The City Council’s Contracts Committee will meet Monday at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall to review the professional services agreement detailing Joe Gaudett’s new role overseeing the Office of Emergency Management and the Communications Division as he prepares to resign as chief if the contract is approved. The full City Council could act on the contract when it meets Monday in a special session at 7 p.m. Under the terms of the agreement attached below Gaudett will receive $125,000 per year for three years with two option years.
Council approval would allow Mayor Joe Ganim to select a chief in an acting capacity presumably Captain A.J. Perez and start a timeline for a permanent chief that could take a year.
See council agenda here.
See council agenda addendum here.
CT Post scribe Brian Lockhart reveals the strategy for circumventing the competitive bidding rules that normally govern the hiring of outside contractors.
Gaudett contract below. Grab a cup of joe.
CONTRACT FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES [Rev. Draft]
This Professional Services Agreement, effective as of the _ day of March, 2016, is hereby entered into between The City of Bridgeport, Connecticut (“the City”) and Joseph L. Gaudett, Jr (“the Consultant”). In consideration of the mutual benefits to be derived as set forth herein, the receipt and sufficiency of which consideration is hereby acknowledged by the Parties hereto, the Parties do mutually agree as follows:
1. Independent Contractor. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the City hereby engages the Consultant as an independent contractor to perform the services set forth in Exhibit “A”, which is attached hereto and made part hereof, and the Consultant hereby accepts such engagement. The Consultant is and at all times shall remain an independent contractor and not an employee, agent or representative of the City. This Agreement shall not be construed as creating a partnership, joint venture, agency or employment relationship. The Consultant understands and agrees that he shall not be entitled to any of the rights and privileges established for the City’s employees.
2. Duties and Scope of Services and Consultant Qualifications. The City has identified a priority need for the certain services and the Consultant is immediately available, he shall provide the professional services outlined in Exhibit “A”.
The Consultant shall perform his professional services under this Agreement acknowledging the Mayor’s ultimate responsibility for the proper performance of their duties by all appointive City officers and departments and employees pursuant to Bridgeport Charter, Chapter 3, § 1 (c); and the Mayor’s ultimate operational control of the City’s Police and Fire Departments pursuant to Bridgeport Charter, Chapter 13, § 1 (a) and Chapter 14, § 1 (a), respectively.
The Consultant shall assist the Mayor in his exercise of his Bridgeport Charter duties and responsibilities under the law, including but not limited to examining data, information and departmental operations, and shall recommend measures to the Mayor and other proper City authorities in connection with consolidation of, and efficiency improvements for, citywide public safety communications services and emergency management, as well as the functional interaction of these operations with the City’s Police and Fire Departments.
The Consultant has certain attributes, skills, experience and qualifications that render him uniquely qualified to perform these time sensitive professional services on behalf of the City. By way of example, the Consultant has substantial experience as an executive level employee of the City’s Police Department; including but not limited to serving as Chief of Police for more than six (6) years, and in the Department’s Communications and Dispatch Division (CAD) and possesses significant familiarity with the City’s workforce, equipment and operational systems. The Consultant possesses appropriate technological capacity and communications functionality to perform under the terms of this Agreement.
3. Term. The term of this contract shall be for a term of three years (3) commencing from the date of its execution. Thereafter, the- Consultant shall have the-exclusive right to extend said agreement for an additional two (2) one (1) year extensions; thereafter, for a total of no more than five (5) years from the execution, unless earlier terminated as provided in Section 6 hereof.
4. Compensation. The Consultant shall be paid compensation at the rate of $125,000.00 per annum, in equal monthly installments, with bills to be submitted so as to facilitate payment each month immediately following the month of service. To the degree permitted by law, and subject to the City’s governing policies and procedures, compensation paid pursuant to this Agreement shall not be subject to the customary withholding of income taxes and other employment taxes. Consultant shall solely be responsible for the reporting and paying of any such taxes, and shall indemnify and hold harmless the City from and against all liability for the withholding and payment of all federal and state income or other applicable taxes. While the parties acknowledge that the Consultant in not an employee of the City of Bridgeport, as outlined in section I hereof, the Consultant recognizes that Forty (40) hours of services per week are required to fulfillment of his contract obligations. In addition, Consultant is required to work Two Hundred and Forty Five (245) days per year.
5. Expenses. During the term of this Agreement, the Consultant may not bill the City for expenses.
6. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by the City for Just Cause immediately upon written notice to the Consultant.
7. Indemnification. The Consultant shall be deemed an officer for purposes of Connecticut General Statutes § 7-101 a concerning liability indemnification, and be entitled to the legal protections provided therein.
8. Confidentiality. Consultant shall expressly include the Consultant’s agents, if any. In the course of providing the Services, Consultant will have access to information regarding City’s business, finances and operations (“Confidential Information”). Consultant agrees that it will: (i) use Confidential Information solely for the purpose of performing the Services;(ii)not disclose the Confidential Information to any third party; and,(iii) return to the City, upon demand, all copies of all documents or other writings of any kind containing Confidential Information. In the event the Consultant receives a subpoena, court order, interrogatory, civil or criminal investigative demand, or other request or demand pertaining to the Confidential Information from any federal, state or local court or governmental agency, or any attorney or other person pursuant to or arising out of any claim or legal proceeding, then the Consultant shall immediately notify the City so that the City shall have an opportunity to seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy, or otherwise oppose and defend against the order, directive or demand. In the event the City does not obtain such a protective order or other remedy, the Consultant shall disclose only that portion of the Confidential Information which it is legally obligated to disclose. The Consultant expressly acknowledges and agrees that a violation of any of the provisions of Section 8 will cause immediate and irreparable harm, loss and damage to the City not adequately compensable by monetary award.
9. Work Product. The City shall be the sole owner of (i) all designs, specifications, inventions, discoveries, improvements, ideas, know-how, techniques, materials, program materials, flow charts, notes, outlines, lists, compilations, manuscripts, writings, pictorial materials, schematics, and other items, created, developed or supplied in connection with the Services (collectively, “Work Product”) and (ii) all copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret and other proprietary rights in and to the Work Product. All right, title and “interest in the Work Product shall vest exclusively in the City.The Consultant acknowledges that during the engagement he will have access to and become acquainted with various files, letters, records, notes, reports, lists, as well as other information (including proprietary data concerning services and products, pricing and policies, techniques and concepts, design and trade secrets, operations and financing) and documents owned or licensed by the City and/or used by the City. The Consultant agrees that he will not disclose any of the aforesaid, or use any of them in any manner, except as required in the course of this engagement with the City. Upon termination of this Agreement, or whenever requested by the City, the Consultant shall immediately deliver to the City all such materials in his possession or
under his control.10. Ethics. Both parties acknowledge that none of services to be performed by the Consultant shall conflict with, or be in violation of, any relevant provision of Chapter 10, Part I of the General Statutes of Connecticut.
11. Severability/Unenforceability of Provisions. If any portion or portions of this Agreement shall be, for any reason, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining portion or portions shall nevertheless be valid, enforceable, and remain in full force and effect.
12. Waiver. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed, or shall constitute a waiver of any other provision, whether or not similar, nor shall any waiver constitute a continuing waiver. No waiver shall be binding unless executed in writing by the party making the waiver.
13. Modification or Amendment. No amendment, change or modification of this Agreement shall be valid unless in writing signed by the parties hereto; and, subject to Section 22 hereof
14. Non-Assignability. This Agreement is exclusively between the City and the Consultant and is non-assignable.
15. Choice of Law. The laws of the State of Connecticut shall govern the validity of this Agreement, the construction of its terms and the interpretation of the rights and duties of the parties hereto.
16. Miscellaneous. The Consultant shall be supplied with all the necessary tools to perform the consulting work outlined in this Agreement, including a laptop, tablet and cellphone. Consultant shall have use of a City vehicle for consulting related work performed pursuant to this contract, while in the City of Bridgeport.
17. Notices. Any and all notices, demands.or other communications required or desired to be given hereunder by any party shall be in writing and shall be validly given or made to another party if personally served, or if deposited in the United States Mail, certified or registered, postage prepaid, return receipt requested. If such notice or demand is served personally, notice shall be deemed constructively made at the time of such personal service. If such notice, demand or other communication is given by mail, such notice shall be conclusively deemed given five days after deposit thereof in the United States Mail addressed to the party to whom such notice, demand or other communication is to be given as follows:
To the Consultant:
Leon Rosenblatt, Esquire
51 Gillett Street
Hartford, CT 06105
John L. Gaudett
[Address inserted]To the City:
Corporation Counsel and the City Clerk and the Mayor of the City of Bridgeport
999 Broad Street
Bridgeport, CT 06604Any party hereto may change its address for purposes of this paragraph by written notice given in the manner provided above.
19. Headings. Section headings are for convenience of reference only, do not constitute a part of this Agreement, are not intended to be a full and accurate description of the contents hereof, and shall not be deemed to limit or affect any of the provisions hereof …
20. Entire Understanding. This document and any exhibit attached hereto constitute the entire understanding and agreement of the parties, and any and all prior agreements, understandings, and representations are hereby terminated and canceled in their entirety and are of no further force and effect.
21. Survivorship. The respective rights and obligations of the parties hereunder shall survive any termination of this Agreement to the extent necessary to the intended preservation of such rights and obligations.
22. Agreement Approved by the Bridgeport City Council. The parties acknowledge that the Agreement requires approval by the City Council. Upon approval of the City Council, no substantive amendment to this Agreement is effective absent approval of such substantive amendment by said Council.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed two (2) counterparts of this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
WITNESS:
1. _
2. _
WITNESS:
1. _
2. _CITY OF BRIDGEPORT
BY:
———————
Joseph P. Ganim
Mayor
JOSEPH L. GAUDETT
BY:
———————
Joseph L. Gaudett
ConsultantExhibit A
SERVICES
In order to enhance operational efficiency and improve inter-agency cooperation, the City enters this consulting agreement for citywide communications services. The consultant will have authority over the Office of Emergency Management and the Communications Division. The consultant will be responsible for the oversight and operation and the consolidation of emergency management and the citywide public safety communications. Consultant shall report his findings and operational concerns directly to the Mayor and the Chief Administrative Officer. The consultant will be expected to follow-up on state and federal grant opportunities to keep technological aspects of the separate operations functional. The consultant shall evaluate, and work on,improving response time and providing training to raise the quality of the assistance rendered by the call takers. Consultant may also be required to perform, from time to time, supplemental duties and special projects requested by the Office of the Mayor related to the areas of public safety.
Just so much baloney. Now Ganim has what he wanted, his old wine steward back.
Andy hates Perez. He also hates Chapman, Donald Day, Ron Mackey and Joel Gonzalez. Things that make you go hmmm! Wonder what they all have in common. Given the horrible racist names and terms he used on Donald and Joel, why am I not shocked he doesn’t want a Hispanic chief?
Okay purveyor of lies and misinformation, what racial remarks have I pointed towards Mackey and Day? Tell me what they are. I have known Mackey for 40 years and Day a few years less. We disagree on a lot of things but we are still talking after all these years. So tell me what are the remarks.
Joel writes things to get me to respond and I do the same to him with no racist intent.
You see Phantom, you being a suburbanite don’t know anything about me. Did you know my wife and I using our own money started a baseball league for 13-15-year-old inner-city kids? We had 75 kids in that league and we ran that league for 12 years. I also ran Park City Little League for over 20 years. I coached Pop Warner. You don’t know anything about me. I don’t think AJ should be chief because of his behavior while Ganim’s driver. In fact I think he should have been punished for his part in that debacle. Phantom, I really can’t tell you what you are but COWARD comes to mind.
For starters, on 2/5/16 (movement with chief story) at 11:34 am you called Mackey a “black asshole.” On the same story at 12:50 pm. there you called him the “other half of the black Bobbsey twins” On 2/7/16 at 5:03 pm, (wheel man story) you called Joel a “Puerto Rican goat fucker.” Nothing racist there, eh? It’s all there for all to see. I didn’t make this up. You posted this venom and are miffed that someone is calling you out. It’s okay for you to insult people when you disagree with them but not okay to call you out. Shame on you.
PHANTOM, READ THE ATTACHED AND YOU MAY LEARN WHAT RACISM IS. FIRST LET ME TELL YOU MACKEY AND DAY SPENT OVER 20 YEARS FIGHTING FIRES. MACKEY WAS TRAINED BY ME AND HAS SAID IN THE PAST I TAUGHT HIM HOW TO STAY ALIVE IN A FIRE SCENE. THESE TWO GUYS HAVE MORE GUTS THAN A FRUIT FLY LIKE YOU. If THEY WERE UPSET BEING REFERRED TO AS BLACK BOBBSEY TWINS THEY WOULD HAVE SPOKEN UP. HERE IS THE DEFINITION OF RACISM. “Racism consists of ideologies and practices that justify or cause or perpetuate unequal treatment of groups or individuals based on criteria of perceived racial or ethnical difference. These can take the form of social actions, practices, beliefs, or political systems (e.g., apartheid) that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities. It may also hold that members of different races should be treated differently. Some variants include a belief in hierarchies of worth arising from biological differences between peoples.”
Phantom, you are a lost soul looking to denigrate someone superior to yourself (me). You don’t have the balls to do half the things I did in my work life and military hitch. You really should find something else to do. No matter what you write you will still be below me, below the three guys you tried to inject into your baseless argument. I suggest you talk to someone close to you and ask them why you are such an asshole.
Phantom, this reply and the one below will be the last ones I use to respond to you. I have been told by Lennie to cool my responses as he has had complaints. I guess you were the little child who complained. So you and I are done. Feel free to make up whatever you want about me and other than below I will no longer respond. This also holds true for Joel, Ron and Donald.
Hey, Andrew C Fardy. Here is part of your definition of a racist:
“… (e.g., apartheid) that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other …”
Then here you are minutes before:
Andrew C Fardy // Feb 27, 2016 at 3:37 pm
Phantom, you are a lost soul looking to denigrate someone superior to yourself (me).
THANK YOU Joel, I WAS JUST STATING A FACT.
Let’s be clear about one thing. This agreement has little to do with emergency management or communications. It is a fig leaf designed to hide the Mayor’s use of taxpayer money to undermine our Civil Service system and politically manipulate the leadership of the Bridgeport Police Department.
Phil, the Civil Service system was compromised and misused under former mayor Finch and perpetuated under the leadership of David Dunn. Under JG1 the Civil Service system was fair and honest, he knows it’s not that way any longer and has failed to do a damned thing about it or Dunn.
Let’s hope the test for Chief of Police is given a lot faster than the one for Personnel Director.
Phil Smith, the City has not had a test for the Personnel Director in over 11 years and Mayor Ganim is well aware of this and it’s a violation of the charter.
All done according to City Charter.
“… It is a fig leaf designed to hide the Mayor’s use of taxpayer money to …”
Hide? You can’t be so dumb as to not have seen and read the chief contract above. Ten days ago you were absolutely sure the public would not get to see or read the chief’s contract. We had this discussion before, what is really pathetic is Phil Smith and Bob Walsh called Brian Lockhart to simply spew their vitriol against Joe Ganim and all involved in the negotiations. Next week, we’ll be on to some other story or the next gimmick.
I assume Doree Price is still the director of Public Safety Communications and Scott Appleby is still the Director of Emergency Management. If that is the case, then this is a totally new position and the amount of $125,000 times fivr years added to the budget. Yikes! Madeline Dennis
Don’t assume anything. I had heard there was a firing/elimination of a position in this area. Off the top of my head I am not sure but I am sure someone here will verify something. I believe that firing/elimination adds another question to this GIMMICK.
To the extent people have been drawing the picture of Joe Gaudett as something other than a “street cop” or “cop’s cop” whatever those terms mean to the majority of the Police force in Bridgeport who pay taxes to other communities, according to the Crime Statistics provided to the feds, for the most part the City has not suffered from his time on the job. What got left on the cutting-room floor were labor negotiations that were made by the City, ignored by the Police Commission (whatever it felt its responsibilities to the public rather than City Hall), and shoved on to taxpayers wholesale without anyone from City Hall to this day telling the public about the ongoing expense of the last labor contract. Shameful, you bet.
When the dust begins to settle on the public about the pension obligations becoming a formal part of the City balance sheet and formally making our City liabilities greater than our assets, people may begin to ask why. Perhaps City Hall will show the annual expenses from the Plan B change to MERS. And the failure for several years for routine continuous hiring to make up force size so as to avoid excess overtime expense was not done. Where did that order come from, and who kept sending and defending that type of budget? OPM and City Hall.
Have not had time for the cup of Joe to read the agreement, but here’s something to consider. Do you have any idea what City Department had budget overruns in 2012 $401,167, 2013 $598,933, 2014 $326,243 and 2015 $403,239?? Overtime overruns? Less than a full complement of employees to get the responsibilities completed on time and within budget? Would you care to call in a consultant? YES. Well we are talking about the Emergency Operations Center and it may be able to use some targeted consulting using experience and brainpower.
Do you find it funny to see a Police Department with a public oversight commission and a Fire Department with a similar public oversight commission routinely with big budgets having a problem with no comments, yet the EOC with no public oversight of which I am aware, is running nearly 10% overages for years now?
Can Joe Gaudett make his pay by shining a light on correctable conditions or perhaps making a professional recommendation to outsource this area that cannot be controlled? Paying $125,000 to consult and possibly rein in such over-budget overtime expense when no one else has been paying attention may be an outcome that rewards the taxpayers. Other thoughts? Time will tell.
Does the contractor/consultant need his own Liability Insurance that will hold the city harmless, in the event of a bad call by the consultant?
Do I have to do all the flucking thinking around here?
He gets indemnified like every other city employee, which is what he really is.
Here’s the insurance policy, Jimfox.
www .cga.ct.gov/2011/pub/chap097.htm#Sec7-101a.htm
Joel Gonzalez, does not the Statute you just provided PROVE Gaudett remains a municipal employee, not an independent contractor? I would think an independent contractor would be fully responsible for their own indemnification. That is one of the benefits of hiring an independent contractor. The hiring entity provides the fee and the contractor is fully responsible for their own legal protection.
The emergency call center is a joke and a money pit. The old system had three call takers for the police and fire departments. Police calls were handled by the police department. We also had caller ID back then. This call center or emergency call center is a place to hide political jobs. I wonder if this is where Rich Paoletto will end up after Ganim rehires him.
John, who are the oversight commissioners for police and fire? If you are saying the fire and police board, they have no say in contracts.
One opinion. Joseph Gaudett will be doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Just another thing that makes this GIMMICK even worse.
7. Indemnification. The Consultant shall be deemed an officer for purposes of Connecticut General Statutes § 7-101 a concerning liability indemnification, and be entitled to the legal protections provided therein.
EXCUUUSE ME. Does this mean Joseph Gaudett remains an “officer” or in other words,A COP, but also a contractor with a whole bunch of other little itsy bitsy “responsibilities?” GIVE ME A BREAK. Does anyone really think ANYONE in the Ganim government is going to be listening to Gaudett? This whole contract is a JOKE. ANYONE who takes it seriously has no concept of raw power politics.
Officer in this case means an officer of the city, not a police office. But wait, I though he was an independent contractor?
I am assuming all the speaking positions before the City Council are already taken. Cecil Young should take a walk. A very long walk.
Doree Price is gone.
That’s what I thought AND I believe she also has a lawyer.
Madeline, if you’re going to comment at least get your facts straight! You always seem to be a day late and a dollar short!
Well, that’s just you. Actually I was asking so all you know-it-all curmudgeons could give me the scoop. But Appleby’s still around isn’t he? When did Price leave and how long has the emergency communications center been without oversight? Was she just recently fired to make way for Gaudett?
*** LET’S HOPE THE $$$ PLAN TO GET THE P/D CHIEF OF CHOICE WILL BE WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN, NO? ***
Are you dreaming or taking drugs?
I agree with Phil. If the city had to defend his status as an independent contractor in court they would lose.
Not only is there the issue of indemnification and duties, the whole paragraph about the city supplying him with a laptop and cell phone and vehicle. These are all common tests as to independent contractors and since he is not supplying any of the tools of the trade himself, he and the city lose. Cheap on his part could bite him in the ass.
Not to mention Civil Service considerations. This should be a classified position.
Also uniquely and eminently qualified is not what qualifies him to bypass the competitive bidding process. It is SOLE source meaning no one else can perform the job. This is not the case here.
Although one could argue his qualifications might warrant a higher contract however other contractors bidding on this contract would drive down the asking price because there are plenty of retired officers who could handle all of the qualifications.
Just another example of Joe recklessly spending our tax dollars for political payback.
I truly hope people are beginning to see what a huge mistake last November’s election was.
But Mark A would be proud of his apprentice trying to establish legal footing while avoiding any specific basis in fact or in law.
“I truly hope people are beginning to see what a huge mistake last November’s election was.”
Yes, Bob Walsh. You made a big mistake in supporting MJF. Had you not been so stubborn, you could have been sitting on the table you so much bang on. Come on Bob, tell us how many of our tax dollars would your payback have been had MJF won.
Excellent point! Bob would be in a six-figure job somewhere in the annex right now. Hypocrite SOB.
So which mayoral candidate should Bob have supported, Torres, Finch or whom?
I never had a single discussion with Mary-Jane during this campaign or her previous one or at any time in between about a job for myself or anyone else.
I realize self-serving hypocrites like Joel and the Phantom cannot understand this because they believe politics is all about taking care of yourself.
Okay Bob, now tell us the truth! You didn’t object to being on the same team with Finch for nothing. Was it as simple as a troll ‘wink’ or a we’ll cross that (Troll under the) bridge when we get there?
The proposed agreement allows Chief Gaudett–and only Chief Gaudett–to extend the agreement for another two years at the same $125,000 a year cost. It’s hard to understand how city officials agreed, at a time of fiscal crisis, to an agreement which allows a contractor to extend the agreement’s term for up to two years, at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars, regardless of whether the city thinks the contractor’s services are still needed. That is the height of fiscal irresponsibility.
Phil Smith, you’re stabbing in a dark room.
6. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated by the City for Just Cause immediately upon written notice to the Consultant.
If after three year the City feels it doesn’t need the services of Gaudett, this section (6. Termination) kicks in.
Why is everyone assuming Joe Gaudett will stay on for the duration of the contract? Once a cop has tasted the flavor of being the Chief of Police, why settle for less? I’m sure within the next few years, other cities and towns will be looking for a police chief and I bet Joe Gaudett will apply. Then again, he could also move to Bridgeport and run for mayor.
Joel, they can only terminate the contract, which generally means the contractor’s failure to perform. “We don’t need him any more” isn’t just cause.
“Just cause” is not a general term. It’s very broad as the term “failure to perform.”
Phil,
Thank you for your several comments on this matter, civil service considerations, indemnification, etc.
Your close however where you reference the “height of fiscal irresponsibility” just strikes me as wrong. The news coming out in the CAFR-2015, in the monthly financial report, in the BOE numbers, etc. shows the DEPTH of fiscal irresponsibility of the Finch gang as well as those before them who negotiated and approved borrowings and contracts without making current provisions for funding them, in Bridgeport, and in Hartford, and in Washington DC. Where is someone who will look at the reality and sort out a credible path with all inputs and outputs included, not a Disney World presentation, artistic yet fantasy? Where is Joe Ganim calling for (soliciting public opinion on capital projects) a public meeting where administration response will be forthcoming? The Finance and OPM offices are messengers for some bad news. To their credit it is there in the paperwork provided so far. Is it being read at all levels and understood for how serious it is? Time will tell.
JML, I stand by the comment. Allowing a contractor the right to extend their contract for two years at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars, regardless of whether the city needs their services is about as irresponsible as you can get.
JML,
Most respectfully, thank you for introducing me to the CAFR and I have a very significant learning curve to climb regarding a line-by-line analysis of city finances. My question, why should we take the Ganim CAFR as the Word of God? Was the CAFR prepared by a completely independent auditor or was it prepared by Flatto? If it was prepared by Flatto, what gives it 100% credibility considering Flatto serves at the pleasure of the mayor? Finance and OPM serve at the pleasure of the mayor. Ganim has not submitted his first budget, the whole reval process is still underway, no mil rate has been established, negative opinion from bonding agencies, you have shown in the CAFR (if indeed the CAFR is credible) the city’s liabilities are greater than assets YET Ganim the “honest financial guru” just announced a $175-180 million bond request that contains very questionable items for a bond. Is it possible quite a few people have no trust whatsoever in Ganim and his team just as you had no trust in the Finch administration (and I will certainly concede Finch and his team seem to getting a lot of negative comment since after the election).
Frank,
When you go to the CAFR-2015 in a pdf file reachable through Finance Department, scroll down to pages 17-19 where there is a letter from Blum Shapiro the professional auditing firm. They likely began looking at City records as they have previously for the past eight years in summer 2015 after the City books for 2015 closed on June 30, even though adjustments were still being made during the summer.
Ken Flatto did not come aboard HMS “Bridgeport” until early December 2015 so the “official reports” and financial disclosures in the Required tables are not his work. Why blame him then? Just my opinion on trying to be fair to those messengers of fiscal info. Time will tell.
Frank,
Go to the Charter and you will likely understand it is time for the Mayor to be working on the Capital Budget. What concerns me is he:
1) had a spokesperson deliver “his” five-year plan,
2) did not “solicit” comments from the public or yet hold a meeting on the Capital Budget as the Charter states,
3) uses $178 Million over five years without saying where we are today on the completion of projects under five-year plans of the past five years.
He has been Mayor before, and has forgotten more about being Mayor than most people know today. If he is future- and taxpayer-focused, why does he cut corners on the OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT and HONEST values that were trumpeted during the campaign? Time will tell.