In his latest commentary, city fiscal watchdog John Marshall Lee claims the City Council needs lots of coaching in financial matters and as a budget and legislative body is, well, laughable.
Several years ago I had listened to mostly negative comments about the way governmental things run in Bridgeport and decided to educate myself on what is intended by Charter and Ordinances, how things operate in public and what really happens, especially around taxpayer money. I carried with me a sign that celebrates OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT as positive governance values and also kept looking for public, private and/or institutional watchdogs.
‘Checks and balance’ activity in governance is critical in avoiding personal agendas and self interest from intruding in the public sector. A major observation in Bridgeport is that whatever institutional ‘c&b’ was present at one time has been squeezed out of the system. The City Council is the only body with Charter power to review and stand up to the Executive branch and it does not for a variety of reasons.
My attention has been focused on alerting Council members to Charter or Ordinance subjects they may have ignored or failed to understand, as well as operating issues especially around finances that continue to be ignored. (We do not have an independent governmental body, like a Finance Board, with expertise and bipartisan membership as most surrounding communities do to provide genuine oversight to Operating Budget, Capital Budget, purchasing and contracting practices, adherence to announced priorities, and strengthening of City balance sheets among other goals.)
In addressing the City Council on Monday evening December 1, 2014 I introduced the concept of my comments as a coach, with the City Council as a team and Tom McCarthy as elected Captain. We regularly hear about being the State’s largest City and that would indicate that our team was playing in Division 1 or the Big Leagues, but the actual record for the City Council as representatives of the people of Bridgeport is laughable. Proof of that can be found in the brevity of the semi-monthly meetings, the actual minutes of the sub committees, and the reluctance for Council members to enter into meaningful dialogue in their public meetings with citizenry.
Public attention has often wandered to the Board of Education where some reformation of public representation has occurred and substantive attention to plans, policy and funding can be observed. In the meantime the City Council has failed:
• to probe its own Stipend plan that operates in conflict to the Ordinance,
• to look into Council members’ illegal abuse of their own budget funds in June 2013 to make political contributions to local charities,
• To dig deeper into the Airport access road folly while the Mayor and ‘Captain’ Tom McCarthy sit on that Board and have provided no conclusion to the ‘scandal’ including where all the funds expended building and lawyering have been found
• To look at repeat allegations of a Council member/City employee relative to sexual harassment in the City workplace of a young female
• To review in any capacity the increasing number of highly paid members of City administration who were not outlined as necessary at budget time, spring 2014.
I had a birthday this week and did not make a birthday wish, however after reading Steve Auerbach’s posts to other threads, I WISH he would read what I have said above and see what he has to say with the torture of all forms of CHECK and BALANCE process in the City. Mayor Finch is responsible for this. It is not to his credit. It is directly opposed to citizens getting informed and actively participating in the process of COMMUNITY.
The above article was drafted to be a preface to my comments to the Council on Monday evening. Lennie chose not to run these comments. His call since I sent them to him twice. So for those who are going to call me out for lengthy posts as well as for those who will note my failure to include my traditional closing, TIME WILL TELL.
December 1, 2014 Comments to the City Council
Striving for Excellence … getting better in Bridgeport?
Council President McCarthy, City Clerk Hudson, Council members in attendance, and friends and neighbors who reside in Bridgeport. My purpose is to inform, to educate, and to make our City governance better. I care about the people of our City. We are broken fiscally. We are broken in governance in ways other cities are not. You have a critical role in the healing, curing and recovery for which you are not trained. It is your role nevertheless. First, a brief story.
My grandson Cooper is 12 years old and in the sixth grade. He has played hockey for several years here at Wonderland, and last year in Chicago. We were present at the dedication of the KaBoom playground in Black Rock two Saturdays ago with Mayor Finch and Senator Blumenthal. Telling me about the new hockey season, Cooper said he likes being coached. Those words got my attention! So I asked him what he meant. He told me he wants to get better, to improve his skills so he can perform better and have more fun as a team member. He believes his coach wants him to improve and he trusts him. I recognized this was what I was attempting to perform for you, though I have never quite expressed it that way. And the practical insight is few of you think of me in that way.
So I asked myself what I can do as a coach to improve performance for your fans the voters. I did not for a moment think to discontinue my self-assigned “coaching” responsibility, any more than Cooper misses his practices or gives up playing time when the coach puts him in the game.
Coaching provides tips for playing as well as reminders of rules of the game.
• Financial reporting is more timely these days than it was even two years ago. You are getting year-end draft June reports. But you need a Standing Resolution to receive a Final audited report as well and you must create the time to publicly discuss the results. Last year you saw $500,000 of Miscellaneous Cash appear in the Comptroller budget. Why? You also discovered nearly $30,000 from your own Legislative budget illegally disappeared because 15 Council persons used City taxpayer money for charitable and political purpose in June 2013. You have to chase the puck when it is in your zone.
• Your financial watchdog skills would improve greatly if you RESOLVE to reform the actual Monthly Financial Report. Currently it is too big, too unwieldy and confusing for you to review, so you don’t. If Cooper’s coach placed a football instead of a puck, trying to score with a hockey stick would be a worthless exercise. When dollars are spent with no practical review by the Council, how is your public served? Will a 23-page report rather than 90 pages help you with your work? It keeps your eye on the puck better.
• Hockey at every level requires the ice is cleared routinely, not by the players but by a Zamboni driver. You folks don’t have a Zamboni driver, or any assistance for that matter, so it is hard to play well with so much information to push around when you are trying to get ready to take a shot. Get someone to help you get clarity with your decisions. Isn’t the money in your budget? Remember Other Services?
• Knowing what the Charter as well as current ordinances requires is important as well as the ethics of your position so as not to be operating with appearance of conflicts of interest. That problem still exists here in the City. Where are the two or three referees to blow a whistle, call an offside or assess a penalty? But those situations happen when driveways get built in a hurry under the influence of a City Commission where your Council President and the Mayor sit. When you don’t get a full story a year later on what happened and how, who really cares? When dollars are spent by the leadership with no public explanations? Penalty time?
There is another Council season ahead. It’s a year where all the elected know their work will be measured at the polls. Voters will look at the records and question results. What will you do to improve governance in Bridgeport? Are you working for the people in your District or for the Executive branch of the City? Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, 12-1-2014
I have seen JML’s view of the city council evolve. Initially he assumed, reasonably, everyone on the city council was committed to doing what is necessary to make the right decisions.
He has learned over time most simply go along with what they are told, do not demand facts and have no concern for being a participant in a compromised, conflicted process. Still, he is ready and willing to help them. Do they care?
Tom White, finally you have written something I agree with.