You can follow the Tweed debate on the New Haven Independent.
Archive for the ‘Tweed Airport’ Category
Follow the Tweed Debate
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Please Contact Your Alder About Tweed
Friday, February 13th, 2009There’s been a healthy debate in the city in recent weeks over the funding of the Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport. The Airport Authority recently requested a $160,000 mid-year appropriation that would restore 2/3 of the dollars cut from the subsidy from the current budget. The threat is that, if the Authority fails, the city will have to run the airport itself, possibly at greater expense than the Authority does.
NHCAN recognizes the value of the airport for the region, but we do not feel that it is being run effectively. We have two suggestions:
- All city and state elected officials in New Haven should work together to get true regional or state support for the airport. Currently, New Haven bears the majority of the costs, with help from the state. This should be an urgent priority for everyone who represents the citizens of New Haven.
- The Airport Authority should cut costs and raise its general aviation fees to make up most or all of its operating deficit. There are clear opportunities to do so, but they are not being seized.
If you share our view, we ask that you contact your alderperson about Tweed. The Board will vote on the mid-year appropriation at their February 17, 2009 meeting.
For a concise summary of both sides of the recent debate on Tweed, click here to download a one-page PDF.
LETTER: In city’s fiscal squeeze, subsidies unwarranted
Monday, November 3rd, 2008See this NHR Letter LETTER: In city’s fiscal squeeze, subsidies unwarranted
Monday, November 3, 2008 3:15 AM EST
In her letter objecting to my suggestion that the city should not have given the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament a subsidy, Anne Worcester, the tournament director, notes that it provides significant benefits to the city. Yes, the tournament attracts a large number of visitors — some 81,000 this year. And, the tournament provides affordable tennis lessons to many young people.
But, why should the city’s hard-pressed taxpayers provide a subsidy to a tournament that has many corporate sponsors, receives revenues from television and pays out $1.28 million in prize money?
The city is confronted with a very difficult fiscal situation. Despite an 11 percent increase in property tax revenues, the city entered the current fiscal year with a $6 million deficit. Thirty-four long-time employees were laid off in September. Many other positions have been eliminated through attrition. Funding for the police was cut by $227,000. Funding for homeless shelters was cut by $384,000.
Nevertheless, the city gave Pilot Pen $135,000. It also gave the Shubert theater $260,000, the Grove Street garage $290,000 and Tweed New Haven Regional Airport $550,000. How many people could have kept their jobs if the city hadn’t given those subsidies? How many homeless people could have been provided shelter this winter?
David R. Cameron
New Haven
Editor’s note: David R. Cameron is a professor of political science at Yale University and a member of the city’s Blue Ribbon Budget Review Panel.
Mayor On Financial Problems
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008Although this letter from the Mayor focuses on the national financial mess, New Haven’s financial problems have been years in the making. This was coming to a head without the latest national pressures. What is happening, is now, these issues can no longer be managed with one time revenue infusions from selling City assets, or other financial engineering. We have written elsewhere, and provided testimony, that the budget is mostly personnel related. That is why the Mayor’s letter focuses on union renegotiations. Tweed, Shubert, the trolley to nowhere, and other major ticket items still pale in comparison to the major driver – personnel cost. This is simply a fact of the city budget. The fact that the city employees and the citizens still do not understand this is a failure of leadership on this issue. We need transparent government, multi-year financial projections to make sound decisions, and accountability at all levels of city government and city spending if we want to start digging our way slowly out of this hole. I am hopeful that the current administration will take the necessary steps to greater transparency, community involvement, and encourage honest and rigorous discourse on the financial state of this City so we can begin coming together to right this ship. Have some ideas? Send them our way.
Trolley Closed
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008See the WTNH announcement about the trolley to nowhere closing down. This trolley cost about $350,000 per year with little to no ridership. NHCAN suggested this as a place to cut in order to save money and avoid other, more painful cuts. It looks like the city is listening. They also made, or tried to make a number of other suggestions NHCAN made:
proposed elimination of fair rent commission
tweed subsidy cuts two years in a row
shubert subsidy cuts
renegotiations with the unions
Grove Street Parking Subsidy cuts
Citizen input in the budget = Blue Ribbon Commission On The Budget
Jeffrey Kerekes Appointed to the Financial Review And Audit Commission
Small Business Initiative cuts.
New Budget Released
Wednesday, May 14th, 2008The 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.
New Budget Expected Today
Friday, February 29th, 2008The new budget document is expected out today. You can read coverage about the Mayor’s presentation last night at the NHI and NHR. Here are stories worth reading.
NPR: What Happens When City Hall Goes Bankrupt?
NHI: Mayor Proposes $466M Budget
NHR: Mayor proposes 4.6% boost in spending
NHI: Mayor’s Office Upgrades
NHI: Budget Watchdogs Release Plan
NHI: Stetson Library (Funding Restored, but interesting debate)
NHI: Tweed Peace Plan
Time to Unload Subsidies
Sunday, February 24th, 2008We have a $17 Million shortfall this current fiscal year alone.
The below subsidies are rather small and dropping them should have minimal impact as the table clearly illustrates. Why do we need to subsidize the airport for $12.58 per flight? We can keep the airport, end the controversy among residents for $12.58 per flight. Compare $12.58 per flight with $6.03/rider of the trolley. From a subsidy standpoint, we would be better off flying people around then sending them by trolley. More seriously, the trolley is “free” to riders and only 9 people per hour? It looks like even when you give this service away, people are not interested. If it provides a service for those who are unable to walk, we could give them cab vouchers at a considerable cost savings.
| Subsidy | Amount | Tickets/Passengers/Flights | Cost Per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tweed New Haven | $800,000 | 176 Flights/day | $12.58/flight |
| Shubert Theater | $410,000 | 93,000 Patrons | $4.10/person |
| Pilot Pen | $135,000 | 94,639 in 2007 | $1.43/Person |
| Downtown Trolley | $350,000 | 58,000 (9 People per hour) | $6.03/person |
2008-9 Budget Recommendations
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008(NHCAN) is pleased to announce the budget recommendations for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year. We have prepared a list of recommendations including the ending of unsustainable subsidies, to the reorganization of departments, to the transformation of the budget document itself. Below you will find the link to the full document (2.3 MB), as well as, shorter versions of the document. We recognize that some of these recommendations may be impractical or even naïve. We invite you to consider these in the spirit in which it is offered and to offer superior alternatives for the general good. We look forward to continuing this discussion.
2008-2009 Budget Public Comments(2.3 MB)
Executive Summary Only (414 KB)
Full Document Without the Appendices (1.4 MB)
Appendices Only (2.0 MB)
