RECAP OF HARTFORD CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS JANUARY 11, 2016

Council Review

Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, January 11, 2016

Prepared by Hartford 2000

There were 19 items on the original agenda.  No additional items were added to the agenda during the meeting.  The City’s official listing of actions taken on all items on this agenda can be found online at http://www.hartford.gov/townclerk/council-minutes .  The next regular Council meeting will be held on Monday, January 25 at 7 P.M. The next regular public hearing will be Tuesday, January 19 at 7 PM (change in day due to Martin Luther King Holiday.  All meetings are in the Council Chambers.

ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

Leibert Road – The Council passed a resolution approving the sale of City-owned vacant, wooded land at 34 and 36 Leibert Road to the CT Department of Transportation for a price of $323,000.  The CT Transit Bus Facility is located on adjacent land at 100 Leibert Road and the acquired parcels will be used to expand the surface parking lot at the facility. (Bronin) (Item #6)

Registrars of Voters – The Council postponed indefinitely an ordinance which would change the selection process for Registrars of Voters.  Currently, Registrars of Voters are elected every four years.  The ordinance provides that, beginning in 2016, the Court of Common Council would appoint a registrar for each major party, as defined by State law. Currently, the two major parties are Democrat and Republican.  Prior to such appointments, the Council would solicit applications and hold public interviews of at least 5 of the individuals who have submitted qualifying applications.  Registrars would serve four year terms beginning in January of 2017. (Wooden) (Item #10)

Appropriations – The Council postponed indefinitely an ordinance which would make three appropriations totaling $1.3 million from surplus funds generated in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2015.  The estimate of the FY15 surplus is about $7.3 million.  The three proposed appropriations are 1) $497,000 to the Police Department for purchase of Shotspotter equipment, which pinpoints the location of gunfire in real time to allow officers to respond quickly to incidents, 2) $300,000 to the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC) for implementation of the Public Safety Initiative which works with young people to introduce them to public safety careers with the goal of increasing the number of Hartford residents in such jobs, and 3) $300,000 to the Department of Families, Children, Youth & Recreation to increase the number of young people participating in the Youth Employment Program. (Segarra) (Item #11)

Council Rules – The Council postponed, to its next meeting, action on its 2016-2020 Rules.  Proposed changes to Council Rules previously in effect are limited to the establishment of Standing Committees and the schedule of their regular monthly meetings. Committees are listed below. 

·         Labor, Education, & Workforce Development: 3^rd Wednesday at 5:30 PM

·         Health & Human Services: 1^st Monday at 5:30 PM

·         Operations, Management & Budget: 3^rd Wednesday at 5:30 PM

·         Planning, Economic Development & Housing: 1^st Tuesday at 5:30 PM

·         Parks & Recreation, Environment & Public Works: 4^th Thursday at 5:30 PM

·         Quality of Life & Public Safety: 3^rd Tuesday at 5:30 PM

·         Legislative Affairs: 2^nd Wednesday at 5:30 PM

·         Committee of the Whole: 1) Prior to first Council meeting of the month (2^nd Monday, except for holidays) from 6 to 7 PM, and 2) Within 15 days of the submission by the Mayor of appointments of department heads, Chief Operating Officer, or Corporation Counsel.

(Clarke, Concepcion, Gale, Sanchez, Thames, Winch) (Item #16)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

LIST OF ALL AGENDA ITEMS

Item #

1. Director of H&HS. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Gary A. Rhule, MD/MPH as Director of the Department of Health & Human Services. (Bronin) Referred to Committee of the Whole meeting of January 19

2. Director of Development Services. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Sean M. Fitzpatrick, JD as Director of the Department of Development Services. (Bronin) Referred to Committee of the Whole meeting of January 19

3. Fire Chief. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Reginald D. Freeman as Chief of the Hartford Fire Department  (Bronin) Referred to Committee of the Whole meeting of January 21

4. 960 Main Street. Approval of an amendment to a lease with the owners of 960 Main Street for changes in occupancy by the Hartford Public Schools and extension for an additional five years. (Bronin) Passed

5. Teen Pregnancy Prevention. Authorization to enter into contracts, using $5.0 in grant funds, with 23 organizations to provide teen pregnancy prevention services. (Bronin) Passed

6. Leibert Road Sale. Approval for the City to sell land at 34 and 36 Leibert Road to the CT Dept. of Transportation for expansion of parking at the CT Transit Bus Center. (Bronin) Passed

7. M&B Director. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Melissa N. McCaw as Director of the Office of Management & Budget. (Bronin) Referred to Committee of the Whole meeting of January 19

8. Corporation Counsel. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Howard G. Rifkin, JD as Corporation Counsel (Bronin) Referred to Committee of the Whole meeting of January 21

9. TOD Grant. Approval to apply for a $2.0 million grant from the CT Office of Policy & Management for streetscape improvements along Bartholomew Avenue. (Bronin) Passed

10. Registrars of Voters. Ordinance authorizing the Council to appoint two Registrars of Voters every four years beginning Dec. 20, 2016 and setting forth a process for such appointments. (Wooden) Postponed indefinitely

11. Appropriations. Ordinance appropriating funds from the FY2015 surplus as follows: $497,000 to the Police Dept. for Shotspotter equipment, $300,000 to the Capitol Region Education Council for the Public Safety Initiative, and $300,000 to Dept. of Families, Children, Youth & Recreation for Youth Employment. (Segarra) ) Postponed indefinitely

12. Housing Practices. Ordinance amending the fair accommodation section of the Municipal Code to forbid the denying of housing to anyone by reason of “familial composition” and requiring that the City’s Fair Housing Plan promote equal housing opportunity without regard to familial composition. (MacDonald, Deutsch) ) Postponed indefinitely

13. Asst. Majority Leader. Approval of appointment of John Q. Gale as Assistant Majority Leader for a 2 year term. (Clarke, Concepcion, Gale, Sanchez, Thames, Winch) Passed

14. Majority Leader. Approval of appointment of Julio A. Concepcion as Majority Leader for a 2-year term. (Clarke, Concepcion, Gale, Sanchez, Thames, Winch) Passed

15. Chairpersons. Approval of the appointments of chairs of standing committees. (Clarke)

Labor, Education, & Workforce Development: rJo Winch

Health & Human Services: Larry Deutsch

Operations, Management & Budget: Glendowlyn Thames

Planning, Economic Development & Housing: Julio Concepcion

Parks & Recreation, Environment & Public Works: Cynthia Jennings

Quality of Life & Public Safety: T.J. Clarke and James Sanchez

Legislative Affairs: John Gale                            Postponed to January 25

16. Council Rules. Adoption of Council Rules for 2016-2020, including the establishment and scheduling of standing committees. (Clarke, Concepcion, Gale, Sanchez, Thames, Winch) Postponed to January 25

17. Minority Leader. Approval of appointment of Wildaliz Bermudez and Minority Leader for a 2-year term. (Clarke, Bermudez, Deutsch, Concepcion, Gale, Sanchez) Passed

18. City-owned Property. Establishment of a policy requiring that proposals for actions to or use of such property be preceded by public release of information, public hearings, and, under certain conditions, referendum. (Deutsch, Bermudez) Postponed to January 25

19. Black History Month. Approval to hold an event honoring Hartford’s African American residents on February 5, 2016 in the City Hall Atrium. (Winch) Passed