Editorial:
At the New Britain Common Council’s meeting, last Wednesday night, with the long and repetitive dialog over 89 vs. 87 percent Octane.
It is somewhat a mystery as to why the Council membership ignored the Public Works Director, Mr. Moriarty's, recommendation for the purchase of 89 percent octane gasoline to accommodate the manufacturer’s recommendation for the city’s police cruisers.
The Council with it’s long debate over this issue, appeared to be micromanaging by ignoring their manager’s recommendation, with his adhering to the manufacturer’s advice.
Aldermen Bernacki and Salvio attempted make the proper approach in following the manager’s recommendation but they were ignored by the majority of the council.
Due to the actions of the council Democrats, the police chief is left with a fleet of vehicles for which he doesn't have the appropriate fuel available. Using the lower octane is not recommended by the manufacturer, causes the engines to run roughly, and can ultimately raise mainetenance costs.
What now?
10 comments:
"Using the lower octane is not recommended by the manufacturer, causes the engines to run roughly, and can ultimately raise mainetenance costs."
That's not true at all. It is the performance of the 5.7l engine that is in question. The difference between the hp/tq using 89 and 87 octane is less then 3%, which isn't something you would notice in daily driving, even in a police cruiser.
When you talking about "running roughly" you talking about old technology, modern engines don't "knock" like they did in the past. Using a lower octane will have no effect on the maintenance costs of these vehicles.
This could be a case of penny wise and pound foolish, as usual.
I am not a mechanic but several years ago I purchased a vehicle that was recommended for a higher octane. I disregarded the information and purchased the lower octane. Not more than 6 months later my car was at the dealership because it was running
rough and stalling. Something about the injectors? It was related to the low octane gas. How much money did the switch save
the city?
I think the REAL issue was made clear by Ald Trueworthy; argue for the sake of argument, no matter how small the issue. Really? What happened to the liberals motto of "good government"? 13-2 (nb council) or 117-35 (state legislature) majorities make smart people do stupid things BECAUSE THEY CAN!
The NB Council just passed the 1186 contract that cost the New Britain taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional wages and benefits and found "significant" savings going from 89 to 87 octane? Please. Enough already. FOI rules, 87 octane, costly unions contracts?
When are we getting our taxes lowered?
Don't forget the $263,000 budget hole Ald Trueworthy and his dedicated followers created when they refused to charge water customers from Kensington, Berlin, Southington and Meriden for the services NEW BRITAIN TAXPAYERS provide the water company for billing, payroll, legal and administrative services. All this while these same democrats authorized the hiring of a consultant in 2007 to accurately charge these costs back for services rendered.
Now they claim "higher taxes"? This from the "tax and spend" democrats?
These people are amazing.
New Britain Herald (newbritainherald.com), Serving New Britain, Conn., and surrounding areas
News
Budget season gets theatrical
Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:04 PM EDT
By JAMES CRAVEN
Staff Writer
NEW BRITAIN — A marathon session of the Common Council Wednesday dealt mostly with minutiae and featured Democratic Majority Leader Michael Trueworthy challenging loudly and at length city department heads, Republican council members and Mayor Timothy Stewart and charging them with “bait and switch” tactics on budget issues.
Trueworthy insinuated duplicity in animated monologues that some colleagues found embarrassing and tried to stop while Aldermen Phil Sherwood and Greg Gerratana followed his lead.
Some Common Council members accused Trueworthy of theatrics that may have been planned and forwarded an e-mail to The Herald that suggested he wanted his Democratic allies to raise a fuss to embarrass Republicans.
In a rambling e-mail sent Tuesday, Trueworthy exhorts other Democrats to talk extensively on exploitable issues and present a unified face.
“This year, however, we must (present an alternative) 3 or 5 bullet points that add up to very little (or a lot but odds are it’s very little that we can exploit),” wrote Trueworthy. The parentheses are his.
Asked Thursday what issues he was hoping to exploit, Trueworthy said he only hoped to exploit the truth.
He asserted a $2.5 million transfer from the sewer fund was being repaid through a sewer-rate increase.
“It’s interesting that the proposed sewer-rate increase would add up to $2.5 million,” Trueworthy said Thursday. “It’s a bait-and-switch plan.”
Stewart maintained the two were not connected and the city was no longer able to absorb increases.
Trueworthy also tried to discredit Republican Alderman Mark Bernacki after he said Trueworthy had voted to support charge-backs from the city’s Water Department.
“You’re absolutely wrong and you’re accusing me and this body of something,” he said. “I’m not voting for it because [of] what it is,” he shouted. “It’s a tax. Your mill rate is going to stay the same but your water rates are going to go up.”
An official record of the Common Council meetings for Oct. 10, 2007 showed that Trueworthy had made the motion to accept and adopt the resolution and then voted to pass the it.
“I don’t know what to make of him,” Bernacki said. “He basically calls me a liar and then refuses to be educated on how city goverment works. If he is unable to do the job or understand what’s happening then he should get out of the majority position. ”
Mayor Pro-Tempore Suzanne Bielinski said in a reproach to the mayoral budget it would have been more honest to just raise the mill rate even though she had voted in favor of the charge-back plan.
As the meeting wore on and Trueworthy’s speeches grew longer and more frequent, Bielinski could be heard telling him, “Sit down,” and “You’re doing it again.”
Parks and Recreation Director Bill DeMaio and Rebecca Salemi, deputy finance director, also were questioned harshly by Trueworthy.
“I think I was rough, but I got what I wanted,” Trueworthy said Thursday.
The meeting ended about 12:30 a.m.
James Craven can be reached at jcraven@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, ext. 231.
URL: http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/05/28/news/doc4a1f4df5f1cb6787503357.prt
© 2009 newbritainherald.com, a Journal Register Property
The New Britain Herald (newbritainherald.com), Serving New Britain, Conn., and surrounding areas
News
Council flushes proposed sewer-rate increases
Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:04 PM EDT
By JAMES CRAVEN
Staff Writer
NEW BRITAIN — A plan to increase sewer user fees city wide by 60 percent caused several members of the Common Council to cry foul as the plan would flush away the savings of city residents.
“I want to urge this council to reject this tax increase,” Alderman Phil Sherwood said. “It stinks and it should be flushed.”
The issue came before the Common Council after a public hearing May 18 before the Board of Public Works. At a meeting immediately following the public hearing, the board moved to approve a sewer use rate increase of $1.01 bringing the rate to $2.77 per hundred cubic feet used.
Public Works Director Mark Moriarty said the increase for an average homeowner would be about $50 for moderate water usage but that could go as high as $140 for a high-consumption family for six months.
“This is gouging the rate payers,” Sherwood said. “This is gimmicks 101 when it comes to tax increases.”
Alderman Mark Bernacki said he was hesitant because he was uncomfortable with increases by the Mattabassett District and a 60 percent increase to city residents.
Brian Armet, executive director of the Mattabassett District, said there was only a 7.34 percent increase in the Mattabassett District’s assessment for the city of New Britain and that he could not speak to increases by New Britain.
Moriarty said the increase was because the city had absorbed increases by the Mattabassett District in the past but could no longer do so.
“We did not pass on Mattabassett increases of more than $2 million over several years,” Moriarty said.
Alderman Louis Salvio said that he felt cities like Middletown were not paying their fair share when it comes to sharing sewer costs through the district.
“I feel that the other three towns are getting fleeced,” Salvio said, referring to New Britain, Cromwell and Berlin.
The Mattabassett District’s Water Pollution Control Facility processes wastewater from New Britain, Berlin, Cromwell, Middletown, Newington, Rocky Hill and Farmington, and discharges clean water into the nearby Connecticut River.
Majority Leader Michael Trueworthy said he would vote against the increase because it was a form of taxation that bypassed having to increase the mill rate.
“It’s a bait and switch,” Trueworthy said.
Mayor Timothy Stewart said he would support sending the proposal back to the Board of Public Works for further review.
The Common Council voted to take that advice, with the exception of Trueworthy.
James Craven can be reached at jcraven@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, ext. 231.
URL: http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/05/28/news/doc4a1f4db90fb51676562783.prt
© 2009 newbritainherald.com, a Journal Register Property
Anonymous said...
"Using the lower octane is not recommended by the manufacturer, causes the engines to run roughly, and can ultimately raise mainetenance costs."
.....That's not true at all.......When you talking about "running roughly" you talking about old technology, modern engines don't "knock" like they did in the past. Using a lower octane will have no effect on the maintenance costs of these vehicles.
Look if you want to save pennies low octane gas in cruiser is just silly. Here are some facts:
The engine comes complete with Chrysler’s MDS (Multi-Displacement System), so it’s not firing on all eight pots all the time. (On purpose.) On paper, this seems ideal for police use, where bean counters and crime fighters are often at loggerheads. Slowly chugging through the neighborhood, the Charger’s a four-banger getting 25 mpg. Cutting to the chase, it’s got a V8 with who the Hell cares about mpg when you’re on a 10-108.
So...
That being said, Most engines are not greatly effected by different octane levels. One exception is with engines or cars designed for high octane gas. In that case, using high octane gas WILL improve performance and mileage. The reason has to do with the compression and ignition timing characteristics of the engine. Those specially designed engines will only perform efficiently with higher octane gas.
Mr. Sherwood, Mr. Trueworthy please get to the business of passing a budget and let the qualified department heads do the jobs they were hired to do.
Why bother? Given the facts versus the fluff, fluff wins with these guys. That is what Trueworthy means by "exploiting" even the smallest, silliest issues. I guess they feel they can get re-elected doing this.
Again, where is the money to fill the $263,000 deficit the democrats caused (Trueworthy in particular) at the last meeting? Keep talking about 87 / 89 octane and the people will forget about their taxes?
Micro managing must somehow be linked to attacking Stewart. Is this why the democratic caucus is losing more of its members? I don't get it.
Be incredulous about the :
surplus, then dig a $263,000 hole in the budget with only one month left?
sewer rate increase, yet don't have the democratic approved Mattabassett commission get of the shnike to bring Middletown into the district thus reducing New Britain's share of the costs.
Jordan Caterers. vote against, then for, I mean against, wait then for the Winstone Restaurant. Rave reviews from the patrons. I guess the Platosz Chinese hot dog order didn't go through.
Pinnacle Heights. The site is cleaned up. That's more than can be said from inactions of the Pawlak/Defronzo team of stone walling.
Downtown. Blighted buildings coming down. See above.
scream "bait and switch" yet provide NO REAL BUDGETARY SOLUTIONS of your own. No, I don't call switching from 89 to 87 octane REAL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF.
budget holes, yet approve a costly 1186 contract in one of the worst economies since the great depression.
This merry go round is hopefully ending in November.
Post a Comment