See the NHR article in todays paper
See the Op-Ed from yesterday’s paper on the BOE

FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS to vote on Mayors PROPOSED Budget Tuesday, May 18, 7pm City Hall.
Shah (Chair), Clark (Vice-Chair), Perez, Goldfield, Jackson-Brooks, Castro, Lemar, Morehead, Elicker, Bauer, O’Sullivan-Best

See how they voted in past budget cycles

PHOTO	WARD	NAME	ADDRESS	ZIP CODE	PHONE
	4-D	Andrea Jackson-Brooks Ward4@newhavenct.net	102 DeWitt Street	06519-2131	H:203-776-0502
	5-D	Jorge Perez Ward5@newhavenct.net	24 Cassius Street	06519-2313	H:203-562-4373
	7-D	Frances T. Clark Ward7@newhavenct.net	320 Audobon Court	06511-1203	H:203-772-4455
	9-D	Roland Lemar Ward9@newhavenct.net	6 Eld Street	06511	H:203-507-7869
	10-D	Justin Elicker Ward10@newhavenct.net	192 Willow Street	06511-2531	H:203-500-2969
	11-I	Maureen O’Sullivan-Best Ward11@newhavenct.net	54 Foxon Street	06513-2320	H:203-467-9783
	14-D	Stephanie Bauer Ward14@newhavenct.net	55 East Pearl Street	06513-4309	H:203-785-0065
	16-D	Migdalia Castro Ward16@newhavenct.net	203 Saltonstall Avenue-Court Cottage	06513-4250	H:203-777-6835
	22-D	Greg Morehead Ward22@newhavenct.net Ward22 website	13 Frances Hunter Drive	06511-3604	H:203-507-7766
	23-D	Yusuf I. Shah Ward23@newhavenct.net	59 Gilbert Avenue	06511-5331	H:203-507-7679
	29-D	Carl Goldfield Ward29@newhavenct.net	25 Roydon Road	06511-2806	H:203-782-2064 W:203-787-9222

City Hall, 165 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06511

The undersigned residents and taxpayers of New Haven wish to register our opposition to Mayor DeStefano’s proposed 2010-2011 budget. The $670,448,590 proposal is a large one and calls for a city-wide 9–11% tax increase, regardless of taxpayers’ ability to carry this burden. This is unacceptable.

We agree with the Mayor that these times are not normal. We disagree emphatically, however, with the Mayor’s proposed responses to these events. The Mayor’s proposal does little to attack the real problem, which is rapidly escalating costs, well beyond the rate of inflation. We refuse to be deflected from this focus.

In normal times, those who want work can generally find it. In normal times, wages and salaries increase, real estate values rise, the stock market expands – and we can support tax increases. But these are not normal times. In households throughout New Haven, families are re-learning how to “do without”. In New Haven’s businesses, and in our churches, colleges, and universities, responsible officials are finding ways to cut costs – not to control their growth, but to cut them. We affirm that, in these decidedly not normal times, New Haven’s city government must do the same. As City Alders, you have the authority to demand changes in the proposed budget and not simply accept it with minor changes As those who voted you into office, we deserve your protection and support.

We urge you to request that every department head identify ways to cut their actual expenses– not their proposals, but their current budgets – by 10% and to submit such reductions in a revised budget proposal. These are competent professionals who know how best to do this. They alone know how the dollar is spent and which activities provide the least value.

As an outside group we cannot presume to dictate where those cuts must be. We are confident, however, that competent professionals in every department know best how to cut 10% from their expenses with the least pain to New Haven’s quality of life and critical City services. Let them use furloughs, freeze hiring, wages and salaries, health care benefits, or simply turn the lights off earlier. Let them identify the ways to achieve the 10% reduction. We expect that some services will be sacrificed, and we are reluctantly ready to deal with that. We are not ready for yet another tax increase.

We know that what we propose is difficult. But these are not normal times. We urge you to send the Mayor’s proposal back and demand accountability from each and every department throughout this city. We love this city. We want this city to remain a great place to live for all.

To sign our petition to cut 10% of the budget: http://www.petitiononline.com/NewHaven/petition.html

Or if you want to print out the petition and help gather signatures. Return it to Jeffrey Kerekes, 43 Lyon Street, New Haven, CT 06511 203-676-0880

PSEG is holding a public information meeting to present their plan to install and operate a 129.6 – 145.5 megawatt peaking plant at the Harbor Station power plant, located on New Haven’s east shore at 1 Waterfront Street.

Public Information Hearing on the expansion of Harbor Station
August 4, 2009
7PM
Annex YMA Club, 554 Woodward Avenue

Background:

In 2003, the Department of Environmental Protection turned down an application to install a “peaking plant” at the English Station site. The DEP found that:

1. New Haven’s air quality was poor (it is still rated “F” for failing),
2. that local power production was high, allowing producers to export to Long Island and SE Connecticut,
3. that this meant that local residents bore the environmental impact for power consumed by other communities,
4. that exported power was inefficient due to losses during transmission.

In denying the permit for a “peaker plant”, DEP Commissioner Arthur Rocque, supported the claims of the environmental justice community that residents of the City of New Haven bore a disproportionate impact, and that proposals for power production expansion needed to investigate sites closer to demand.

The environmental justice community has also sought ways the encourage the installation of cleaner and more efficient equipment at Harbor Station. With this goal, the consensus of many groups has been to allow expansion only if it resulted in a net improvement in air quality. This is a tall order, due to the city’s worsening air quality from increased vehicle emissions and increased pollution carried here from New York and Mid Western power plants.

It’s important to come to this meeting to learn details of the proposal and speak about your concerns.

Anstress Farwell, President
New Haven Urban Design League
129 Church Street Suite 419
New Haven, CT 06510
203 624 0175 t
urbandesignleague@att.net

Read this article from the New Haven Register.

Background about the story from the New Haven Independent here, here, and here.

If someone is innocent, then they should continue in their job. The possibility of false accusations is a terrible reality for any police officer. That is why we have a judicial system, of which the police are an integral part. If this person is guilty, he should be fired and not given special treatment — which is all too common in New Haven (CJ Cuticello and Billy White). Check out this outrageous practice in Long Isand.

Contact the Board and tell them we want this to stop!

RETIREMENT BOARD – POLICE AND FIRE FUND

• Bishop Theodore L. Brooks, 271 Stevenson Road, New Haven, CT 06515 203-387-3899
• Wendy Mongillo, 12 Oliver Road, New Haven, CT 06515 (203) 387-7948
• Richard Epstein, 59 McKinley Avenue, New Haven, CT 06515 Home Phone: 203-397-2299, Cell Phone: 203-982-4838, email
• John DeStefano, Jr., Ex-Officio Representative, 150 Judwin Ave, New Haven, CT 06515 203-946-7660, email