New Haven Citizens Action Network

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NHCAN Resident’s 2010-11 Budget Work Group

To Everyone:

On behalf of the New Haven Residents’ 2010-11 Budget Work Group, I respectfully request that you circulate this message to your neighbors, neighborhood groups, New Haven business associates, landlord, tenants, and others. The Residents’ Work Group presents an update and the last Call to Action on the city budget. The Board of Aldermen will cast its final vote on Thursday, May 27th, 7 pm in the Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall, 165 Church Street. For your use, an attachment of the Board of Aldermen’s Contact information.

Current Status of the 2010-11 Budget and the Residents Coalition’s Response

In an extraordinary demonstration of unity and support, city union members, small business members, PTO members, and other municipal workers have joined with over 1100 residents to present an array of reasonable and effective budget mitigation options for the administration and the Board of Aldermen’s consideration for the 2010-11 budget cycle.

On May 17th, the Finance Committee regrettably failed to respond to the will of the city’s citizens. It made minimal reductions, which were directed and advocated by the Mayor, and passed a budget recommendation to the full Board. This budget contained a 4% tax increase at minimum (condo owners’ tax increase is undecided), and included a huge 6 million black hole, as a placeholder (maybe to be filled by the ill-conceived parking monetization scheme) and their planning to raise the mill rate to 45.15. If the Board of Aldermen pass this budget with financially flawed amendments for 2010-11, the result will assuredly devastate the financial resources of NH homeowners, apartment dwellers, condo owners, and small businesses.

The Mayor on Channel 8 News, May 21st referred to the citizens’ appeals for fair and needed reductions in his budget proposal as- “Noise”. This is an egregious and audacious comment for the Chief Elected Official to make concerning the grave fiscal crisis that the city and those most impacted, its residents face.

Residents are justifiably questioning why the city’s government can not respond to the needs of its citizens in a fair and collaborative effort like Hartford’s City Council and many other legislative bodies across the state. In passing the city’s 2010-11 budget, Hartford’s Council rejected the Mayor’s budget proposal with a 13% tax increase and passed a budget with tough reductions and a zero tax increase to support its residents during these challenging economic times.

Throughout this year’s budget process, we are sure that you observed the city administration employ its tired, old tactics of fear mongering with threatened cuts to education, public safety, etc. The Mayor and his supporters’ most destructive ploy has attempted to pit one neighborhood, city service or agency against each other in the “We win- You loose” strategy. In 2010, city residents refuse to be intimidated by these old school, political tactics and continue to push for a budget that is by and for the people.

Call to Action

The Citizen’s Action Network requests that everyone contact ALL ALDERS and let them know you want a ZERO increase in taxes. The choice facing each Alder is – Will I support the Mayor’s budget proposal, OR Will I stand with my New Haven residents and vote against unjust, unnecessary, and destructive taxation. Afterward, the Alders who support the Mayor’s proposal may try to wiggle, spin and twist to explain why it was better to vote for the Mayor’s plan. Be sure to tell them that we don’t need excuses, we need action. The 2010-11 budget, coming before the Board of Aldermen, does little to stop the perilous financial course on which the city is headed. This course of action will place the city at grave fiscal jeopardy in 2011. NHCAN believes that many Alders know that following the same budgeting policies will continue to undermine our economic viability as a city and will inescapably crush the public trust in the process. The best solution to the city’s current fiscal crisis is a WIN/WIN Community Solution. We are all in this Together!

We wish to congratulate the many citizens who have joined this awesome Citizen Action Initiative. Know that you have made a solid contribution to the city’s finest resource- its residents. Join friends and neighbors across the city and send a resounding message to the Board of Aldermen-No Tax Increase in 2010!

Great Thanks for your Valued Support,
Susan Campion
Volunteer Member of the New Haven Citizen’s Action Network Residents’ Budget Network

We want to thank a few of the Alders for their efforts to reduce the budget. Specifically, we think that Justin Elicker deserves kudos for his proposals, questions and consistent voting. Roland Lemar also made a number of proposal which would have reduced the size of the City’s budget and made eloquent arguments for why specific reductions should take place and why they should be clearly identified. In the end, however, he did vote to not just move the budget forward, but to do so with a favorable recommendation. Migdalia Castro rose up in support of many of the proposals coming from Elicker and Lemar which we sincerely appreciated and her support is worth mentioning here. She was a good support for their proposals which ultimately did not pass. Alderwomen Castro also made a decision to not just move the budget forward, but to do so with a favorable recommendation.

Overall, we were disappointed with all of the proposals which seem to be targeting a 4% tax hike in the middle of the worst economy since the Great Depression. We think ALL of the Alders on the Finance Committee failed to respond to the over 1100 citizens calling for a ZERO tax increase. Call ALL of the Alders and let them know if you think a 4% increase in taxes is something that is acceptable to you and your family.

There is still time to change the outcome. Please contact your alderperson today!!!

(NHCAN)

Transparency. Accountability. Financial Sustainability.

Download a copy in PDF

To my neighbors and fellow citizens:

City Officials launched a rally call against a fictional boogeyman this weekend. They are doing what they do best, strategies to divide and conquer through use of fear mongering. This is a specific strategy to split the community by creating an US VERSUS THEM distraction and its what’s been used to keep the various neighborhoods in this City from working as one community. The citizens are aware of these strategies, clearly seen in recent community budget presentations by the Mayor.

From the New Haven Independent (MAR 31, 2010), the Mayor said:
“I don’t think there are cuts just to be made,” DeStefano said. If the city cuts policing, the “problems on Read Street” are going to spread into East Rock, he said.

The Mayor has been making similar arguments (threats) about neighborhood schools while doing presentations in those schools, and other such efforts to quiet the citizens concerned with a pattern of exponential tax increases. This year one alderwoman’s taxes are increasing 21% (according to a spreadsheet prepared by Management & Budget) during the worst economic climate since the Great Depression.

The Budget Director states in the NHI (MAR 26, 2010):
Rusconi expressed a similar sentiment about New Haven. “There’s a certain inertia that’s built into systems,” he said. That inertia generally allows only incremental changes from year to year.

So when citizens ask their elected leaders to consider change, they demonize them. It’s easier than listening or responding. It’s easier for them if they get you, my neighbor, to distrust me, all the while preserving the status quo. I hope you will take a few moments and think about this critically and not fall for this flagrant attempt to dismiss people out of hand.

First- NHCAN has not specifically criticized the contents of BOE’s separate budget (despite their phone calling and emailing to the contrary). In fact, the BOE budget was passed with ZERO public input in a sneaky weekend deal (see attached NHI article). Our efforts around the budget have focused on the city departments and called for a 10% reduction of current spending citywide so as not to single out any one entity.

The Mayor is clearly attempting to pit families with school-age kids against other residents, who simply say we cannot afford exponentially increasing property taxes (many of whom have kids in these same schools).

This administration refuses to take any responsibility in its reckless budget process and ignores the human side of what a 9-21% increase will mean on family incomes. Every parent with a kid in school knows there are tremendous inefficiencies in the schools such as leaving windows open all winter at Wilbur Cross, spending $175 per hour for snow removal, and building a school in West Haven when there is declining enrollment.

In fact, the City agrees that savings are to be had in the BOE without effecting educational outcomes. The Mayor suggested several in his proposed budget on page 1-5 and 1-6; Management & Budget did as well in their brainstorm on the BOE budget; and staff BOE suggestions are published on the city website. Some of the City’s BOE suggestions include: $6M in saving from outsourcing custodians; End city wide school construction program; BOE Provide List of leased PP; Sell St. Mary’s; School competition to reward schools who have the best energy performance (West Hartford achieved a 9.7% BOE reduction with a similar program).

The Mayor has called on all citizens to make suggestions. Page 1-2 of the Mayor’s proposed budget reads:

“Only ideas that are constructive in nature, that do not single out individuals or groups of individuals, but focus on the functions, services, expenses or revenues of the City of New Haven will be given serious consideration.

No idea is a bad idea. Where ideas meet the established guidelines they will be prioritized for implementation. Each idea will be assigned a category: Immediate, Short Term Goal, Long Term Goal, or Legislative Initiatives.”

Except, that when citizens actually make suggestions (we collected 316 ideas), they attempt to demonize people to pit neighbor against neighbor. They claim the sky is falling and its not their fault, but somehow its the fault of citizens who ask questions about where the money is going and whether we are getting quality results? I suppose it’s easier than listening or responding. Its like when the Mayor takes credit for crime going down, but when its back up, its someone else’s fault.

We (the community) are all in this together. It is not a time for adversarial comments from the Mayor and his staff, a We win (the administration) and You lose (the residents). Because the fiscal crisis is of great magnitude (and will be for the next several years), it demands a Community Solution- residents, Mayor, department heads, BOE and BOA. Residents deserve and demand leadership that demonstrates a willingness to respect, consider, collaborate, and if called for, compromise on solutions to protect the city’s financial future and a achieve a Win-Win for all.

Please sign the petition to cut the proposed budget by 10% and tell the mayor you are not going to succumb to his attempts to split the community: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/NewHaven/petition.html

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Kerekes
203-676-0880

References:
City Staff Budget Brainstorm
Management & Budget Brainstorm
Mayors PROPOSED Budget
Zero Public Input On BOE Budget & Weekend Deal
March 26 NHI article
March 31 NHI article

Notes & Questions

1. NHCAN is committed to improved education for all our students. Apart from the human impact, better education gets at the root of New Haven’s other budget problems — low median income with high unemployment, high crime levels and consequent needs for higher levels of social services, affordable housing, etc.. Let the schools do the job for which they have received almost everything they asked for over the past 10 years.

2. Education represents over 50% of the budget. Does anyone seriously believe there are no wasteful spending, patronage jobs for retired City employees, excessive administrators and overhead in the current budget? The Mayor himself has asked for all departments to look for ways to cut spending and has proposed an Innovation Based Budgeting to go after $8 million. This figure is entirely pulled out of thin air with no basis or analysis. Why is it unreasonable to ask all departments to look harder for 10% cost reductions?

3. While Education is the largest budget component and affects the lives of 20,000 students and their families, it also has a major impact on the wellbeing of the residents. Despite spending billions on Education for the past 10-15 years the New Haven School District still ranks in the bottom 10% of all Connecticut School Districts. How is the same team that got us here, and that refused to acknowledge that we have a problem for so long, be expected to make radical transformation and quantum improvements in Education? What has changed in the management of the Education Department?

4. Even today, after a late acknowledgment of our failure to educate, we have no detailed plan for meeting the very challenging goals set for the education system. There is no information as to how exactly school restructuring will impact teachers, students and parents, how much it will cost to achieve school management flexibility and enthusiastic cooperation from everyone affected, and how the plan will be phased in. One has only to look at other examples of successful school turnarounds to realize the detailed thinking and planning that goes into such an effort. Were we not promised that the $1.5 billion school construction program started 10 years ago would be well worth the costs? This time around we do not even have a cost estimate for this new endeavor.

5. How many more times can the Administration try this triangulation strategy of setting community groups against each other so as to avoid making tough decisions? Last year closing senior centers ($30,000 “savings”) and library hours became the focus of community discussion in a $600 million plus budget. This is the “close the Post Office” defense against attempts to hold the administration accountable.

6. The Administration promised no tax increases last year and before, even as it engaged in financial engineering to balance the budget — off-budget debt for the Trash facility, sales of assets, etc. The City went to Court to avoid providing the public with more than a one-year-at-a-time budget. Today the City still refuses to provide more than a one year projection into future costs even as it tells us that pensions, medical benefits and other compensation are growing well above inflation rates and proposed to sell the City’s parking revenue stream for short term purposes. What will we have to sell next year? When will we get a projection of known cost increases for pensions, benefits, etc., that are already baked into the contract cake?

7. It is an insult to the intellect of the voters to engage in such diversionary and us versus them tactics. NHCAN is all for effective spending on Education with accountability and performance based budgeting. It dodges intelligent debate to request citizen input and then attempt to use good faith inputs from groups such as ours to demonize those offering inputs.