Some call them wasteful junkets, others maintain conferences are essential for City Council members to bring back ideas and information in the cause of the public good. A majority of council members Friday morning sojourned to the nation’s capital for the National League of Cities annual legislative conference.
Councilman Ernie Newton, as he notes in the video above, says you can’t learn anything about government if you stay in Bridgeport all the time.
Some of our more cynical observers might declare: good, stay there!
They will through March 11.
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I’ve asked a number of times on OIB what has been put into action from the Information that came from those conferences? Those attending need to post on the City’s website and on OIB what information that would benefit the City.
Are they flying?
Pool their stipends and charter a plane?
First class Amtrak?
Booking rooms at the Trump hotel?
I was reading on the CT Post where the city had a briefing on the Coronavirus.
At one point Scott Appleby quipped, “and not just somebody who played a doctor on Grey’s Anatomy”.
Really. Is that very professional? How are we supposed to take this seriously when the Office of Emergency Preparedness makes jokes like this???
And Joe Ganim and the acting Health Director apparently just stood their and said nothing.
Junket?
These extravagant taxpayer-funded mini vacations do not rise to the level of a junket.
Ernie, yes, it could be helpful to be exposed to real government exercises.
Will any Bridgeport council members be leading workshops?
Perhaps they could collectively present the ‘All in favor? Aye’ workshop to demonstrate how to legislate with no knowledge, research or understanding.
Ernie doesn’t think you can learn anything staying in Bpt??..Maybe Ernie should follow Joe&Anastassi around.They can show him how to bilk the taxpayers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars while keeping it a secret from almost everyone for starters….
So while the taxpayers pay for an all inclusive 5 night 6 day vacation to DC(except for Jorge,he evidently thinks he is going to NY..good lord),so the council members can “learn”what the other citys are doing… (again,good lord)…,Joe,Anastassi,and Mario can continue to run amuck..Bridgeport,we are screwed.
we’ve been screwed all along!
This just in,Ernie has arrived in DC,Jorge got off in Manhatten and is walking around aimlessly,and Mary lee somehow exited the train in Philadelphia and is waiting for the others by the liberty bell..
It is learning about “governance” in times of challenge, in times of scarce resources, or in the face of an executive branch that wishes to control the legislature, important contractual, legal and financial information of which the 20 Council members are a distinct part that might find some answers outside of the City. Is this challenge new? Heck, no. Do they talk among themselves with a message to the voters and taxpayers on any regular basis? Not that becomes public.
So a very good retailer with four years to find a market and enough traffic to stay acknowledges that they are closing, and the local newspaper sees a five year trend cutting paper circulation by 50%, and the City response is $200,000 city marketing campaign that has been done before with what effect? And the money looks like it is not new money, but funds that have been present for years, but get cut up and used for what? When? And with what effect? A new RFQ or RFP? To accomplish what specific set of objectives? Are taxpayers called to spend monies to promote eating sites for when the outdoor music site, formerly Harboryard opens? Being in profit making business calls for having access to adequate capital to work your plan that includes marketing and promotion for adequate time periods for traffic to locate you, enjoy your goods and services, and staff the business for long term profit.
Perhaps the folks on the Council have some experience at that? Or in City Hall? Who has some success with putting their private money at risk and to work? Time will tell.
I can’t wait to read Ernie’s report from the conference along with the other City Council members who attended that conference.
Dammed if you do & dammed if you don’t concerning these D.C junket’s. I liked them because you would meet interesting people, aswell as our state’s federal Congressmen. During one of these junkets I was able to see Congressman Chris Shays & present him with a task in which I needed money for the Bpt. Middle St. post-office which at that time, was not handi-cap accessible period. It took about a year & a half with help from Tom White whom kept tabs with Chris Shays office till it finally happened. So for me it was very worth while aswell as fun going to the country’s capitol. So I support the junkets, provided something constructive gets done, no?