May 15th, 2008
Thanks to Andy Bromage, Editor of the New Haven Advocate for selecting us for one of their “Best Of” Awards.
He writes:
Best New Haven Watchdog Group
Don’t you hate those people that complain about city government but offer nothing in terms of real solutions? New Haven Citizens’ Action Network (known by the uplifting acronym NHCAN) are not those people. The group’s a loose collection of self-appointed citizen watchdogs (including Jeffrey Kerekes and Mona Berman, pictured) that offers alternatives to the city’s budget, with line-item-specific recommendations for how New Haven can cut costs, while still keeping intact all the services we rely on city government for. See nhcan.org.
—Andy Bromage
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May 14th, 2008
The City released a new budget document with the announced cuts.
No More Fair Rent Commission, Elimination of Small Business Initiative, $1M less in BOE, almost $6M in proposed layoffs and concessions while increasing employee benefits by a $1/4 Million, $679k from Community Services Administration, reduced soup kitchen aid, homeless funding, two people from the mayor’s office, $150k less to Shubert, $150k Less to Market New Haven and $250k less to Tweed. $144k from Executive Management Concessions (No Reduction for the Mayor who is still at $131,000. In fact no one in his office got a salary reduction although two positions were eliminated all together.). Elimination of some senior centers (there was low attendance at a few of these), closing some police substations, eliminated 3 Librarians, and more.
They estimate $1M in new money from an unannounced source (sale of parking lots?), increased money from parking meters, vital stats, and $150 per bulk pick-up.
Posted in Budget, Education, Mayor, Tweed Airport | No Comments »
May 8th, 2008
See below for a NYTimes article and Harry David’s contextualization.
Note the size of Vallejo — 115,000 compared to New Haven/s 120,000. Vallejo’s payroll costs were 80% of the General Fund compared to New Haven’s 65%. New Haven’s Mayor will be proposing some modest payroll trimming that may not be sufficient. We have the experience of Waterbury to look to and to try to avoid going down the path of profligate spending in a constrained tax climate. Harry
US | May 8, 2008
City Council in Bay Area Declares Bankruptcy
By JESSE McKINLEY
The unanimous vote was cast after efforts to squeeze concessions out of Vallejo City employees failed and with the city facing a $16 million shortfall for the fiscal year.
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May 8th, 2008
The Mayor is proposing budget cuts to close the gap. See the coverage below as well as his letter to City Employees.
NHI
WTNH Coverage of Mayor’s Press Conference
Governor Rell Fires Back
Here is the letter:
Dear Colleagues:
As you may know, the State Legislature closed session for the year last
night without passing a new Fiscal Year 2009 budget. Therefore, the
State will operate under the tax and spending plans in the biennial
budget approved last year. The budget the State is working with results
in a difference for New Haven of $14.7 million between what we require
in aid and what they will in fact provide. With this challenge in mind,
in order to achieve a balanced budget by July 1, we are going to need to
make some sacrifices. These are sacrifices we don’t want to have to
make. However, we will do what we must and we will do this together as
one united team.
Our goal is to make the changes we need to make to meet the budget with
as minimal an impact on our delivery of services to residents as
possible. Throughout this process it’s important to keep the best
interest of our residents as a top priority. We will not raise the mill
rate. But, because of the revaluation phase-in, homeowners will see an
increase in their property taxes. This requires us to make budget
adjustments internally. It would be irresponsible to unfairly increase
property taxes beyond what taxpayers will see from the second year of
phase-in.
At 3:30 p.m. today at City Hall, I will lead a press conference to talk
about where we plan to save money and where we hope to make some money
back. The changes we discuss today are part of a proposed framework that
we will further develop to submit to the Board of Aldermen next week. By
not honoring its self-imposed obligation to reimburse us for tax-exempt
property in the City and by eliminating funding for important
programming, the State has left us with no choice but to make
concessions in our budget to avoid a deficit.
Over the course of the next several days and weeks, you will hear about
potential changes in programming, staffing and services. I will continue
to make it a point to keep you informed about how these changes may
affect all of us. Please know that we are working to achieve the most
minimal impact on day-to-day operations within the City as possible, but
some areas will undoubtedly experience a more visible impact than
others.
Each and every one of you works hard everyday for the people of New
Haven. Your work is valued and appreciated. Please relay any questions
or concerns to your department head who will also work to make sure you
are informed about this process.
Very truly yours,
John DeStefano, Jr.
Mayor
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May 8th, 2008
The aldermen said we needed to demonstrate to them that people care about the tax issue and we turned out 100 people. They promptly canceled the meeting after it started. Why couldn’t they deliberate about the cuts they want to make, the future cuts and savings?
Here is the press coverage:
New Haven Independent
New Haven Register
Thank you to all of you who came. Please come to the rescheduled meeting and bring some friends and neighbors.
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April 29th, 2008
Here is the March 31, 2008 Monthly Financial report. It highlights the $10.6 Million shortfall for this fiscal year (2007-8). See you tonight at the final public hearing on the budget - Tuesday, 4/29/08 @ 7pm, City Hall.
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April 28th, 2008
We have heard from the BOA and City that there is nothing in the budget to reduce and that the budget represents mostly fixed costs. We also went to a recent budget panel discussion where this was also stated. So if nothing can be cut or reduced, we should be able to project taxes based on the current budget. Therefore, we looked at the recent growth in the budget and used very conservative growth/inflation projections assuming the budget will stay the same as the city said and projected the taxes. Take a look at our spreadsheet or PDF version of our projections and you decide. Send us your feedback.
Taxes are on course to rise with a mil rate of 73.24 in 2014 (six years from now). This translates into over $14,000 in taxes on a home worth $300,000 or around $400 per month for a renter of one floor in a 3-family in taxes to their landlord in a home worth $300,000.
Come to the final public hearing on the budget Tuesday, 4/29/08 at 7:00pm at City Hall.
Posted in BOA, Budget | No Comments »
April 21st, 2008
Westville Dems wanted to let you know that they’re holding a panel discussion and Q&A on the New Haven city budget on Wednesday, April 23, from 6 to 8 pm at the Courtland Wilson branch of the Public Library. Leading voices from the Board of Alderman and the Mayor’s Administration, as well as a prominent citizen advocate for fiscal responsibility, will be discussing the 2008-2009 budget and the financial challenges the city faces in the next few years.
Panelists will include:
Carl Goldfield, Ward 29 Alderman, Board President, Finance Committee
Jacqueline James, Ward 3 Alderman
Jeffrey Kerekes, Founder, New Haven Citizens’ Action Network
Jorge Perez, Ward 5 Alderman, Finance Committee
Rob Smuts, Chief Administrative Officer, City of New Haven
The panel will be moderated by Paul Bass of the New Haven Independent.
The decisions made in the next several weeks as the Board debates the budget will have an impact on our taxes and our city’s fiscal health for years to come. If you’re interested in hearing multiple perspectives about the priorities shaping the budget, please come to the discussion, and bring your questions. There will be time for Q&A during the event.
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April 6th, 2008
Finance Committee
City of New Haven
Meeting Agenda
165 Church Street
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 946-6483 (phone)
(203) 946-7476 (fax)
cityofnewhaven.com
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 6:00 PM Aldermanic Chambers
Aldermanic Notice - New Haven
The Finance Committee will hold a workshop on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 6:00 P.M, in the
Aldermanic Chambers, 165 Church St., New Haven, to hear testimony from City Departments
concerning their budget requests for FY 2008-2009. These departments are;
Registrar of Voters
Board of Education
Chapel West Special Service District
Whalley Avenue Special Service District
Town Green Special Service District
Corporation Counsel
Fair Rent Commission
Community Services Administration
Department of Public Health
Department of Elderly Services
Department of Youth Services
Economic Development Administration
Subsidies (Shubert Theater, Tweed/New Haven Airport, Grove Street Garage, Pilot Pen)
City Plan Commission
Small Business Initiative
Department of Transportation, Traffic & Parking
Commission on Equal Opportunity
Livable City Initiative
Office of Building Inspection & Enforcement
These items are filed with the City Clerk and may be inspected at Room 202, 200 Orange St.,
New Haven. Per order: Yusuf I. Shah, Chair. Attest: Ron Smith, City Clerk.
If you need a disability-related accommodation, please call three business days in advance
946-8122 (voice) or 946-8582 (TTY).
City of New Haven Page 1 Printed on 3/31/2008
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March 27th, 2008
The detailed line item forms are now available for download (6.1 MB). These detail what each department is spending money on.
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