TELL IT TO THE MAYOR!

Since so many of the posts on here are either criticisms or praises for the mayor, I am offering you a special open forum to let New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart know what is on your mind.

You are welcome to post items anonymously, or may sign your posts if you choose to do so. Consider this an opportunity to speak up about issues you feel may be important to the people of New Britain. Simply click on the comments link below to leave your message. Thanks for checking in to review my postings and please feel free to check back frequently as I have a number of interesting stories in the works.

False Promises by the Mayor:

JUST ANOTHER EMPTY PROMISE FROM MAYOR TIMOTHY STEWART:

After a petition was sent to the mayor’s office, the mayor then indicated to the Szczesny garage customers in writing that a solution would be found by August of 2008. After writing continued comments that the delay was still ongoing, there still is no apparent resolution planned.

As a last resort, I asked the city’s property Manager “the sixty four thousand dollar question” as to when the installation of the security cameras can be expected. Mr. Pelligrino’s immediate reply was that there are too many priorities before we can deal with that issue.

The city’s property manager seemed to be of the opinion that there are many priorities to the safety of the elderly residents, CCSU students, and other customers who use the garage.

Let’s not forget that video taping the ducks on Stanley Quarter pond was seen as one of these priorities.

Financial Problems at New Britain EMS

Few people realize that the New Britain EMS Service is a non-profit corporation not actually operated by the city. The EMS service is suffering from financial problems due in part by the number of transports they perform for the uninsured and the lower payments they receive for Medicaid transports--$208 versus $435 for Medicare transports—but there is more to the story than just the fees.

At their regular Wednesday night meeting, the city council approved a measure that will authorize the mayor to purchase the equipment and negotiate a lease to the EMS service at a rate that will allow them to keep operating at least for the time being.

New Britain EMS responds to all calls for medical aid in the city without regard to a victim’s insurance or ability to pay. New Britain residents are also fortunate that we have one of the best equipped, best trained, most efficient EMS services in the state. The people of New Britain need to decide if they want to keep receiving such valuable services, and then if they do, we all have to make a commitment to these professionals to provide the financial assistance needed to keep the program running efficiently.

THE REST OF THE STORY:

Many of you are probably of the opinion that the fees charged for transports should be able to provide the needed finances to run an operation like this one, but that has been proven wrong in a number of studies nationwide. Many of you may remember all the problems a few years back with the contract ambulance services in Hartford and all the reports that surfaced about the lack of response, poor response times, and just no ambulances being available for life threatening emergencies. During that period, there was a lot of attention given to studies in Sarasota County Florida, Los Angeles City Fire Dept, and a number of other cities.

Sarasota County reported similar problems as Hartford was experiencing with a contract ambulance service having unacceptable response times, and no ambulances available when needed for serious life threatening emergencies. What they determined in the Sarasota case was that there is a direct conflict between profitability and the proper deployment of ambulances for the needs of public safety.

In many cases public safety needs dictate that an ambulance, staffed with a fully trained and equipped EMS crew is kept stationary for hours on end simply waiting for a call. Public safety needs dictate that this crew be ready to respond on a moment’s notice for the next life or death emergency call. The quick response time needed to maintain such a response requires that these crews be in standby just waiting for that call, and this is anything but profitable. It is this conflict between public safety needs and profitability that has been at the route of most failures we have seen with privatization of EMS services nationwide. In the Sarasota case, they had abandoned the arrangement with the contract company and opted for their fire department taking over the EMS service and stationing their own ambulances at fire houses throughout the county.

That might be a little too drastic for our needs here in New Britain. We already have established one of the best EMS programs in the state, so quite frankly, if it isn’t broke, let’s not try to fix it. What we need to do is make sure our city is committed to making sure they are given the financial support they need to continue doing the great job they are already doing. The council has already taken the first step by allowing the mayor to purchase the equipment and leasing it back to them. A number of other Connecticut communities have been faced with similar financial problems with their EMS programs and had to resort to appropriating funds to keep them operating. If that is what we need to do to keep those ambulances rolling then that would be money well spent.

OPEN FORUM NUMBER THREE

I am offering my readers a third forum to post any issues they feel are important to the people of New Britain. If you have an issue with city government that you would like to share with the rest of the readers, feel free to post it here. Whether it be a problem you experienced with a city agency or official, or something positive they may have done and you would like to share it with the rest of New Britain, this is a chance to do so. Public interest stories are also welcome, so if you know about a person, or group of people that is doing something to somehow make the lives of others better, feel free to post it here.

You are welcome to post items anonymously, or may sign your posts if you choose to do so. Consider this an opportunity to speak up about issues you feel may be important to the people of New Britain. Simply click on the comments link below to leave your message. Thanks for checking in to review my postings and please feel free to check back frequently as I have a number of interesting stories in the works.
This third forum is being provided since the second was a great success.

New Britain Board of Education Members Admonished

I must congratulate the concerned parents of the Chamberlain School for calling in the New Britain Police department to investigate the alleged acts by a special education teacher regarding autistic children.

I must also admonish the members of the Board of Education for their not demanding that their Superintendant of schools to immediately place this individual on leave rather then giving her other duties while the matter was being investigated internally.

Now that the Police Department has made an arrest,following the parents complaints,it would therefore make any further comments by me inappropriate since a person is innocent until proven otherwise.

Crying Baby Number "Three"

The Honorable Chris Murphy: Via Email

Unfortunately, one of our council Alderman Louis Salvio (R) admiringly claimed he blew the whistle and HUD took the money away.

It originated with a complaint he filed with the Hud Agency claiming three Democratic Aldermen were in a conflict of interest regarding HRA agency and Federal Funding. When in reality two abstain from voting and the third was absent from attendance of the meeting in question.

HUD did investigate and cited two Republican Commissioners with a conflict of interest and withdrew a sum totaling $264,248 affecting eight of the city’s agencies.

With the onslaught of winter arriving Heat, Food, and children’s clothing are the priority for the poor in our city but the funds remain with HUD.

At the New Britain Council Meeting this past Wednesday two distinguished individual from The Spanish Speaking Center and The Salvation Army spoke of the need for food, winter clothing for the poor and heating. Unfortunately, they did not mention the large sum for this purpose is sitting at the HUD office in Hartford, Ct.

I am respectfully requesting that you devote the necessary time in order to have HUD release these extremely needed funds in order that our poor can survive this winter with sufficient food, heat, and clothing.
Sincerely,



Frank Smith

Lou: Think about the children being cold and hungry and trying to sleep at night; because you blew the "whistle".

Residents: If you are concered about the adversities the poor are going through because of Alderman Salvio's actions please call Rep. Murphy at 860-223-8412 or 202-225-4476 and plead with him to get HUD to release the funds for the city's poor.

The Never [Never] Endless Fence Story!

Again, the Fairview Cemetery fence vs. vehicle occurred recently.

But having been designed in a sectional system which prevented the adjoining sections from being damaged.

This type of feature has proven itself and when the legal issues are resolved, by the city, it is hopeful that the 3.786 foot fence would be completed with the same sectional design since this fence location has a history of attracting and encountering passing vehicles.

The Legislative Debate

League of Women Voters’ Legislative debate held in the New Britain council chambers on 10-21-08.

Disappointing that out of the ten candidates only four were allowed to participate because the opposition candidates did not show for this debate. It was greatly unfortunate for the voters in attendance of not having the privilege of hearing from the other candidates in order to make their choices on Election Day.

The audience was allowed to hear from four candidates Former Senator Thomas Bozek a Republican vs. State Senator D. DeFronzo and A, Wright Republican Vs. Representative Tim O’Brien Democrat.

Numerous issues were discussed such as the Constitution Convention in referendum. Bozek: Supports allowing referendum for people to vote on issues of interest to them. Ct. would benefit from having the people make a choice of what they want.

The public teachers union is apposing the convention and other private interest groups as well. Bozek supports the home rule to decide the issues by the local voters. Senator DeFronzo responded that the convention occurs once in 20 years and that our state constitution has been amended 25 times in the past by the legislature and it really should be left to the state legislatures to make the decisions for the electorate because that is why we are elected. Therefore he opposes the referendum. Representative O’Brien stated he would vote no because the constitution itself was well structured and by having a referendum it could wind up being very costly for the state because we could wind up with many groups wanting their preferences. Former Senator Bozek countered the foregoing comments by citing that the people want to decide issues like gays rights etc. Senator Defronzo immediately countered by citing that the legislature every year reviews the gay rights, death penalty, tax issues that doesn’t result in forcing mandated cost onto the towns, and etc.

The health issues was also discussed with representative O’Brien with his mentioning the proposed health care partnership care plan for small businesses which was vetoed by the Governor. Mr. Wright on the other hand we should be careful and review cost and affordability. Representative O’Brien stated if we provide good medical converge businesses would come to our state and that represents jobs. We could help the businesses to be competitive by providing a good health care system so that they can compete with their competitors.

The next question related to the health care system is it working? Senator DeFronzo stated that the system is not working very well with 350 thousand families without or with poor coverage’s and that a lot of work has to be done to resolve this problem. Bozek countered that we tell the public we can do it and the social agencies can’t handle all of it with their trying to protect the seniors and children. He continued by saying can you imagine how many people, would this coverage provided by the state, would it draw into our state seeking these benefits? Senator Defronzo countered by saying we cannot sit back and allow these many families to go without coverage. That is our job to find the solutions however the Feds should be resolving this issue and not just hand the problem down to the states to resolve.

The cut backs for the adverse economy was discussed with Bozek cited an immediate state budget cut, place a cap on property taxes, cut the sales tax and that would keep existing jobs here. O’Brien added that we should help the businesses that are here and give them the support with labor techniques in order to be able to be more competitive and remain in business here in our state. Senator DeFronzo said that the Republican administration in Washington and in our state has let our state down. What we need are high tech jobs but we must also face the very difficult budget cuts and crises we now face. Rep. O’Brien added that we need to invest good educational programs in order to train our youth for the technical jobs we need to keep our state competitive. Bozek admonished Senator Defronzo for blaming everything onto Bush administration and the Ct. Governor and not himself and Defronzo countered with his getting a business tax relief in order to be more competitive and brought back to New Britain in state funds that amount to 10 mills in reduction to the city taxes something that my Republican opponent doesn’t believe it but he should look it up its all a matter of record.

The magnet school system was discussed with all its financing problems with Senator DeFronzo stating that New Britain possibility of having a magnet school was blocked by the former senator Bozek when he was in office. O’Brien sated he supports the that system and we need to look into the Charter schools as well as the charter schools and take advantage of the state funded programs that nearly provide all the required building funds and support to help our kids get a better education we have the largest High school in the state of Connecticut and we have to do something about that with the state providing plans for providing theses good programs so our kids can take advantage of with a better education. Mr. Wright said he support the charter school. Senator Defrozo stated he supports both the charter and magnet schools system. Rep. O’Brien added that our kids are suffering from the budget cuts and are forced to attend larger classes and we need to take advantage of the magnet state funding that is available for our city.

The next question involved finance reform legislation: Senator Defronzo its Public money and should under strict oversight of the use of the money and supports audits of the reports after the election with Bozek supporting since it attracts new people to run for office instead of supported by special interest unions with special agendas that you have to pay back. Rep. O’Brien countered that he was very proud of that we were the first state in the nation to push the special interest money out. Mr. Wright agreed to rid of special interest. Bozek went on citing his past legislative merits referring to the sending prisoners out of state, breast cancer issues and his constructive surgery aid.

The Supreme Court same sex decision was the new question with all being asked if they supported the decision of the court. Rep. O’Brien said the Supreme Court has ruled. Bozek countered with I don’t support gay marriages and alluding to let the public decide but there wasn’t any leadership at the state level over moral issues. Mr. Wright said that the legislatures should not legislate how people should live or how they chose to live.

Questions regarding a green programs proposals for our community. Obrien suggested looking towards fuel cells and sun energy sources. Senator DeFronzo stated that they passed a bill to provide loans for improvements foe energy savings.

Bozek was asked if he would support a veto to over ride Gov. Rell’s veto and he replied no because it was the unions leveraging to control the health care by the labor groups wanting to handle the plan and everyone can join in. Senator Defronzo said he would vote to veto because it gives the communities the opportunity to decide to join the plan he continued by saying just because it comes from a labor union it doesn’t mean it is a bad idea. Mr. Wright suggested actuarial studies be made. O’Brien said it make common sense to buy the insurance through a pool it says the small businesses enough to stay in business.

This debate was a let down due to the fact that not all the candidates were present making it hard to judge who to vote for.

Szczesny Garage Safety Ignored By The Mayor

The need for cameras in the garage was reported in the New Britain Herald on 7-27-08 by Staff Reporter Rick Guinness “Mayor calls for security cameras in senior housing parking lot.”

The Mayor, quoted in that same article, further demanded the city property manager to obtain a cost estimate of equipping the D’Amato parking garage with security cameras and to have this report ready by the end of August.

The Mayor’s action was generated after the police department reported, in the same Herald report, that they responded to the Garage more than 80 times with many reports of property damage to parked vehicles.

To date, the action to rectify this existing problem has not been initiated either by the Mayor or the City Property Management Department.

The petition that was signed by tenants of the garage apparently has not been sufficient to cause the necessary action in order to provide both the customer’s safety and protection for their vehicles as well.

Therefore, I recommend that the City Common Council take the action to mandate the resolve. The Mayor promised action by the end of August and it is now the end of October with no apparent action on this problem. Do we need to buy the mayor a calendar to remind him that August has come and gone?

ENDLESS FENCE STORY!

New facts has arisen regarding the Fairview Fence issue according to a New Britain Herald story dated 10-19-08 written by Rick Guinness , a Staff reporter, that this matter is currently under police investigation.

The City Council members requested answers for this coming Wednesday’s meeting regarding the 3,786 foot long fence but, according to the Herald story of today, the council agenda does not make any mention of the issue for Wednesday's council meeting.

THE BAND WITH NO NAME!

Each Wednesday a group of elderly musicians meet at the New Britain Senior center and play the old familiar music from the forties for the seniors dancing pleasure.

I purposely visited the center on numerous occasions and noticed that the faces are never the same.

That is the reason why it is a nameless band.

Even though they remain nameless each of these wonderful musicians should be congratulated for their bringing great joy to the seniors that attend each week.

Mayor Timothy Stewart's Passionate Approach

Mayor Tim Stewart’s Passionate side,a job well done by both the Mayor and the Fire Commissioners.

The Mayor undertook a difficult fight in helping a fellow firefighter who was injured at an Oak Street blaze in 1993 when his breathing apparatus malfunctioned, causing a disabling medical condition.

The Mayor recognized that the worker’s compensation received by the injured fireman was exhausted through medical bills and needed better income in order to support his family. The mayor, against all odds, fought for increased benefits to be instituted retroactive to the date of injury. This was a long hard fight and Mayor Stewart didn’t stop with his passionate plea to anyone who would listen.

His effort paid off when the fire commission, at their Wednesday night meeting, approved granting a full annual pension doubling the annual payment to the stricken firefighter.

The mayor and I often disagree on many issues but on this item we are both on the same page and I commend the Mayor’s efforts for pursuing this matter against all odds, and thanks to the members of the fire commission for fulfilling their obligation to this stricken firefighter and his family.

OPEN FORUM 2

I am offering my readers a second forum to post any issues they feel are important to the people of New Britain. If you have an issue with city government that you would like to share with the rest of the readers, feel free to post it here. Whether it be a problem you experienced with a city agency or official, or something positive they may have done and you would like to share it with the rest of New Britain, this is a chance to do so. Public interest stories are also welcome, so if you know about a person, or group of people that is doing something to somehow make the lives of others better, feel free to post it here.

You are welcome to post items anonymously, or may sign your posts if you choose to do so. Consider this an opportunity to speak up about issues you feel may be important to the people of New Britain. Simply click on the comments link below to leave your message. Thanks for checking in to review my postings and please feel free to check back frequently as I have a number of interesting stories in the works.
This second forum is being provided since the first was a great success.

Senatorial Debate

League of Women voters Senatorial Debate in Berlin, October 16, 2008: Between Senator Donald DeFronzo and Former Senator Thomas Bozek:

Q Do You support the state conventional convention?

Senator DeFronzo Our Constitution has been amended thirty times and we as voters must give our full examination in our making this important decision for our state’s future. Former Senator Bozek in contrast stated it would give the newspapers print stories on death penalty issues, gay rights but it is worth trying.

The next question was regarding state spending with former Senator Bozek expressing the state is currently 300 million dollars in the red and that he would propose state employee lay offs just like Massachusetts is currently doing. Senator DeFronzo stated that we are 300 million dollars in the red heading for a 700 million dollar deficit and 1.3 Billion dollars by the end of next year. He continued by saying we can’t cut across the board and cautioned that we have to identify the service needs of core services such as aid for providing heat and children in need of aid. We have to seek additional taxes from businesses and possibly look into placing tolls on our state roads. But to cut expenses across the board the senator said no.

Mass transportation question was answered by former Senator Bozek: the claimed public use hasn’t been accepted by the general public and me. Senator DeFronzo was in support for mass transit and indicated that the Gov. eliminated l4 million from the state budget for mass transit with Former Senator Bozek stating l4 million is nothing. Senator Defronzo countered that mass transit would help the financial growth for Berlin, Meriden and all the towns throughout our state.
The question would they support new housing developments? Senator DeFronzo stated he had worked with the local officials in defeating a complex that was proposed in Berlin after approval by its local zoning board. Former Senator Bozek immediately stated that Berlin cannot support this type of housing and suggested Safe Home rule be strengthened for local control.
Changes in Medicare coverage’s? Senator Defronzo indicated that Medicare made changes on items to be covered by their changing the asset levels of the recipients and it will get worse in the future due to the economic conditions getting tighter. Bozek immediately made claims that when he was in the legislature he supported home care for the elderly seniors in place of convalescent hospital care which is much more expensive and continued by mentioning his supporting a bill that provided breast cancer care for women in our state and also his husky program for children.

Regionalization was a question asked for both to state how they stand on this issue with Senator Defronzo responding that we have to careful about regionalization cooperation because we don’t have county government so the cost would be much higher. Bozek countered with the effort of regionalization for water and sewerage including the handling of trash lowering our overall cost in doing so.

Question of school drop outs was waged to both candidates with Senator DeFronzo indicating that we do have kids at risk and we should get to the kids earlier with after school programs with Bozek countering that he had proposed while in the legislature a pilot program reformatory for girls and boys on a trial basis and that they would get weekend passes to go home and that proposal failed to get passed.

THE WEEPINGS OF THE CRY BABY CONTINUE:

I received this shocking e-mail message from Alderman Louis Salvio today which is full of his typical rantings and ravings. I believe that for an elected official to send out a message like this to a member of his community is totally outrageous and completely unprofessional for a member of the Court of Common Council. You be the judge:

----- Original Message -----
From: Louis Salvio
To: Frank Smith ; franksmith
Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2008 3:21 PM
Subject: Your attacks directed toward me.

Frank:

Don’t know if either of these e-mail addresses is correct but it’s what I have. This will be the only communication you ever get from me from this day forward.

I don’t usually read blogs but I was shown a reprint of one of yours by Adam Platosz at the most recent Council meeting. Frank, you have hit a new low in the daily expressions of your flawed character. Your associations with a Herald reporter and a couple of professional agitators on the Council speak volumes about your petty, puerile persiflage, unsubstantiated claims and lies and your abysmal character.

I will mention only One for which you were totally misinformed, namely the so-called – a terrible misnomer - “Council/City Auditor.” Some things you should know THAT ARE NOT LIES:
1. MIKE TRUEWORTHY AND SUZANNE BIELINSKI ARE NOT THE BOSSES OF ANYTHING OR ANYBODY CONCERNING THE NB COMMON COUNCIL. WHATEVER “POWER” THEY ASSUME DERIVES ERRONEOUSLY FROM THEIR 13 VOTE SUPERMAJORITY.
2. DURING A TWO YEAR HIATUS OF MY TENURE ON THE COUNCIL (2003-05) THEY HIRED A PERSON TO SERVE AS “AUDITOR”, OF WHAT I DON’T KNOW BECAUSE THIS PERSON HAD NO OFFICIAL STANDING IN CITY GOVERNMENT, NONE, NADA, ZILCH. UNDERSTOOD? AT THIS TIME THERE WERE 15 DEMOCRATS ON THE COUNCIL.
3. MIKE AND SUZANNE PREPARED, AMATEURISHLY, THE CONTRACT FOR THIS PERSON’S EMPLOYMENT. THIS WOULD BE A “NO BENEFITS”, PART TIME POSITION –4 HRS./DAY. THEN THEY GO AND GIVE TEN DAYS (ACCUMULATED ANY WAY AT ALL), PAID TIME OFF. NO BENEFITS? REMEMBER THIS FRANK! NOBODY WAS DESIGNATED AS TO HOW “SUPERVISION” OF THIS PERSON WOULD BE HANDLED. THE PERSON WOULD BE PAID TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS – YOU CAN LOOK THIS UP YOURSELF , FRANK – OUT OF CITY COFFERS.
4. NOVEMBER 2005, I AM REELECTED TO THE COUNCIL ALONG WITH PETER GOSTIN AND MARK BERNACKI. ALTHOUGH MARK IS THE HIGHEST AT-LARGE VOTE GETTER AND I AM THE HIGHEST VOTE GETTER AMONG DISTRICT CANDIDATES, NEITHER OF US GETS THE NOD FOR MAYOR PRO TEM.
5. OVER THE NEXT 5 MONTHS, I, WITH THE EXPERT HELP OF THE CORPORATION COUNSEL’S OFFICE, CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE POSITION OF COUNCIL AUDITOR. THE AUTHOR WOULD NEVER COOPERATE IN GIVING ME ANY INFORMATION REGARDING ANYTHING RELATED TO THE POSITION – I WOULD ALWAYS BE REFERRED TO TRUEWORTHY ALTHOUGH I TOLD THE PERSON THAT NO ALDERPERSON HAD ANY MORE STANDING OR AUTHORITY THAN ANY OTHER. ( SEE STATEMENT #1 ) I WON’T BORE YOU WITH THE TRUTHFUL DETAILS FRANK BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN THE TRUTH, BUT DURING THOSE FIVE MONTHS AND UNDER THE SUPPOSED SUPERVISION OF MIKE AND SUZANNE – AND THIS WAS ALL DOCUMENTED BY THE CC’s OFFICE – THE AUDITOR BILKED THE CITY OUT OF OVER $4000 IN UNAUTHORIZED PAY. ( SEE POINT #3 ). WHEN THE AUDITOR” THOUGHT THE CITY WOULD TRY TO RECOVER THIS MONEY, THE AUDITOR RESIGNED AT A COUNCIL MEETING IN APRIL OF 2006 AND BLAMED EVERYTHING ON LOU SALVIO. REQUEST THE RECORDING OF THE MEETING, FRANK HEAR IT FOR YOURSELF. OF COURSE YOU WON’T DO THAT BECAUSE YOU’D HAVE TO KNOW WHAT A LOW LIFE YOU ARE. THIS IS THE SAME KIND OF BULL YOU THREW AROUND REGARDING THE CDBG FUNDS FIASCO. YOU BLAMED IT ON ME FRANK AND ALL I DID WAS BLOW THE WHISTLE ON THOSE WHO WOULD CHEAT THE GOVERNM ENT OUT OF FUNDS.
6. YOU GO AHEAD AND KEEP POKING FUN AT ME AND THE MAYOR AND KEEP TELLING YOUR LIES WITH YOUR NEW “FRIENDS” AT THE HERALD AND ON THE COUNCIL. I HAVE TOLD YOU BEFORE FRANK, NOBODY OF ANY SUBSTANCE WANTS TO HEAR YOU. SO YOU CREATE A BLOG AND INVITE ALL OF YOUR ANONYMOUS “FRIENDS” TO CONTRIBUTE. AGAIN, YOU ARE PATHETIC!
7. FRANK, DO YOU REMEMBER THE CONNECTICUT WOLVES? REMEMBER WHO ENDURED ALL THE CRICISM OF RIDDING THE CITY OF THAT MULTIMILLION DOLLAR FIASCO? THAT’S RIGHT FRANK, YOURS TRULY. WAS THAT WRONG ALSO? AT THAT TIME THE COST OF THAT FIASCO WAS 1.5 MILLS IN TAXES TO CITY TAXPAYERS. BUT I’M A CRYBABY FRANK, REMEMBER?


FRANK, PLEASE DON’T SEND ANY TYPE OF RESPONSE TO ME EVER. I WON’T READ OR LISTEN TO ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY. OF COURSE YOU’LL PRINT THIS AND GIVE COPIES TO THE HERALD, SHERWOOD AND ANYONE ELSE YOU CALL A “FRIEND.” AND MAYBE ADAM PLATOSZ WILL HELP YOU!

LIFE SAVER FOR NEW BRITAIN'S SOUTH ENDERS

It was an honor for me today to attend the grand opening ceremony for the Hart Street Extension, with Mayor Timothy Stewart officiating, joined by Aldermen Mark Bernacki, Alderman Louis Salvio, Mayor Pro-Tempore Suzannne Bielinksi, a representative from the Maguire Engineering Group, and Kenneth Malinowski, the grants administrator for the City of New Britain. and with several members of the public works department.

This project was a long time in the making due to the need to purchase the required properties to complete the connection of Hart Street with Glen Street, A one tenth of a mile distance.

Prior to this connection, an ambulance leaving a South Main Street address was required to travel all the way down South Main Street to the beginning of Arch Street by traveling the loop up Arch Street to Hart. Now with this new short cut, 2 to 3 minutes of life saving travel can be eliminated from these emergency trips to the hospital.

Thanks to the continued diligence of Mayor Stewart together with the City council members that this new life saving route exists beginning today.

New Britain Mayor, Fire Chief Censured by International Association

Mayor, Fire Chief Censured by International Association

At its international convention, held August 10-15, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the International Association of Fire Fighters AFL-CIO, CLC has voted unanimously to censure Mayor Timothy Stewart and Fire Chief Mark Carr. The IAFF is 290,000 members strong, with 3,100 affiliates representing fire fighters and paramedics in every state of the US and Canada.

The resolutions filed with the IAFF cite both the Mayor and Fire Chief for “transferred, skipped for promotion, disciplined, docked pay, and docked vacation time of union officers.” The citations also allege that both the Mayor and Fire Chief have disregarded the collective bargaining agreement which has led to the union filing over 50 grievances (only 4 of which the city has prevailed) as well as numerous prohibited practices and the filing of 2 civil suits.

An online video of the censure action at the convention is available by visting this site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2HLZuOmYoo

In addition, the resolution regarding Mayor Stewart’s censure cites an incident in which the mayor “disparaged firefighters and the fire department as a whole in a recorded phone call to the emergency dispatch center.” Visit the site below to hear a tape of that telephone call:

http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8343



If the numbers provided by the union are accurate, this anti-union attitude of the Fire Chief and the Mayor is costing the city considerably. The legal expenses of fighting an estimated 46 grievances where the city lost, not to mention the unknown number of prohibited practices and the 2 civil suits that are pending, would appear to be a great expense to the city. It would seem that the mayor and the chief need to learn to respect the existing labor agreement which would create a better work environment for the firefighters and save the taxpayers the extensive costs of fighting all of these cases.

Maybe the Fire Chief and the Mayor should consider attending labor management training to learn how to better understand their obligations under the collective bargaining agreement.

Phase TWO OF THIS NEVER ENDING STORY

City hall sources reveal that the fence operation apparently has stopped and that the City Council members are demanding answers to be provided by the officials of the Park Department.

And that this issue has been turned over to the Corporation Counsel for further legal review.

I hope my original headline “A Long, Long, Long Awaited” will not become “a long awaited but never happened.”

BOZEK: RACIAL CLEANSING OF NEW BRITAIN?

As I was the first to report on, Bozek is back and once again running on the Republican ticket for State Senate while maintaining his affiliation with the Democratic party—a party he seems to detest, if not directly through any direct statements, certainly through his actions.

This time his campaign rhetoric is absolutely amazing! In an article that appeared on Friday in The Herald (Surprising even self, Bozek draws enough donations for race By Rick Guinness, Herald staff 10/102008) Bozek and his campaign treasurer are quoted as denying allegations that Bozek is a racist, but then they go on to propose the elimination of public housing, section 8, and other programs to help the poor.

Some of the quotes attributed to Bozek in the article include “Section 8 housing is a cancer to the taxpayers,” “Habitat for Humanity sucks,” and that his campaign is “taking a stand against social programs, public housing, homes with more than three bedrooms, and any public policy that attracts poor people in New Britain.”

In a previous article, I reported how Bozek was quoted as saying “these people” were 80% minorities. So what is the common denominator among all these groups if it is not race? Bozek says he will move these people out of New Britain, but where to? Farmington? Berlin? Where Tom, Where?

OPEN FORUM

I am offering my readers a chance to post any issues they feel are important to the people of New Britain. If you have an issue with city government that you would like to share with the rest of the readers, feel free to post it here. Whether it be a problem you experienced with a city agency or official, or something positive they may have done and you would like to share it with the rest of New Britain, this is a chance to do so. Public interest stories are also welcome, so if you know about a person, or group of people that is doing something to somehow make the lives of others better, feel free to post it here.

You are welcome to post items anonymously, or may sign your posts if you choose to do so. Consider this an opportunity to speak up about issues you feel may be important to the people of New Britain. Simply click on the comments link below to leave your message. Thanks for checking in to review my postings and please feel free to check back frequently as I have a number of interesting stories in the works.

CCSU STUDENTS CONTINUE TO BE A NUISANCE TO NEIGHBORS

The Hartford Courant reported that on Friday, October 3, NBPD issued 36 tickets to underage students who officers caught drinking at a house party on Stanley Street (“New Britain:36 At CCSU Face Alcohol Citations”, Oct. 7, 2008 Hartford Courant). Neighbors residing on the streets surrounding the campus have been publicly complaining for years about the problems with noise, vandalism, and even problems with littering caused by the students. I am sure the neighborhood was delighted about the news regarding these 36 students who were charged Friday.

City police did a great job in this case, but if the university would do a better job keeping its students under control, perhaps the police department wouldn’t have to be tied up writing these kind of tickets in the first place. Let’s not forget that current staffing is way too low in the police department and the chief is actively recruiting to fill 17 vacancies.

This incident should be a wake up call to the mayor and city leaders to look into the problems facing the campus neighborhood and to work with CCSU leaders to try to prevent further incidents. According to the Courant article, student conduct codes still apply to the students in their off campus housing and the university administration needs to be encouraged to utilize this code to maintain better conduct from its students.

CPOA'S Cry Baby

CpoA is local group that consists of about a half dozen members at best. It is also primarily a soap box for the Council Minority Leader, Alderman Louis Salvio. From time to time, they speak out on how badly he is being treated--like their statement that appeared in yesterday’s local paper (The Herald “Reader thanks Salvio for bucking the tide on the council” by Ann Mikulak, President, Citizen’s Property Owner’s Association, Inc. 10/5/08).

If only he would make some sense on something, then the Democrats would probably listen to him. As an example, just the other day he tried to change the guidelines of the council's methods of operation which is set in stone at the first meeting of the Council after the elections, and carries through until the new council is established to make their own rules.

It is apparent that Alderman Salvio didn't like the way the Democrats buffed him so badly that he employed his mouth piece (The COPA) to knock the council Majority Leader Alderman Michael Truewothy’s methods of conducting the meetings in accordance with those very same guidelines.


After reading the CPOA president’s dialog, I am sure the Democratic side of the isle can make “nice nice” for the badly treated Alderman in the future.

Long, Long, Long Awaited

The long awaited 3,786 foot fence at the Fairview Cemetery is finally in the process of being installed on the East Street side of the cemetery. It appears to be better looking than the old one being replaced.

After the old fence was damaged by a vehicle accident the local residents have been in the local papers for a several years requesting the damage fence be repaired.

One noticeable change with this new fence is that is it being set up in a sectional design so that in the event another vehicle damage should occur, in the future, the damage would only involve the section being hit and should not bring down the remaining portion of the fence as was experienced during the last calamity.

Council needs to revisit police officer salaries

New Britain is currently advertising to fill 17 police officer positions here in New Britain. One of the biggest problems with attracting good qualified candidates is the low salary offered here in New Britain when compared to surrounding towns: Salary range $47,957-$58,073. The problem is that 2 neighboring towns are also hiring:

Berlin, salary range: $51,688-$65,873

West Hartford, salary range: $51,298-$65,494

Another bordering town is not currently hiring, but does also offer a much higher salary:

Newington, 54,002-$68,952

Due to its status as a larger city, with a much more diverse community than the other three towns, New Britain offers its police officers many additional challenges while offering the lowest salary. If New Britain expects to compete with the neighboring towns for the best candidates, then they need to offer a competitive salary. The council should look into bringing our salaries up to par with our neighbors.

Szczesny Garage Safety; on The Council’s Back Burner

A local newspaper reported on June 16 of this year that the City Council opted to place cameras at the Stanley Pond and not the D’Amato parking garage where vandals have had a field day damaging the senior’s vehicles who are residents of the D’Amato.
After city officials verified with the New Britain police department that they had responded with 49 calls for such incidents this past year and 32 additional calls the year before.

Under pressure, Mayor Stewart in his usual arrogant approach publicly advised that the victims should purchase full glass-coverage on their car insurance.

Perhaps Mayor Stewart could take a little of the $1 million he is spending to pick up duck droppings at Stanley Quarter Pond to help these seniors on fixed incomes to afford such expensive insurance coverage.

The Executive Director of the Housing Authority expressed that she was upset because she had not received any phone calls regarding this issue but her property manager publicly stated, in the same article, that she was aware of these incidents a month prior. With lack of action to protect their tenant’s vehicles by the Housing Authority, Mayor Stewart immediately requested the City’s property Manager to estimate the cost of providing security cameras for the D’Amato--expecting to have this report by the end of August.

It is now October with no plan or estimates publicly mentioned in providing safety not only to the tenants but to all the citizens who use the garage from The Connecticut Bar Association, Trinity on Main, The Whole in the Wall, The CCSU students and employees at their Main Street Site, and all general public that utilizes this facility.

I must mention that the city’s Police Chief recognized the necessity of providing safety to the general public with his implantation of providing police officers to walk their downtown beats to include walking through the garage and also having the cruisers go through as well. This action by the Chief has alleviated most of the vandalism occurrences until the cameras are installed and he must be commended for his action in providing the necessary safety for the general public.

Seeing that this issue has fallen by the wayside, I fervently request that the City Council investigate when the installation can be expected to be completed and hopefully without delay.

Mayor’s Lack of Leadership Cost Taxpayers Money

Mayor’s lack of leadership continues to cost taxpayers money over copies;
Police Department loses much needed funding:

Mayor Stewart has yet to show any leadership over an issue involving giving free photocopies of city documents to anyone who requests them. The council passed an ordinance proposed by Alderman Phil Sherwood to exempt the city fees on anyone requesting up to 40 pages per day, which amounts to $20 per day per person. This certainly creates a potential for abuse because under the current ordinance, anyone who feels like it can go to a city agency and request 40 pages of copies every day, all at the expense of the taxpayers! State law allows municipalities to charge up to $.50 per page for these copies, but this ordinance that Sherwood succeeded in passing makes such requests free.

As a result, the police department was forced to start giving out free copies of reports beginning July 1. Although no one seems to be able to identify the true cost to the police department, an article in The Herald (“Subcommittee recommends FOI ordinance amendment” 10/02/08) quoted an estimated $700 per month cost, however an article in The Courant (“New Britain Regulations Cost Police Department $738” 8/21/08) reported that the police department receives 18,696 requests for copies annually. If the department were allowed to charge the statutory $.50 per page, and with most police department records requests being motor vehicle accident reports consisting of two pages, that would amount to an estimated $18,696.00 in lost revenue to the police department annually. This is a considerable amount of money that could be available to purchase badly needed equipment for our police officers. Forcing the Chief to operate with such a large shortfall in his budget could even place our police officers in danger by forcing them to work with inadequate or outdated equipment.

Alderman Sherwood has proposed an amendment that would exempt the police department from the ordinance which would allow the police to start charging the public for copies, but not insurance companies. I am mystified at what logic there could be in forcing the citizens to foot the bill for copies requested by insurance companies, but at the same time making citizens dig into their pockets to pay for their own copies. The amendment should be changed to exempt the police department entirely and allow them to start charging everyone for copies, or the FOI ordinance should be repealed.

Because of its potential for abuse, it would appear that the most responsible action would be to repeal the FOI ordinance completely, especially since the state already provides the necessary FOI regulations by statute. What seems really clear is it is time for the mayor to step up to the plate and show some leadership by taking a strong stand on this issue.

Salvio's Vindictive Actions Cost our City

The New Britain Common Council members in order to close the current fiscal year were completely astounded to be advised of an unanticipated shortage in excess of one million dollars.

Thanks to Alderman Salvio in his quest to rid of the Council’s tool to be alerted well in advance of any financial problems occurring by the council’s internal part time auditor. The purpose of this auditor was to evaluate all financial standings for the Council members.

Mr. Salvio made it his mission to make her tenure most miserable until she could no longer withstand the verbal abuse and resigned. Mr. Salvio was backed up by Mayor Stewart with his stated the democratic council member’s claims of more financial oversight is required is ridiculous and irresponsible when we have a finance director on staff.

Aldermen Sullivan & Karp both were surprised of the mayor’s being against the internal auditor because they both felt no public corporation this size would operate without an internal audit that actually saves municipalities money. Karp continued by opposing the Mayor’s point of view by stating that an internal auditor can also keep an eye on things that an outside auditor cannot see in an annual review.

Lou unfortunately, the taxpayers cannot accept this kind of misguided representation with their having to pony up more taxes for your vindictive actions towards a part time valuable resource for the entire city council.

Race & Bias Charged by DTC Chairman

I have recently criticized the Democratic Town Committee and its chairman for allowing Mr. Bozek to continue as a member of the Democratic Town Committee while opposing his own party’s endorsed candidate for Senate. Isn’t it about time for Democratic Party Chairman John McNamara to address this situation? How can a town committee member be allowed to repeatedly run against his party’s endorsed candidates, and be allowed to remain on the town committee for the party he so clearly condemns?”

Amazingly an article posted on the “NB Politicus” which is edited by the New Britain Democratic Chairman reports that Republican candidate Bozek has injected race into the Senate campaign. The article attributes a number of racial comments to Bozek sometimes using the code word “these people” and later identifying the meaning of “these people” as 80% minorities. The article also reports that Bozek “bitterly blamed” Hispanics for the loss of his last election for Senate.

I believe that this type of dialogue is meant to divert attention from the legitimate issues facing this district and certainly should not be tolerated by either party. Certainly the Democratic Town Chairman is aware of this information since he saw fit to report about it on his own blog, what remains to be seen, is what he is going to do to address this disturbing situation?