Hey everyone, enjoy Labor Day, the barbecue, the cocktails (not too many) and cursing your favorite punching-bag politicians.
The political season heats up after Labor Day on a local and statewide level. And one pol who recently returned from an involuntary vacation is mapping his comeback. What do you think of this? Former State Senator Ernie Newton, the Moses of his peeps, is not wasting any time walking and talking in his political base. OMG, what political deals could be in the works? From the CT Post:
BRIDGEPORT — It may not be much, but it’s a start, said former state Sen. Ernest E. Newton.
And just around midnight Friday, Newton — along with Mayor Bill Finch, acting Police Chief Joseph Gaudett, block watch captains and ministers — will be walking from the East End Community Council Center, at Stratford Avenue and Sixth Street, to the end of Stratford Avenue.
“We’re hoping to get political leaders, the clergy, block watch captains as well as concerned citizens to come out,” said Police Lt. David Daniels. “We’d like to see a hundred people there.”
Daniels said that, if it’s raining, the walk will be postponed until Sept. 10.
“This is the first of six walks we have planned,” Daniels said. “We’ve got one planned for East Main Street and another for the Green Homes. We’re hoping we can start a movement to take back the streets.”
What Daniels really wants to see is the number of block watches established in the city to double from 30 to 60.
“We’ll be disseminating information on them,” he said.
But Charles Coviello, who is considering another mayoral run, questions the impact of these walks.
“One walk or six walks is not going to do it,” said Coviello, who will participate in the walk.
Full story: www.ctpost.com/local/article/City-plans-series-of-walks-to-take-back-the-643140.php
I was going to comment on this latest piece of BS but all I can say is I GIVE UP. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO HOPE FOR THIS CITY.
TC,
If you are so fed up why don’t you move out? Your screen name reflects that you are or WERE in the town committee, but with the majority of your negative posts you cannot be that popular or still a member.
I just noticed your post and believe it or not I am still on the TC. My posts may sound negative but every one is factual and backed up by research. Show me one post where I got it wrong. Am I popular? I don’t give a shit whether I am or not. I have never knowingly lied to anyone and when you speak your mind people get pissed. If you are happy with the way the city is run good for you; I am not happy about it.
BTW have you seen the prices of real estate in Bridgeport and the surrounding towns? Sorry I am here for the duration.
Does anyone know how it turned out last night?
Coviello should think more about taking a shower than walking.
Holy Moses! Ernie’s going to perform some miracles. He’s going to baptize Bill in the Pequonnock River and then part Charlie’s hair!
*** Just when you thought you’ve seen & heard it all! *** ONLY IN BPT. *** FORGETABOUTIT *** Coming soon @ a district near you, a Tea & Coffee Parties march in Nov. 2010 (free cookies). ***
I can see the convo now as the walk goes on. So mayor, how much of that green are you gonna spread to my peeps and my churches to buy that election next year?
Lennie,
In response to your comment concerning Ned Lamont giving the city of Bridgeport $10 million instead of running for governor.
Forget about what town you are from, I would need to ask what planet are your from.
What would Mayor Bill do with a sudden $10 mill? Use it to plug the union concessions? Save it for the postponed pension obligations? How about some of these suggestions:
1) Hire his wife as a consultant for $1 mill. (See Emerald Communications)
2) Hire Adam’s wife as a consultant for $1 mill. (See various campaign expenditure reports)
3) Encourage 19 City Council members to have the city hire a relative to a $10,000 consulting gig. (Council members come cheap see Vibes VIP Passes)
4) Have the city book an event at Mario’s every day for the next 6 months.
It’s only a matter of time until Ernie gets a city job. Question is where will they hide him? Maybe up at community services with Deborah Sims. Another political favor for Ralph Ford. It’s just under a year ’til the mayoral election. The political patronage, jobs, raises will begin now in Ernest.
Has anyone seen the billboard at 5 Corners on Madison Ave.? “Mayor Bill Finch’s Lighthouse afterschool program.” Probably used grant money to advertise the program and free press for the mayor. Yes it is election season.
Junk Yard Dawg
In regard to your post the other day and the suggestion of simply voting no to the budget, well that is not an option.
When the council receives the mayor’s budget there are only three things they can do. Increase spending or revenues (requires 2/3 majority) or decrease spending or revenues (requires simply majority). If they take none of those actions then the mayor’s budget is approved without change.
Furthermore, any of the above changes need to be made on a line-item basis.
The difference in spending and revenue as the end result of the amended budget becomes the amount of revenues to be raised by property taxes.
So when the Finch administration gave the council a budget with an $8 million in savings due to union concessions, they could have cut that in half but without an offsetting spending cut the end result would have been an increase in taxes.
I am sure the Finch administration would have loved that. It would make their job that much easier and they would simply blame the tax increase on the City Council. If I honestly thought there were the guts among council members to do so, I would have proposed that. However, there was no real consideration given to some of the smaller cuts I proposed let along something of this proportion.
So the council did the next best thing. Made a few minor changes and gave back to the mayor the mess he gave us to begin with. And yes, I voted for that budget because there really wasn’t anything else to do.
However, having given the administration everything they asked for, they have yet to do anything. As Lennie has pointed out in the past most union contracts call for 30 days notice of layoff. Even then members who lose their jobs may have bumping rights and if they bump the 30 days start all over again. So at a minimum the financial gain from any layoffs would still be a month away.
That would put us three months into the current budget year so whatever solution they come up with will now have to be the equivalent of more than $10 million on an annualized basis and grows daily.
Add onto this fact the city has to pay dollar for dollar any unemployment benefits since they do not regularly pay into the fund and the savings for any layoffs is a percentage of what their pay currently is.
So the city instead wastes time, money and effort in a poorly planned and poorly executed advertising campaign touting how surprising the city can be.
JYD,
Here are a few of the recommendations I have made as amendments to the budget in the past few years when it was before the full City Council.
Last year they added around a half-million dollars in salaries to Planning and Economic Development. I unsuccessfully argued there was no economic development taking place in the city therefore there was no need to hire additional staff. I attempted to lower that amount to around $400K since some people had already been promoted into the new positions. Amendment failed.
When the CitiStat program was originally placed in the budget I attempted to remove it and then fund it for only six months until the city could proved it would pay for itself. I argued that due to the political patronage, even if the program could identify waste they would not be able to do anything about it. I argued it would only become a new vehicle for political patronage. (See EZ Santiago, Young Anastasi.) Amendment failed.
When the city put forward its proposal to place civilian supervision in the call center I argue against that. I at least encouraged a phasing in. As Police and Fire officials retired or were promoted out then replace them with civilians. Allow for a much more managed transition to civilian supervision. The amendment was defeated. Recently the State Labor Board ordered the city to return uniformed management and to pay back pay to uniformed officials who were removed.
The list goes on. If some bloggers want to call this being an obstructionist, so be it. If some bloggers want to call this grandstanding because I will make my colleagues publicly vote against changes to the budget that would not be welcomed by the administration then stand I will.
But if people wish to suggest I have no financial competencies then that is an outright lie. I am currently Controller for a $10 million business. I have managed the finances of $25 million enterprises. I have a degree with honors in Business Admin and a concentration in Accounting as well as completed over half of the work towards an MBA. Say what you wish about my politics but do not suggest I do not know what I am talking about when it comes to finances.
Was the “Actor” in the Chief’s spot wearing his uniform hat or his Dunce cap? Wake up Bpt. He is the single reason crime is up. He is only concerned with keeping the Mayor happy at your expense. Morale in the PD is at an all-time low and cops will not do anything right now. A vote of zero confidence was taken against him. He hides from everyone in the PD ’cause he knows he isn’t qualified to be acting Chief, yet the Mayor is trying to manipulate the exam results to keep him permanent. He loves having a puppet who will piss off the rank and file as we all know Finch hates cops. Only in Bridgeport indeed! BTW, has anyone looked into why the previous owner of Snappy Dogs is now an employee of the city during a freeze and the new owners are being pestered?
Bob I have to take one exception to what you have said. The council did have a say in the budget. That say came in the form of the budget committee which is made up of council people.
This group spent night after night listening to department budget requests and did NOTHING. They did not cut a single budget.
I am beginning to think the council is the main cause of Bridgeport’s problems more so than the mayor and his band of dumb asses.
The council for the most part is made up of a group of gutless politicians who are beholden to the administration for their jobs or for the jobs of family members.
How many council people work for the city or have relatives working for the city? I bet there are not more than 3 or 4 who have no one working for the city.
You can start with McCarthy.
*** Wonder just how many “political-related” city employees have been “let go” by this admin. since being given a job in general & for what reasons? *** Inquiring minds would like to know. ***
Why don’t you all just get an “Overdose?”
www .youtube.com/watch?v=4ECi6WJpbzE
The Madison Ave warchest gonna be unloaded on Moses’ peeps and ab ballots. Stealing elections 101.
JohnMGomes.com
TMZ.
I totally agree with you. I had previously said the city should give Lynn Kerwin a shot at top cop. I am not necessarily questioning the current acting one but if the Mayor is serious about crime he needs to take some serious action. A $5,000 gun buyback program for what may be registered or non-working guns is of no real value. A take back the streets campaign is just more PR. Chief Kerwin has real command experience with an impressive background. She is worthy of a little OJT and let’s see what she’s got.
Secondly let’s take the toys away from the boys. Get rid of the mounted police. Take away the segways and ATVs. Get back to the cop on the beat in the high-crime areas and not toys downtown or over at Seaside.
Let’s see some real policework with a real crackdown on drugs, gangs and illegal weapons. At times I have to believe this doesn’t happen because it might be viewed as bad PR by admitting these are still real issues in the city.
And maybe we can take a page out of Weicker’s book with the state police and have them step up visibility in the city on the way out of and into their downtown HQ and do some drive-through’s of high crime areas.
Get back to basics and get back to putting the bad guys behind bars.
Bob let me point this out to you and maybe a few others on the council who maybe just maybe give a shit.
First as long as the Police Department has 4 deputy chiefs who are still members of the union whoever is the chief has the deck stacked against them I don’t care who it is.
These 4 lumps now in these positions are roadblocks to any innovations a chief may want to make. Has it dawned on anyone maybe they are the reason our last 2 chiefs left?
These 4 all have over 30 years on the job and came up through the ranks together so they are tight and they are outdated.
These 4 deputy positions need to be taken out of the bargaining unit and should be appointed by the serving chief. These 4 positions also should be open to those outside the department. They all should serve at the pleasure of the chief.
No modern forward-thinking police department has such an outdated upper management system.
BTW in private industry managers do not get OT and they are in fact expected to work more than 40 hrs. Take a look at the yearly salaries of these four you will be shocked at the amount of OT they rack up.
Cool down TC, your spelling goes bad when you are angry. It does not matter who is the Top Cop in this town, they ALL will answer to this or any Mayor in order to stay there, appointed or tested. With two 5-year appointments there has to be a give and take to have some longevity. It will be interesting to see the “rule of three” play out this time if any of the 3 other D/C’s or the Asst. Chief score there … Hhhhhmmmm!
“town committee,” I agree with you about the police deputies where you said, “These 4 deputy positions need to be taken out of the bargaining unit and should be appointed by the serving chief. These 4 positions also should be open to those outside the department. They all should serve at the pleasure of the chief.”
Andy, when I was a member of the fire union executive board the City with David Dunn as their negotiator fought us from 1995 to 1999 to get the four deputy fire chiefs OUT of the union. The problem was the City didn’t want to negotiate the impact of getting those position into management from the union. Later on we found out those deputy firechiefs sat with management and volunteer to go against the union positions.
These deputies in both police and fire need to be out of the union. If it was so important in the 1990’s to try to get the deputies out the fire union then why isn’t it good to get the deputies out now?
Gaudett is so dumb he was duped into spending taxpayer cash (I heard $90K) to have a study done of the structure in the PD. He was duped by the then sergeant in charge of the horses, ESU, and the audit division. The purpose was he knew the PD was short supervisors and the study would say that. In short, that sgt is now a Lt and more cops than ever are supervisors. Way too many supervisors in the offices and no street-level cops. 4 deputy chiefs is at least 1 too many. The “actor” also pays tons of O.T. to the training division and there isn’t even a class in session. Someone should look into the cash paid out to that division alone. It’s like 5 guys at $125K each. That is roughly $75K each in OT. Why the large payola? It’s to keep one guy off the Chief’s back and on his good side. Why? Ask around.
The police department is like the board of education. All they need to do is say they need something to fight crime and bingo it is there. The latest is they need another building to house the SWAT unit and the Narcotics division.
The SWAT unit is a case in point. When was the last time Bridgeport needed a SWAT unit of any type?
Can someone in the PD answer why they have 105 supervisors from Sgt through Chief? That’s like 1 supervisor for 3 officers. Top heavy? Of course it is. The civil service commission run by an out-of-towner and the police board manned by a group of bobblehead dolls just automatically give the PD what they want.
Councilman Walsh, Thank you for the explanation regarding budget votes by the Council. I was unaware of the procedure and now better understand your position. You do not need to justify your financial qualifications to me. I know you are very qualified and the City is very fortunate to have you aboard. If we had a few others like you–well then Bridgeport just might go someplace. Thank you for your service and I for one appreciate all your efforts–I know it is a tiring job and I know you always have the interests of the taxpayers close to your chest.
Regarding the 4 deputy police chiefs–it is a no-brainer–the City’s labor relations department should be negotiating them out of the Union, forthwith. How the hell did they ever became a part of the bargaining union is another story. And, they should not be getting overtime dollars–not one red cent. This is absolutely ridiculous!