In letters sent to Hartford's union leaders, Mayor Pedro Segarra is calling for Hartford's unions to once again give back. The letters were sent to Hartford's bargaining units last week.
Mayor Segarra's letters requested meetings with the various unions to discuss concessions that will also include insurance plan options and changes. Segarra stated that "we must all be part of the solution to bridge our current budget gap". Segarra also referred to Hartford's budget situation as "grim". The Mayor also states that "we once again have to contend with a significant budget deficit, this time one of $7.1 million".
This potentially could be a tough sell for Mayor Segarra after the way concessions were handled by the previous administration. Under former Mayor Perez, several bargaining units found it offensive that they were giving back concessions at the same time that Perez was giving other staffers, including his former Chief of Staff, tens of thousands of dollars in "ESI" bonuses. Several union members I spoke with felt that the bonuses were paid on their backs after they gave their concessions.
Although the concessions may be necessary, there still seems to be plenty of waste in Hartford spending. Areas that Mayor Segarra may want to look at seem pretty obvious and many have been posted here before.
Travel paid for by the city is still an issue. How do we ask city employees to give back while many inside City Hall are still travelling on the taxpayers dime? Take home city vehicles are still a big waste of city funds. A prime example can be seen in the Public Works Department.
After his arrest a few years ago, DPW Supervisor Gennaro Sepulveda had his drivers license suspended for DUI charges. At the time, Hartford's Human Resources Director stated that a drivers license and the need to drive was not necessary for Sepulveda to do his job. Even though a vehicle and license wasn't necessary for Sepulveda, he has once again been given a "take home" city vehicle. Sepulveda does not live in Hartford and commutes to the suburbs in his city vehicle every day.
Another example is one that several people have called complaining about. After Mayor Segarra appointed Sandy Kee-Borges as Corporation Counsel, a decision was made to move the Corporation Counsel's Office from the third floor of City Hall, to the second floor along side the Mayor's Office. The space is currently being renovated for the move. On this one I tend to side with the callers. It is money being spent for renovations that doesn't need to be spent. No dollar amount estimate is available for the renovations at this time.
In this time of electronic communications. it seems to be a waste of time and money. It might be a "nice thing" to have the Mayor and Corporation Counsel close by, the way it used to be, but we can hardly afford frivolous renovations while we may once again be talking about laying employees off.
The millions of dollars being spent on ridiculous appeals needs to also end. Some of them have been outlined here such as the Murtha case, the Secore case, FOI appeals, the Nolan case, and that's only the beginning. In all of these cases, except Nolan, either the Labor Board or Superior Court Judges have already ruled against the City, yet we continue to appeal. And I am pretty confident that the Labor Board decision in the Nolan case will not be favorable to Hartford. In fact, the evidence presented during the hearings for Nolan will most likely open the door for even more losses for Hartford if they refuse to use common sense.
The Union's are only a small part of the solution, leadership at City Hall needs to close the checkbook and control spending except for essential purchases.
