to be spent on related council activities. Cut that in half and now you have $90,000 dedicated to hire a professional team seasoned in the serpentine world of municipal budgets to advise the council about saving taxpayers money.
Newton’s suggestion has not been lost on some council members who argue they have received push-back over the years from the executive branch about hiring their own independent financial analyst. And that’s just the point supporters of checks and balances in government make. The council should not rely on guidance from the executive branch.
Newton added that City Council members don’t embrace their legislative powers, according to the City Charter. When Newton was council president, then-Mayor Len Paoletta hired a contractor without council approval for the Dinan Center, the city’s geriatric care facility. Newton cried foul. Attorney Tom Bucci took Paoletta to court and won. Bucci defeated Paoletta in the 1985 mayoral election.
Newton also added that City Council members should not be on the public payroll, a reference to City Council President Tom McCarthy recently leaving city service as deputy director of Labor Relations, following a campaign pledge by Joe Ganim to eliminate conflicts of interests.
“You’re the City Council, there has to be checks and balances,” Newton said afterwards about last year’s election-year budget that is now drowning in red ink. “You approved a budget you thought was in balance because you don’t have the staff to provide you an honest assessment about the budget.”
Give them hell, Ernie! Keep their feet to the fire.
Ernie, ever a sparkling dresser, also asked the CC members what happened to $900,000 of funds removed from OPED Capital account unilaterally by Tom Sherwood and used to settle a Port Authority (not a City Department) obligation WITHOUT CITY NOTICE TO THE CC OR ANY CC APPROVAL FOR SUCH A TRANSFER.
And he also asked about the $400,000 driveway in Stratford the CC never got a credible story on, nor did they approve, and yet taxpayers paid for the asphalt without any representation.
Maybe more former CC members can guide current membership back to basics.
First, read the Charter
Second, look at your face in the mirror every day and remember voters are looking to that face for decisions with reason and integrity; DO NOT put your butt in the picture as you are not a dog expected to wag your tail.
Third, explain your reasons to your voters before and after your votes and listen to their reactions.
Fourth, use legislative funds to hire competent legal and fiscal assistance to make checks and balance a reality in Bridgeport. Time will tell.
The members of the council are a bunch of people who do not have a clue when it comes to budgets and what they stand for. They are responsible for the deficit we have. Their stipend should be for their cellphone bills, their computer hook up and use and that’s about it. These expenses along with any other should be submitted on an expense form and sent to finance. The debit cards should be taken back.
Ernest Newton aided and abetted the resurrection of Joe Ganim and now he is abandoning a sinking ship.
AND, Mario Testa was the main cook who put together the ingredients of the present Common Council and then he added Joe Ganim to the recipe. So here we stand today.
Ohhh, not sure about that one, Frank.
The sinking ship part, the cook for sure. Mario makes a mean Harvey, so I am told. Never been there to eat out of principle. Have walked a picket line in front of it with Representative Hennessy.
Rep. Hennessy seems to be part of the party and he seems to have reconciled any differences. Now we are facing the consequences of an incestuous relationship among the people in power at this given moment in the City of Bridgeport.
We should meet.
Anytime you are in Indiana. And we did meet at a rally for Torres at Harborview Market.
Frank, I think you’re off on this one. I supported Joe G. and so did Ernie, that doesn’t mean we abandon our opinions or won’t criticize when necessary. I believe the only hold-over from G1 is Holloway. The rest of them were elected during Fabrizi and Finch’s reign. McCarthy served as President of the Council for most of that time and never once raised his voice to improve the performance of his colleagues. Going forward it’s on G2, he knows what makes a competent council, in addition there’s Danny Roach who served with knowledgeable members. Between the two of them they have a responsibility to suggest and support help for these lost souls. If they don’t, then we have the same situation we had with Fabrizi and Finch. I still think Joe was the best candidate, but this council will take him down.
Yet this very Council and Ganim met in executive session/party caucus to deliberate the McCarthy conflict of interest sign-off and the Gaudett/AJ Perez deal. They are all in this together NOW.
i think we should meet as well.
Anytime, Frank.
Lisa,
You make some interesting points. I think we should meet.
I think Ernie’s proposal is a terrific idea. The Council should take this under consideration immediately.
In most cities in the United States, City Council members receive a salary and not a stipend. If you eliminate the stipend you will have few people interested in spending so much of their personal time serving Bridgeport.
Rob,
Name five Council Members who spend ANY of their personal time serving Bridgeport outside of their time at meetings trying to stay awake.
Do you really think the Council Members read contracts sent to them, development proposals, grant applications, etc.?
Back in the day when I was on the council there were maybe two or three beside myself who actually did. And although they would dispute that, you could tell by the questions they asked, or didn’t ask, how ill-informed they were.
Not so, Rob. I and 19 of my colleagues served many years without a stipend. I’m not sure when it was implemented, but the amount was modest and the use of the funds monitored by the Finance Office. We became public servants with no expectation of compensation in any form. We used our own resources, financial as well as whatever time it took us to serve our constituents. The issue of a salary for council members came up a couple of times, but was not pursued because most members were not willing to add the funds received to their income since it would have been taxable. The stipend issue is out of control and is used for social and entertainment pleasures. It must be addressed.
*** It’s the same thing I’ve been saying and tried while on the city’s B&A committee in 2006 or 2007. I was able to get Bob Curwen on board to convince the rest of the council to spend some of the council stipend money to hire a legal accounting independent firm to study, critique, and offer some help at times, with overall input on how well we did and how the city’s B&A’s system worked (pros & cons). Finally was it better to hire an outside experienced accounting firm with no political ties every year or so to work on the Mayor’s presented city budget? Now believe it or not, the B&A committee’s system at that time with the co-chairs Curwen and Mojica did not do such a bad job according to the legal firm doing the B&A budget study. However the overall intent by me was to hopefully next budget season hire a firm overseen by the B&A committee and see where that took the city budget in general. No political ties, possible fat-cut percentage across the board, with a possible comparison of both assumed city budgets by the firm and the B&A committee to see the differences pro & con! Unfortunately it was my last city budget that year and it was never tried again by the sitting council nor talk of an experienced independent legal accounting firm being hired to do the city budget along with a B&A comparison! So it’s still the same old rubber-stamp in the end, assumed Mayor’s city budget, with a very high mil rate to be set, due to the low revalue assessments made last fall. The mil rate will probably go from 42.9 to about 52.9 come July 1st of this year! *** WELCOME TO THE PARK CITY. ***
Only two cities in Connecticut pay stipends, New Haven ($2,300) and Bridgeport ($9,000). Hartford Aldermen are part-time employees.
Stipends were in charter prior to my starting in 1989. I don’t recall anyone actually collecting reimbursement for expenses. Council reduced stipend by 50% to $250 in 1992 as a symbolic gesture. Council increased their stipend to $9,000 annually in 1996 during G1. By 2006 they were spending over $120,000 of it, going to conferences. McCarthy introduced the debit card system without amending the ordinance, which specifies a reimbursement process, including reporting for income tax.
In 2007 the city council hired the city’s independent auditor to observe and comment on their budget review process. For $7,000 McGladery and Pullen attended the review sessions (prior to the council members insisting city funds pay to feed them) and issued a three-page report saying everything was okay.
And back in 2012 at budget time, the idea of Legislative Associate Tom White raising a very diplomatically worded statement of concern to the Legislative Committee about the Stipend accounts (that he had to authorize by signing) but which he was not permitted to see as there was NO OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT and HONEST governance movement at the time. The fact White raised the question caused several of the sitting Council members to explode emotionally at a B&A meeting. I was in attendance and more innocent then. I clearly can see Tom McCarthy becoming red-faced. Not many days later, Tom White’s position was eliminated from the next budget without any notice to him. That strengthened McCarthy’s Council position and has limited the expectation and support for any Council person since. Absurd? Surely! Selfish for their own power over people and the purse? Certainly! Marks of a leader in a democratic body? Ready for further office? Time will tell.