What’s the key issue for Joe Ganim to address his first month in office?
- All the above (45%, 138 Votes)
- Budget deficit (37%, 115 Votes)
- Status of Police Chief Joe Gaudett (10%, 32 Votes)
- Resolving city employee conflicts on City Council (7%, 23 Votes)
Total Voters: 308
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Lennie,
If you were asking about priorities for Ganim, in my mind that is one question and I might nominate, in no particular order: moving to better governance with OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT and HONEST activities; economic development; public safety; education and youth activities; housing issues for resident-owner taxpayers and public renters; and City finances.
However, Joe Ganim was elected with such gusto by Line A voters and was in the streets and knocking on doors so steadfastly. he must have an idea of HIS priorities. It is those priorities that are being served as former City employees read their termination letters. When bright, motivated and fiscally concerned Department heads are terminated, one needs to ask WHY? After all to hold them accountable for management decisions when they were managed from above by Wood, Sherwood and Nunn in so many ways as to make responsible administration impossible, seems patently unfair. If there is departmental re-organization ongoing, then Ganim2 already has priorities in mind but not made public. Any termination can be explained by fiscal concern and cost-cutting, but is that the case in many of the changes? When will G2 share the plan with the taxpayers in a comprehensive manner? Will most replacements seem to be “political repayment?” Will Department Heads going forward be responsible for reporting department mission, activity that meets the mission in critical ways, and for forming their own budget before review from on high? Time will tell.
Mr. Lee, I would never confuse what Mr. Sherwood did with managing. He has no management skills, controlled everything, and solved nothing. Good riddance. Maybe he can go ‘overstock the pond’ with his own money.
Phocion,
Sherwood had enough skills to participate in stirring the financial reporting so the public has no real notion of capital projects and budgets or of how operating monies were tasked in a time where City Fund Balance moved from $55 Million to around $10 Million last year per the CAFR-2014.
He was able to manage people, including the City Council each budget time, into believing the story he narrated rather than seek an independent viewpoint that might have put some muscle into City check and balance structure. The money that passed by his toll gate during his period of responsibility provided jobs and benefits to a number of people, some of whom did their work responsibly. But the dressing he used to make the taxpayers believe his reporting was accurate and classy was actually phony, despite certificates earned. So he and the administrations he served solved “job” issues for some who got a city position and spent billions in the meantime. However, what is the effectiveness of City work? How efficient are different departments? Does anyone care in the new administration to make vital long-term changes? Time will tell.
Ganim will be busy finding jobs for Mario’s buddies!
*** Joe, you can’t do anything due to the state loophole concerning the city employee/city council debacle and the Police Chief has a contract which you would have to buy out or get tied up in court to contest it. So the most pending problem at this time is to get some sort of a handle on the present city budget! But first, get your admin. up to par with people who know what in hell they’re doing, please! ***
Joe Ganim is a pretty smart man, to keep Tom McCarthy around long enough to renegotiate those union contract benefits. The Finch/McCarthy Union Supporters will be more than happy to give back to help Ganim retire the Finch Deficit of nearly 15 million dollars.
Nice work, Joe!
Jim, take off the rose-colored glasses.
Jim, you can’t just decide to renegotiate contracts. If the union(s) say they don’t want to renegotiate, then that’s it.
Andy, start with the Finchettes on the Fire Department who supported Finch’s campaign with time and money, call it whatever you want, givebacks, concessions. McCarthy and Finch gave away the farm to these Neanderthal Hose Draggers!
Jim Fox,
Did your candidate for Mayor win at the polls in November? I thought so.
What happened to your sense of humor? MIA? When your house starts smoking, will you be looking for the NHDs of the Bridgeport FD?
Take it from a taxpayer point of view and lay out the absurdity for us. You did it well with MF and the MRS. If your target is in the FD, perhaps you may wish to see “What’s on the Stove in Company 13” as an example of comic repartee at the firehouse. If you are angry at the unions, they are doing for their members what they are supposed to. Public anger flows to Finch and his three personnel departments including Civil Service, Human Resources and Union-Labor Negotiations. Streamline. Communicate. Enforce. Communicate again. Let’s get some respect for municipal MANAGEMENT!!!
Until MANAGEMENT is recognized, we are in Kansas with Dorothy paving the yellow brick road with belief in a wizard, right? Time will tell.
John, Joe’s not giving me enough material yet!
I need a few more weeks; I’ll go back to McCarthy!
Regarding Council President Tom McCarthy you may find absurd humor in Tom and his “hatrack.” Tom wears so many hats at any given time, it must be absurd when he looks at himself in the mirror. The absurdity does not necessarily work out for taxpayers, of which he is one, but that hat does not weigh heavily on him it seems, as he speaks so infrequently to that issue. With so many hats and so little time, how does he formulate a public answer, a direction for the city to pursue? What is his hierarchy in terms of dealing with the “interests” as he wears each hat? Jim, getting the picture? Absurdity in motion? Time to apply your humor lotion? Got the notion? Time will tell.