Rell's Local Aid: Placing More Burdens On Cities

The mayors of Bridgeport and New Britain have forged a bipartisan alliance to praise Gov. Jodi Rell's budget package for level funding of education aid to cities and towns. All cities and towns will get the same amount for the single largest local expense item -- the schools.

According to a New Britain Herald op-ed by Bill Finch (D-Bridgeport) and Tim Stewart (R-New Britain) and James Craven's story sharing their togetherness, Rell's proposal is a good start to the budget process for their towns. To be sure a status quo Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) for all 169 cities and towns is a good idea. It will mitigate somewhat the annual tug of war between city halls and boards of education.

But a closer look at Rell's state aid formula shows that cities lose out in a big way compared to their suburban neighbors. At a February 19th Democratic Town Committee meeting on state aid and the federal stimulus package State Rep. Peter Tercyak (D-26) pointed out why Rell's budget -- estimated to be $2 billion out of balance in the early going -- tilts against cities and their residents more than suburbia.

Cities such as New Britain have always relied on payments in lieu of taxes -- PILOT funds -- to offset the presence of state property, hospitals and agencies in their towns. Otherwise, taxable land is tax free when a state- or nonprofit owns it. The economically distressed cities, by and large, house the bulk of tax exempt property; the more affluent towns do not. PILOT funds, though not providing a dollar for dollar exchange back to the community, offset the presence of tax-exempt property with much needed revenue.

Rell's budget slashes PILOT funds by double digit percentages. In Bridgeport, the Governor would cut PILOT money for colleges and hospitals from $11,200,500 to $10,041,445, a 10.35% decline. Aid for state-owned property in goes from $2,676,768 to $2,450,950, an 8.44% drop.

According to the percentage decreases, New Britain takes a bigger hit than Bridgeport on PILOT money. The current $3,561,936 for colleges and hospitals will drop down to $2,793,464, 21.57% less; payments for state-owned property go from $4,255,399 to $3,407,080, 19.94% less.

While Rell's 0% decrease on ECS is welcome news for Bridgeport and New Britain; it's equally welcome news for every town, rich and poor. Finch and Stewart may as well have been the mayors of New Canaan and Avon in offering praise for Rell's budget.

The PILOT funding shows that in tough economic times Rell gives the rich towns a better deal than economically stressed cities. It's just one more disadvantage that cities face and the long driveway towns won't in paying for and delivering essential services.

That's something Finch and Stewart can't be so happy about and didn't mention in their strong praise of Rell for level ECS funding. The Legislature now has the hard task of setting aside Rell's fuzzy math and dealing with the most difficult budget cycle since the early 1990s.

Ethics Flap Prompts Billy Mac To Resign From Board; Salvio's Complaint Called Another "Fishing Expedition"

The resignation of former Mayor William McNamara from the city ethics commission adds another partisan twist to the sorry state of affairs on a board charged with keeping municipal officials honest.

The Courant and Herald covered McNamara's move this past week.

Billy Mac, a supporter of the incumbent Mayor and the emcee at Stewart's inaugurals, derided a decision by the Common Council not to accept a ruling against Ald. Paul Catanzaro for participating in a Council discussion related to work at the Parks and Recreation Department. Republican Ald. Lou Salvio, a prolific filer of official complaints against Democrats, brought the original charge. On the first go around the ethics commission threw out the allegation. But it got a second life as the Herald's James Craven reports:

A quorum of the commission dismissed the complaint 2-1, but on Dec. 22, commissioner Jill Kemp, a Republican, made a motion to reconsider the dismissal. During a Jan. 21 meeting, the commission heard testimony and added two letters to its investigation. After reviewing the material, Republican commissioners William Dworski, Jill Kemp and Carmelo Rodriguez, along with Democrats Kemp and McNamara, voted unanimously that Catanzaro be reprimanded for two violations.

The reconsideration has brought charges from Democrats that Salvio openly violated the ethics rules himself by disclosing information that is supposed to remain under wraps as part of the ethics process. And then there is the matter of Billy Mac himself. Members of the ethics commission, while they can contribute to political candidates, may not endorse or campaign for a candidate. By all accounts, former Mayor McNamara has been a public supporter of Stewart during his re-election bids.

All of this tit for tat, of course, doesn't have much to do with grand lists, fiscal prudence, essential services and keeping the city afloat during one of the worst recession's in anybody's memory. Come to think of it, it may not have much to do with conflicts of interest or ethics either.

The allegation made against Catanzaro raises again the issue of what elected officials who are connected to the city by reason of employment can and can't do in their elected capacities. This two-hatted group includes Mayor Stewart (on loan from the fire department), Alderwoman Tonilynn Collins (water department)and Catanzaro
(a rank and filer at parks & rec).

Salvio alleges that Catanzaro's Council vote to have the city perform a landscaping job instead of a private contractor created a conflict because as an employee of Parks & Rec Catanzaro "would be benefiting himself." Catanzaro, a city alderman with responsibilities on budget matters, says that he felt obligated to support the city doing the work "to save money." He went further by saying he would not be involved in doing the work that was estimated as a two-day job with $120 in labor costs. But that's not Catanzaro's decision. It would be up to Parks Director Bill DeMaio or a supervisor to assign a worker to do the job, including Catanzaro if they so chose. And Catanzaro should have left well enough alone by excusing himself when the ethics report arrived this month.

The real issue is whether Catanzaro stood to directly gain financially from participating in the city versus private contractor vote. Did Salvio find a smoking gun? Was there a documented request by Catanzaro to his bosses that he wanted the work for himself and/or his union? The answer appears to be no, lending credence to the claim made by North-Oak Street neighborhood activist Rich Marzi at a February Council meeting that Salvio is engaging in "a fishing expedition." Salvio admitted as much at a January 21st ethics hearing on the matter by saying he "now believes Catanzaro would not have benefited directly as a result of his actions," according to a Herald story in the hearing.

This Salvio complaint follows a string of other complaints against Democratic members of the Common Council since Mayor Stewart, using his authority under a new charter, appointed a new ethics commission in 2004 at the start of his administration. A January 2004 Herald story "Stewart picks ethics panel" by Penny Riordan points to a Republican strategy of complaints aimed at Democratic aldermen and unionized city employees from the earliest days of Stewart's administration. Rather than take a bipartisan approach to appointments, Stewart took absolute control. Not surprisingly, the Stewart-appointed commission has been unanimous in casting aspersions against Democratic aldermen.

The Commission also turned aside a complaint early on that, as an elected mayor connected to the city fire department, Stewart was required to file a statement with the ethics board so he could carry out his elected duties while on leave from regular city employment. Stewart never filed a statement despite specific requirements for a mayor that are set forth in the code of ethics.

Another complaint that alleged Stewart intervened in fire department personnel matters was also rejected by the ethics panel. Subsequently, Stewart and the city have lost labor board and court rulings by denying Firefighter Ed Preece a promotion despite Preece' high exam scores. Preece was replaced by lower scoring candidates connected to the Mayor. And the case has cost the city a chunk of change for nothing in return.

If nothing else the controversies at the ethics board during the Stewart years have undermined a Commission that needs to be set up above the political frays that are an inevitable part of the process.

There are well-intended arguments that city employees should not be allowed to run for municipal offices as is the case with the state and state legislators. But that is not the case now. Stewart, Catanzaro and Collins were elected by voters with policy making and budget roles. They can and should recuse themselves if they or family members stands to directly benefit from their actions. Otherwise, let them govern.

By applying that standard, the latest complaint by Salvio has all the earmarks of a partisan and spontaneous attack on a fellow council member. Salvio's actions have been aided and abetted by Mayor Stewart who keeps the make up and structure of the local ethics board under his thumb. He can go to work at City Hall knowing that he and members of his administration are above any ethics problems because he has the votes to make it so.

Billy Mac is right about one thing: it's a waste of time to serve on the current ethics commission. The situation, however, leaves the city without a process to handle the real conflicts of interest that may be lurking at City Hall.

Andy Stern On The Delay In the Solis Nomination: "Unacceptable"

Last month President Obama nominated Congresswoman Hilda Solis to be our next Secretary of Labor, but conservative Republicans are blocking her confirmation simply because she supports working people.

I just recorded a short video message about this unacceptable obstruction and how you can help.

Watch it: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/confirmsolis

Please take a minute to watch my video, then sign our petition to the Senate supporting Congresswoman Solis for Secretary of Labor.

Congresswoman Hilda Solis is the embodiment of the American Dream.

That conservative Republicans are choosing to obstruct her nomination is an insult to every working person in America.

Stern is the President of the Service Employees International Union

Photo: New York Times

State Republicans Retreat To New Britain

The Republican State Central Committee, hit hard by losses in state House races last year, left Hartford for New Britain's A.H. Harris Building in December in office space that is "twice as big as our current digs and provides us with some exciting new opportunities," according to a GOP blog. The opportunities, say the Republicans, involve a facility big enough for in-house training classes "so that our candidates can improve their communication skills, learn about web-based tools...and engage in discussions on key policy questions with the smartest people we can find."

In Scott Whipple's recent Herald story on the Republicans' move, State Chair Chris Healy explained:

"New Britain is really the heart of the state..Not just geographically. It's emblematic of the kind of hard-working, family-oriented, community-involved city where we want to be.....The city has its own notable Republicans: Mayor [Tim] Stewart, Nancy Johnson and Tom Meskill. We didn't need to be in the capital city, yet we wanted to stay in metro Hartford."

Nonetheless New Britain seems an unlikely place for the state GOP to locate an office. There are 18,072 Democrats here (12/31/2008) compared to about 3,699 Republicans -- part of the surge that favored Democrats everywhere in 2008. When unaffiliateds (11,749) are counted, Republicans account for little more than 11 percent of the electorate. Republicans would counter that they hold the Mayor's office with incumbent Tim Stewart, who rode into office when residents were hit with 40% revaluation hikes a few years ago. Stewart certainly didn't get elected because he is a Republican; the electorate in a divided government mood voted the incumbent out for ignoring assessment hikes in a property tax system that state Republicans, by and large, want to maintain. Two years ago, however, Stewart's expected coattails didn't materialize as the GOP lost ground on the Common Council. His state party's presence is also a double-edged sword for the Mayor. The only party affiliation you'll find on his lawn signs is "Democrat" (as in "Democrats for Stewart"). The same could be said for former Congresswoman and New Britain resident Nancy Johnson who finally lost in 2006 when her Republican antics and actions in Washington finally outpaced her moderate, bi-partisan tone back home, complete with the "Democrats for Johnson" lawn signs all over town in her recent elections.

The often acerbic and confrontational Healy appears to be borrowing a page from the national strategy of former Democratic National Chair Howard Dean whose 50-state strategy is credited with turning red states to blue in the Presidential and congressional races last year. He says his party's candidates need to get support from all parts of the state, not just Fairfield County where even the last of the GOP members of Congress in New England, Chris Shays, lost last year.

Healy's challenges, however, run much deeper than finding and training candidates to run for office. In the Herald story, he unwittingly lets us in on the problem with the Republican brand:

"I'm not worried. We have plenty of talented people who want to run. We've got Republican mayors in Danbury, Middletown and New Britain with ability and passion. Democrats will always have people who want to make a career out of politics. A lot of Republicans come from the real world; they're not interested in government."

They're not interested in government. That statement provides as good an explanation as any of the mounting foreign and domestic troubles of the country with Republicans in charge of the White House and Congress over these last eight years. You might say Bush and the Republicans "weren't interested in government working effectively," leading to the train wrecks left to the Obama administration to solve now.

And in New Britain, Healy couldn't be thinking of his Mayor, Tim Stewart, with his lifelong career in government in the Fire Department. Nor his local party chair, Paul Carver, who left the private sector years ago to take a Rowland patronage appointment to the DPUC. Actions speak louder than words, and phony arguments that always tear down the public sector can't help our current difficulties when public and private solutions are needed for the recovery. Whatever happened to that well-known Republican Abraham Lincoln who famously said the role of government is "to do for the people what they can't do for themselves."

Healy's mantra and that of many of his Republican brethren remains that the individual is more important than the community; that private interest and gain should always trump the public interest even in these dire economic times. Witness the incredible display of selfishness by Republican House members last week in Washington: not one GOPer voted for a federal stimulus and reinvestment package that would reach down and provide some measure of relief to local governments, schools and the unemployed. Better to fork over more tax breaks to the wealthy and continue Wall Street welfare; promise that all of the government largesse will eventually trickle down to the rest of us living in Hooverville.

The acerbic Healy knows that that message will never sell in New Britain. He must know that a conservative Republicanism serving the interests of corporate giants over Main Street and small business is morally and politically bankrupt. The only thing left to do is to keep tearing down Democrats without offering much in the way of solutions or programs in return. In his new New Britain digs, Healy joins kindred spirits with the likes of Mayor Stewart, Ald. Lou Salvio and Chairman Paul Carver who could write a book on petty politics. Instead of reaching out to govern on a bipartisan basis between elections, their tactics frequently involve personal attacks, using official complaint processes for partisan ends and losing one Freedom of Information case after another to keep public information from Democrats and everyone else.

Let the battle for the hearts and votes of New Britain voters begin in 2009. Meanwhile, New Britain Democrats welcome the state Republican office to New Britain.

And kudos to State Party Chair Chris Healy for demonstrating that New Britain is not a bad place to re-locate a business or a group seeking to rebound from a disaster.

Photo Credit: http://forwardliberally.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/more-from-the-republican-civil-wars/

Railing Against Highways: Is Momentum Building For Expanded Rail, Bus Service?

Connecticut is a tale of two places when it comes to use of public transportation. There's the Gold Coast and the Metro North line with hundreds of thousands of riderships on trains that need replacement and upgrade. Then there is the rest of us in central and eastern Connecticut with limited bus services and downtowns where the biggest retail businesses may be parking lots and garages. When he opened his restaurant a few years ago the late Hartford Mayor Mike Peters quipped that he could offer you a $7.50 hamburger but it would cost $10 or more for parking during your visit to Hartford's central business district.

News stories this week suggest that the policy and plans on mass transit may be getting greener and less dependent on automobiles. A January 30th story by the Courant's Don Stacom addressed the issue of a new approach and targeted use of federal stimulus money to push public modes of transit and reducing what the Al Gore crowd calls our "carbon footprint."

The take away from the Hartford meetings attended by legislators and advocates was that it's time to push a new agenda for the sake of the environment and for economic recovery built around new thinking on transportation. "With the federal stimulus plan moving quickly through Congress, leaders from a variety of alternative transportation fields agreed that they have a narrow window of time to influence how Connecticut uses its share of the money," noted the news report.

On January 29th, the Courant's Stacom reported on an even more tangible proposal to activate long dormant railroad tracks on the Waterbury to Hartford route, including stops in New Britain and neighboring towns.

Officials with Pan Am Railways told lawmakers that for $52 million, their company could bring the tracks on the Waterbury-to-Berlin stretch up to federal standards for passenger service and also build small stations in Bristol, Plainville and New Britain

The quick start up idea from Pan Am stands in stark contrast to the slow moving and increasingly costly busway plan first proposed in 1998. This plan would make downtown New Britain the terminal at the former Greenfield's store site for a bus lane into Hartford aside tracks that are now used infrequently for freight.

State Senator Don DeFronzo (D-New Britain), along with colleagues Rep. Betty Boukus (D-Plainville) and David McCluskey (D-West Hartford) said the Legislature will examine these options toward mass transit closely in the first part of the current session. Joe Marie, the state's new transportation commissioner, will be looking at this Waterbury to Hartford connector route that could be expanded and linked to local bus service if ridership demands increase. Marie will discover that old and steady habits die hard in Connecticut. But he is a departure from transportation commissioners of the past having come from Boston and the MBTA.

This may signal the end of the line for the New Britain-Hartford busway plan. From the start old transportation regimes said busway was preferable over rail because the ridership wouldn't justify a rail passenger system. That limited vision seems to have doomed the once promising Griffin line (Hartford to the airport)in the 1980s and left the busway stalled and steeped in cost overruns.

If the Waterbury rail idea gets approval, New Britain's downtown could benefit from being a stop on the line as much if not more than the busway. Transit-related plans for downtown economic development would stay on track, and residents could get an alternative to I-84 snarls and parking fees.

Hello Sweet Heart, Get Me Re-Write: Herald, Press Survive

The New Britain Herald and Bristol Press, left to die by the parent Journal Register Company (JRC) late in 2008, will survive.

Today's Herald story by Scott Whipple confirmed that Michael Schroeder, a veteran newspaper exec from Newsday, has made good on his promise to be the white knight entrepreneur for the two local dailies and three weeklies in central Connecticut.

[Photo credit: Movie poster The Front Page (1974)]

Schroeder is the president, publisher and chief executive of the group [Central Connecticut Communications], and will manage all operations from the newspapers’ offices in New Britain and Bristol. The daily papers will continue to publish seven days a week, and the weeklies will appear Fridays.

“This has been an exciting process, getting to know the staff and the people around New Britain and Bristol,” Schroeder said. “We will be building on a great paper, with a team that is ready to move forward and not look back.”

Jeff Pijanowski, a longtime colleague of Schroeder at Newsday who now writes his own blog, leaves little doubt that the new publisher has journalism in his blood and may be in this for more than the money: "He's one of the top journalists I have ever met. He brings a level of excitement in the newsroom few other executives can. He's not afraid to take risks when necessary, he'll roll up his sleeves with his staff, and he certainly can breathe life into a news organization that was close to shutting its doors."
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As doubtful as it appeared in our earlier posts here of November 27 and December 31, a best case scenario has emerged for the hometown dailies -- a publisher committed to keeping two institutions of commerce and coverage alive and adaptable to new kinds of news delivery in print and on line.

This happy ending wouldn't be complete without citing the alarm bells first raised by State Rep. Tim O'Brien (D-24) about the loss of the daily papers in central Connecticut. O'Brien, soon joined by other legislators and the mayors of New Britain and Bristol, wrote to the state Department of Economic Development (DECD) asking for its assistance in finding a buyer. Contrary to some misguided commentary that the lawmakers were looking for a bailout that would lead to government control of newsrooms, this was a case of elected leaders looking out for the well being of their communities and advocating for preservation of fourth estate that is indispensable in a democracy. It's not clear whether the state DECD will be offering specific assistance to the local newspapers via small business loans or other incentives. But the enterprise should receive the same concern that any other business would in the effort to save jobs and promote commerce in the region.

The ruckus raised by O'Brien and other public officials was certainly loud enough to be heard by Schroeder, leading to this week's improbable rebirth of the dailies.

A Good Bet: Amann Will Exit Gubernatorial Race Quickly

Former Speaker of the House Jim Amann is ramping up a run for Governor. He's sent no less than five e-messages to Democratic leaders over the last month.

They reflect a hectic schedule and agenda: advocacy for more "Hollywood East" state tax credits (before the Democratic caucus even considers it), an invitation to his portrait unveiling, another invitation to a charity fundraiser and finally news of a January 29th announcement in Bridgeport when he will make his gubernatorial intentions known.

Now comes the news that Amann's plate gets fuller with the appointment to be a senior advisor to the House Democratic leadership. It's just too much and foretells that Amann's gubernatorial run is likely to end very quickly after it leaves the dock.

Putting aside this highly problematic assignment for the moment, too many political factors mitigate against the ex-Speaker getting any traction in the race for Governor in 2010.

For one thing history is just not on Amann's side. Ex-Speaker Ernest Abate, a downstate lawmaker from the 1980s, sought the Governorship without success. More recently, Senate Majority Leader George Jepson, a capable and effective legislative leader, did not survive the 2004 state convention and accepted the lieutenant governor nomination, earning creds for party service and a future run for statewide office. State lawmakers have fared much better moving up the political ladder by seeking a seat in Congress (a young John Rowland, Chris Murphy in 2006) or a constitutional office (Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, Attorney General Dick Blumenthal, all of whom came out of the Legislature).

Amann also lost considerable credibility in 2006 when he endorsed the independent run of Joe Lieberman for re-election after Ned Lamont became the Democratic nominee. The progressive faction of the party that lifted up Lamont cannot be easily dismissed in putting together a winning strategy for the nomination for Governor.

And finally Amann comes up against a deep and qualified bench among Democrats who would be Governor and have a measure of statewide exposure already. Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy has all but announced, having gained statewide experience and support in a 2006 bid that ultimately went to New Haven's John DeStefano. Secretary Bysiewicz, respected for her campaign skills and reaping kudos for the Democratic surge in enrollment last year, may be looking again toward the corner office. There's also Comptroller Wyman whose frequent and depressing pronouncements on the deficit give her creds as a knowledegeable office holder on the budget for very tough fiscal times. And have I mentioned Dick Blumenthal? All of the above except Amann would step aside for him in the unlikely event that he gets a case of gubernatorial fever. Don't count on it.

To his credit the affable Amann rose to become Speaker among the sometimes discordant factions of a growing Democratic Caucus during an 18-year legislative career. His story of overcoming a serious illness is a compelling and inspiring one. He's a hard guy not to like.


But the ex-Speaker is not coming from a position that elevates his prospects based on history and the political realities within the Democratic Party. His new policy role in the employ of House Democrats cannot possibly help his ambitions either. If there is one thing they teach at campaign school: you need to be fully committed to run for the better part of two years.

It's a good bet that he will be the earliest to leave the gubernatorial race even before the aforementioned others enter it