NEW BRITAIN MAYOR TIMOTHY T. STEWART-- STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS 2011

Citizens of New Britain, Members of the Common Council, Elected Officials, and City Employees:



Today I stand before you to give my eighth State of the City address as Mayor of New Britain. While we continue to make progress on economic development, job creation and quality of life issues in our neighborhoods, the good news is overshadowed by the uncertainty of the state and federal budgets and the large impact they will have on our city budget, particularly education.



Just as homeowners have reduced their household budgets in response to the stagnant economy, our local government has tightened its belt. With years of streamlining of services, elimination of vacant positions and other cost saving measures, I feel we are at the point where we have little options left under our direct control given that so much of our budget is dependent on state and federal dollars. This year in particular, we remain at risk of losing critical funding which I fear will result in either higher property taxes or lay offs with accompanying drastic cuts to essential city services.



Although a federal government shutdown has been temporarily avoided, it is still a possibility. Our Municipal Development Department recently received official notice from HUD that a possible federal government shutdown would mean no CDBG, HOME or Emergency Shelter grant funds coming into New Britain. The loss of federal stimulus dollars that the State Department of Education used to supplant state funding will leave a $10 million hole in our education budget. We don’t fully realize our dependency on the federal government until the threat looms that we will need to operate without that funding.



While initially, Governor Malloy’s proposed state budget appeared to leave municipal funding intact, but we are finding it true, as the saying goes, “that the devil is in the details”. While education funding is left at 2010 levels, there will be reductions to other programs, such as the manufacturing machinery and equipment PILOT. The MM&E PILOT was supposed to help make industrial cities whole when the property tax for such equipment was phased out. The elimination of this PILOT will create a $2 million hole in our budget.



The Governor’s proposal to allow cities to levy a 1% sales tax and a hotel tax will favor the larger cities and those like Manchester and Danbury that have large shopping areas. While I appreciate that the Governor is trying to give municipalities the tools to help themselves rather than rely on the state, cities like New Britain will benefit minimally or not at all. In addition, the Governor proposes to push back some state services to cities, such as the responsibility for technical schools. Clearly this is not an additional burden we can take on as we have our hands full with our current school facility costs.





I will be working with mayors and first selectman from cities and towns similarly impacted by legislation such as the MM&E PILOT elimination proposal to advocate that the state not push its burdens down to the cities where we are already suffering from high rates of foreclosures and other impacts from the economic downturn.



Even if this lobbying effort is successful and even though we were fortunate to have some growth in our Grand List for 2010, rising costs such as gasoline and health care will force the City to make some hard budget decisions this year. Now more than ever, we need to hold the line on discretionary spending, and be prepared to say no to special interest groups who are pressing in from all sides as not for profits and others who receive government funding are long on need and short on dollars.



As Ben Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.” Even though this is a local election year, I would hope that we can put aside our differences and work together to ensure that New Britain’s residents, particularly our children, receive our fair share from the state. I am encouraged that Governor Malloy is holding town meetings to receive feedback on his budget proposal, and I urge everyone who can from the Council and the community to attend the New Britain meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 5th at 7:00 pm at Trinity on Main.



Another issue that New Britain needs to hang together on is the Busway. With recent announcements on federal funding and $5 million in state bonding for Transit Oriented Development, the project is very close to putting shovels in the ground later this year. I want to thank Gerry Amodio, Bill Millerick, Mark Moriarty and others from New Britain who went up to the State Capitol a few weeks ago to fight efforts led by the town of Bristol to kill the Busway. We need that kind of community support to ensure that our transportation needs and economic development future are provided for. With gas prices approaching $4 a gallon, it is clear there is an urgent need to reduce Connecticut’s dependence on oil in favor of mass transportation.



As I said during the recent state senate campaign, the top three reasons for the Busway are jobs, jobs and jobs. One thousand construction jobs, from the Busway project alone will be created; jobs that people need now, not in 10 years or more when a rail line would be built. Add to those jobs construction jobs from Transit Oriented Development and jobs in retail, services and offices in and around that development, and you have something we can cross partisan lines to work together to make it a reality. Governor Malloy recently announced he will hold some type of forum to weigh the pros and cons of the Busway and I hope that similar to Hartford’s Mayor and Council, we can show united support for this project that is so vital to our City and region.



A great example of the positive results of the community coming together is the construction of our new Police Station. After some heated discussions on the Council floor, we are now working together through the Police Station Building Committee, including Aldermen Centeno and Pabon, as well as monthly updates to the Council. You can see the fruits of this collaboration through the progress on the site and I thank the Council for its interest and support.





Despite the many winter storms, work is on schedule with concrete work underway and steel work starting in early May. We continue to have above average numbers for local employment thanks to Capital Workforce Partners as well as Downes Construction and their subcontractors. This project was also recently recognized by the Capital Region Council of Governments with a $225,000 sustainable development grant for streetscape improvements in the area around the Station.

While the news is not good on the budget front, there are still many positive things happening here in New Britain. In October, the City launched our Single Stream Recycling program and it was a tremendous success. Early data for the first two full months of the program show that total recycling in New Britain has jumped 88% from a year ago, and that over 82% of the city’s households are recycling which is up from 62% a year ago. In terms of pounds, this means that nearly 750,000 pounds of material has been recycled since the program began in mid-October 2010 that would have been disposed of as trash. Sending material for recycling is much more cost effective than sending it to the trash burning plant.

The end result is that while most Connecticut communities realize a 20% to 50% increase in recycling when they implement a Single Stream Recycling program, New Britain’s increase has been nearly 90%. It’s a great achievement and one that the City and its residents can take great pride in. The increase in recycling is not only good for the environment, but it’s one that will result in cost savings for the City, when our tight budgets can certainly use it.

I also want to recognize the efforts of Public Works, Police, Fire, Water, Parks, School Facilities and all the City employees who worked so tirelessly through this winter of extraordinary weather to ensure public safety. Given New Britain’s density, the number of hills, and the lack of off street parking in many multi-family buildings, we were particularly hard hit this winter. But our employees responded to the challenge, whether it was holding meetings to coordinate responses, shoveling out fire hydrants, or clearing around schools, they got the job done.

I also want to recognize CW Resources for their efforts in shoveling driveways and sidewalks for low income seniors. We do forget at times how blessed we are with individuals and groups whose daily support of our community helps us make it through difficult times. Home and business owners also deserve recognition for their patience and cooperation in coping with the effects of Mother Nature.

A lot of what goes on in city government is not sexy, but many important things go on behind the scenes to ensure New Britain’s viability as a community and the continued health and welfare of our residents and businesses. Good news like the reports we received in June and October when credit rating agencies such as Standard & Poor’s confirmed our positive bond rating does not receive headlines in the newspaper. But I think it should, since this saved the City over one million dollars on interest costs on the Police Station bonds alone.





Similarly, you probably have not heard much about the successful implementation of the City’s new purchasing and payroll system which has added many efficiencies and cost savings to our financial processes. Or the COPS grant that will put seven additional police officers on the street. Or the interest from developers in building housing on the former Aquinas site. Or the great work being done by the Historic Preservation Commission. Or the plans by local restaurant owner Nick D’Agostino to bring back a city celebration with an Oktoberfest this September. There are truly many wonderful things and great opportunities going on in New Britain every day.

As I have for the past few years, I will close with a plea for more civility in local government. Over the past year, the bickering, mudslinging, and politicizing of Council agendas have reached a point which gives New Britain negative publicity and a pugilistic reputation we can’t afford to project to the outside world in these dismal economic times.

What do you think a potential investor in city business or property or someone contemplating moving to our City thinks when they pick up the New Britain Herald or watch the Council meetings on Nutmeg? While democracy isn’t always pretty, people want to know that their local elected officials can put their personal and political agendas aside long enough to focus on the best interests of the community. And if we are being honest with ourselves, we will admit that is not happening here.

But this does not have to continue to be the case. We can resolve here and now to put the unpleasant past as well as partisan agendas behind us and move forward toward more issue focused discussions. There are many challenges and opportunities facing New Britain this year, but we need to work together to achieve positive outcomes. The voters who elected us deserve nothing less.

Thank you and may God continue to bless the City of New Britain.