I seriously have to ask myself that after I saw Councilwoman Rjo Winch's Facebook page earlier today. Apparently Winch is trying to use Facebook to derail Mayor Luke Bronin's efforts to establish the Financial Sustainability Board to deal with Hartford's finances.
According to Winch's posting on Facebook "Tell Mayor Bronin and Senator John Fonfara the residents of the city of Hartford have already elected their Financial Sustainability Commission to keep checks and balances. THEY ARE CALLED THE CITY COUNCIL. Don't let them cancel your vote by using this State take over legislation. Don't be fooled if this passes the council will have no financial powers."
Does she forget that she was Council President during possibly the most corrupt period in Hartford's recent political history? Does she forget she blindly supported Mayor Eddie Perez as he led his corrupt administration to a Grand Jury investigation? Does she forget she was on that same City Council as they watched Hartford's tax rate grow from about 32mils when Eddie Perez took office to the 78 mils we see today? And I am suddenly supposed to trust her and her control over our "financial powers"? I think not.
And we are supposed to just trust her that she has the skills to now get it right suddenly. I am a trusting person, but I am not a fool. This is the same Council person that put in a receipt to get reimbursed for a package of sunflower seeds she bought in an airport on one of her many political junkets, paid for by the taxpayers of Hartford.
Forgive me Councilwoman Winch, but I am not running for the phone to call anyone, because I remember history and I have no confidence in your financial skills. Oh, and by the way, what is your solution to correct this mess. Lets hear these ideas to fix our budget problems.
I am anxiously awaiting your solutions.
I can't believe the voters of Hartford even considered re-electing her after her dismal performance the first time around. You are right though, I wouldn't trust her with anything financial or for that matter making any decisions of behalf of Hartford.
ReplyDeleteGet rid of the City Council... Let the Mayor and his designees make all the decisions, make the Mayoral term two years (just in case their terrible we can get rid of them), bring back a city manager, send the non-profits and churches a tax bill, the list goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteI agree and approve this message!
DeleteNot only the mill rate doubled thanks to rJo Winch, but she was responsible for the assessment of businesses property tax, increasing their aleeady high taxes even higher, much higher.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I trust RJo Winch is in chasing every microphone and TV video camera around. Nothing else!
ReplyDeleteKevin, there are no remedies that the Councilperson can think of because she has no clue as you have mentioned. Yet, she was on the endorsed Democratic ticket because someone needed to carry the Northend on election day. The Board of Education and the city of Hartford are sinking ships. It will take more than a miracle to save them. Oversight is absolutely needed.
ReplyDeleteShe is paraphrasing what J. Stan McCauley said at the public comment session on Monday night, which he also published on Facebook as an open letter to city council. Only she left out the best part of what he said. He said if the council cannot do the work that they were elected to do--that they said they were hungry to do, while campaigning--then they should do the honorable thing and resign. And he also mentioned that five of them sitting up there were people he had voted for, had high hopes for, and that he is now disappointed. Is it possible that she is among the five, hmm?
ReplyDeleteWas this Councilperson on the Democratic ticket? "Yes" Why? "N/A" What area of the city dose the Councilperson represent? "Northend" You have won the city hall jackpot!
ReplyDeleteIn theory Councilpeople represent the entire City, there is no district representation
ReplyDelete9:51 PM,
ReplyDeleteI doubt that anyone needed to count on her to carry anything, especially after her failed run for State Rep against Doug McCrory. If we want real leadership from the Northend, we should be looking at mentoring future leaders like Pastor AJ Johnson and others that prove their worth to their community every day through their selfless actions, not by what is in it for them.
rJo - meet d2.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I can't fathom why Bro in dredged up rJo from the past. Didn't he do a little homework on her? People don't change over time. She is untruthful, corrupt. She is a back-stabber. Luke probably had pressure on him to include a "person of color from the past." He should have chosen a person of color from the graduating law class from Uconn. The worst thing was to dredge up old stank.
Sorry rJo, but you are old stank.
Kevin, no, no pastors. They are often the stumbling block to progress. They hide behind Sweet Baby Jesus while yapping about more government handouts. I have said this for years. The regression in any community and lack of socio-economic progress is directly related to babies having babies. Babies having babies = insufficient education. Poor nutrition, break- up of family structure. Next generation babies having more babies. Lack of family planning. Test scores never rise because a child cannot be taught constructive living skills and a desire to learn when the mother is a baby herself.
ReplyDeleteHow the heck did I get on that topic. Oh right, rJo, LOL, YO.
11:11pm
ReplyDeleteI get what you are saying, but I don't think you have ever met AJ Johnson, you might think differently after meeting him
Don't let them cancel your vote by using this State take over legislation. Don't be fooled if this passes the council will have no financial powers.
ReplyDelete------------------------------
It is true that the vote is the only mechanism of accountability available to the taxpaying citizens of our fair City. But, what if the electorate knows not its elbow from shine-ola? And, what if our elected elite is actually not the sharpest bulb in the drawer. Self-government is to be preferred, all other things being equal, but if the passengers aboard the Titanic had been allowed to vote for Captain it would have been of little consolation as the ship went down. I would have preferred the Judge, but at least Bronin is making us face our fiscal mess in ways our first two Very Strong Mayors were too cowardly or dishonest to do.
Kevin, I agree that rJo is bad fruit. She showed poor leadership skills to say the least. But who put her there, pray tell? Same situation when discussing Adam Cloud. You don't feel there is any culpability with him writing more than Half million dollar check of tax payor's money as the recipient takes the money and sends it to Napal. And who is to blame there? The one who wrote the damn check, that's who.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of creating a situation comedy about a mythical town where everyone is corrupt and fights over every crumb. A cross between Sanford and Son and The Andy Griffith show of Mayberry where everyone is truly nuts and shows it. Kevin, you may be Goner Pile.
"Gomer"
ReplyDeleteThe legislation offered by Mayor Bronin will never pass. I talked to 2 leadership democrats and both of them told me that it will be DOA right after it gets out of the Finance Committee. They both suggested that Bronin send up a real oversight legislation that is INDEPENDANT or file for Bankruptcy.
ReplyDelete"In theory Councilpeople represent the entire City, there is no district representation." That's the problem. The council for a while has been far more interested in politicking than leadership. The council version of leadership is about resolutions that support Tibet, condemn Ferguson, or other matters that they have no business discussing.
ReplyDeleteWhat the city needs is a professional business operations manager who can run the business of the city first and let the mayor and council squabble over any remaining funds for political purposes. Secondly, all successful organizations with unions have union leadership sharing decision-making. When things go well they go well for everyone and when they don't everyone shares the hardship. So, not only does the city need professional managers, but the union leaders need to adjust as well.This takes a long time to build trust and change the failed paradigm of the current organizational struggles, however why should the city struggle due to their own decision-making? Isn't it time to come up with the best way to manage the city and not to continue with different people in the same organizational roles?
John at 5:59 AM:
DeleteI'm glad you wrote that "Councilpeople represnt the entire City, IN THEORY."
In THEORY only, cause the REALITY is they represent themselves and the people around them only.
Not a fan of rJo but have to separate message from messenger. This is what you elect people to do and to abdicate your responsibility before you even try is easy way out. AND if you do abdicate at least let the state take you over, not some sham hartford politicians, including the guy who took pride in his "initiatives" of pushing debt into future and the future is now. With a $20 million price tag. THAT not the city workers is the real issue.
ReplyDeleteThis Sustainable committee has been in the works for 3-plus years. Malloy wants to run Hartford (despite being unable to run the state). Bronin is Malloy's puppet, and they had this planned out a long time ago. He hasn't even tried his own budget yet, and he is running to the state for help? Because he is not even trying.
ReplyDeleteExactly
Delete9:07am
ReplyDeleteAnd what would the motivation or benefit to the Governor be?
Praising aj Johnson for what he's here for the money also your church and neighborhood looks like crap on Barbour st but lives in a nice condo him and his wife Melinda who just popped up a new nonprofit to suck Hartford dry
ReplyDeleteAj johnson the pastor crook from Barbour st with the ugly church and neighborhood but his wife is beautiful did he take the churches money and marry her in Italy and she just popped up another non-profit and he lives downtown like the mayor but not helping the community that is infected by drugs gangs I hope he never runs anything.
ReplyDeletewhat would the motivation or benefit to the Governor be?
ReplyDelete------------------------------------
The State is pouring good money in after bad here in Hartford, but also in Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury... As a progressive Dem pol he can't come out for cutting the budget, let alone come out for tighter controls on union negotiations (that the State imposes on the cities). He has run the State into the ground. If he can get Bronin to ask for help, his posterior will have some cover as he is forced to reduce transfers to all cities. Fortunately for us, his election depends on the urban vote. The hospitals aren't so lucky; he feels he can just stiff them.
The City is already run by the State. The schools are State. The unions and the rules for negotiating with them are State. The reason our cities are crumby is State.
I guess I can still learn something new everyday. What is the non-profit?
ReplyDeleteThe stupidity of this state and city never ceases to amaze me. Lets just admit that the Dems. in charge of this state and city want Connecticut to resemble a third world banana republic. Why else would they welcome flocks of needy, dependent people to every city in the state and then pay liberal and extensive benefits to them? Face it the Dems. are farmers and their crop is poor people. These insane liberals have no problem trading the future you of your family for votes from the inner cities. The Dems. steal from honest working folks and give the money to people who do not share the cultural norms of this once great country. The USA has become a country of beggars with excuses for everything, usually blaming white racism, for every issue in their lives. Soon, I'm moving to a free state, a couple still exist. I will never invest a cent in Connecticut again.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with the state taking overHartford. Let's just get it over with. File Chapter 11. And move it forward. Then we don't need to listen to .... rJo Winch or Cynthia Jennings ( a portion of this comment has been deleted by the moderator)
ReplyDeleteFrick it. File bankruptcy. That will shut Miss Stank up.
ReplyDeleteFiling for bankruptcy is most likely the best solution for Hartford. Just do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 3:28 completely. The new councilperson who is on Jennings team is clueless. Hartford is already a Sanctuary. A city that has always welcomed immigrants. Yet, she wants Hartford to be called a Sanctuary City. She has no clue.
ReplyDeleteKevin, there you go again,deleting the pending crises on Brookfield St with the street bumps. Please just answer one question. What won't you discuss this problem that could be one a major liability issue for the city? We little people want to know.
ReplyDeleteKevin, a mia culpa. You did publish the Brookfield issue on the fireman's blog. My apologies.
ReplyDeleteApology accepted
ReplyDeleteIt is the mayor and not the city council that negotiates contracts which bind the city, for good or ill. Apparently the mayor has asked unions to reopen pending deals, struck with Luke's predecessors. Like so many things done in the past ten or fifteen years, they are not the best deal for the city.
ReplyDeleteOnly the state, by special act, can give the city the authority to reopen collective bargaining agreements and, once given, it is the administration and not our legislative body that has the responsibility to collectively bargain.
I don't think the mayor is seeking the legislative grant because he lacks confidence in the newly elected city government to address the horrible hand we have been dealt by year's of improvident decisions. I also understand someone who believes the make up of the board could be enhanced by broadening its membership beyond that proposed which can certainly be viewed as very "mayor centric."
In the past, such boards were created to rescue cities that were run by individuals who had demonstrate they were not up to the challenge presented to their municipality. The current Hartford elected leadership is virtually all new and overwhelmingly competent. God knows, I have some clear differences of opinion from each of them on a variety of subjects. But I don't question their competence.
What these leaders need is an essential tool: the ability to get the "do over" which every golfer who has dubbed a shot covets. I read the legislation and believe its primary function is directed towards reopening contract negotiations. It also has safeguards that allows the panel that will bear the brunt of the criticism if things don't start turning around, to hold back certain expenditures it dreams beyond our means and in defiance of the fiscal reality that brings us to the brink of bankruptcy.
If you want to see a real takeover, take a hard look at how a bankruptcy operates.
Business as usual brought us to the precipice. We need a chance to makeover some of the worst decisions of those who came before.
Please don't let turf wars keep us from working together to keep our city from tumbling off the edge.
There are sections in this proposed legislation that were not included in the Waterbury statue. Specifically the section on retirees who were members of a bargaining unit. This current legislation as written requires a committee to be formed by retirees to bargain with the commission. If they can't reach in agreement, the commission is the final arbiter. The over-site panel in Waterbury only dealt with current employees. The mayor, according to the President of Local 760 has never approached the union. Their current contract expires June 30th of this year. The successor agreement, as far as I know, was never approved or never was sent to the former council. The sum effect of this legislation is to create a separate collective bargaining law for the City of Hartford, where the city would have all the power. Why is Mayor Bronin so reluctant to ask for state oversite? Is this legislation political cover for when he finally decides to ask for state intervention? As a retiree I would rather take a chance with a federal judge in bankruptcy court, where as a group we would be represented by counsel, rather than submit to the will of this sham commission.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a member of an affected bargaining unit , I would rather sit across the table from a panel locally controlled than from a panel wi h many more people outside the traditional governmental system. A mayor must be sensitive to the city employees and retirees or face their ire in the next election. A number of years ago, we had meaningful collective bargaining and compromise and good judgment prevailed. People just selected Luke as their mayor-despite my best efforts to convince them otherwise. But if I was in his chair ( and I must confess that I have moments when I applaud the outcome) I would be pursuing a similar path, but probably with a few more outside participants.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bob: I think you have been sitting in the ratified air of a judge to long. The MERF plan, last time I checked, was funded at about 74%. What about the State pension fund that you retired from ? Unfunded. Since the state itself is in dire financial condition, I propose we create an out of state over site commission. Co chaired by Governor Scott Walker and John Kasich. They will have complete authority to change any benefits that state retirees have. Your pension -reduced, your automatic cola-which by the way members of MERF don't have-gone. Let's see, how about your medical insurance-gone -you will have to pay your share. We can't stop there. All of Governor Malloy's appointees to Commissioners,who were former state legislatures, can't have their pensions readjusted to reflect their new $150,000.00 plus salaries-it will have to figured on their salary as legislatures- on second thought-no pensions. You know that medical insurance for anybody in the legislature who serves 10 years-gone. I never remember you objecting to any of these perks when you were an active judge. Incidentally-all your benefits were piggy backed off of union contracts.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteAren't you supposed to be on vacation? I guess your love for Hartford doesn't take a break.
As our Governor likes saying , "election's have consequences" One of those consequences, as we are seeing now, is actually being called upon to make difficult decisions.
The trust factor is also important between all involved as we move forward. To be taken seriously ones word and keeping to promises made is critical
Where is Pedro Maria Caviar to comment on Bronin's statement that Hartford financial boat is sinking?
ReplyDeleteYo Pedro, say something, anything!
10:03am
ReplyDeleteAt least we know Bob's thoughts because he has the integrity to sign his name with them rather than anonymously. And after 30 years restoring order to the Probate Court and dealing with difficult issues, I think he earned that pension.
10:14am
ReplyDeleteWhat can he say, he was a disaster. Do you really think anyone would listen or even care what he has to say? Even "I'm sorry" would mean very little at this point
The probate judges pension fund is 100% funded.We have to come up with a plan that allows us to.meet all our obligations. That entails a careful analysis of all the obligations we have taken on from pensions to numbers of employees to.salaries for part time elected officials with overly generous benefits to how much we to run our parking lot to what.kind of cars we buy and how they are used. Could we generate income by having our firefighters also take on an emt/ambulance function. The review should encompass every expenditure and whether it Fitz in with our fiscal a bit to.pay but also whether it reflects our values as a city. The fact that we have failed to.properlg fund our pensions, decisions made by elected officials, most of whom were supported by labor, are precisely why we gave to look at these contracts if we are going to be able to.kerp our sacred commitments in the future. Delaying full retirement compensation and full medical benefits may be crucial to avoiding layoffs now as well as a bankruptcy that will be entitled to act with a meat cleaver and not a scalpel.
ReplyDeleteHFD responds to everything already. Maybe they let the ambulance respond to medical specific calls and we trim the vehicles and HFD staff.
DeleteMr. Killan: I am curious what is your position on binding arbitration. The arguments used by you and Mayor Bronin were the same arguments used by municipalities in opposing binding arbitration-loss of local control. I don't have to imagine sitting across from a locally controlled panel- I lived it. I was there when the city hired expensive politically connected law firms at the cost in excess of $ 300,000.00 to represent them at the bargaining table. After being told no and threatened with loss of our benefits we opted for an impartial panel. We won issues and we lost issues, but came away with the feeling we had a fair, impartial hearing. To answer your questions of a local panel deciding my fate, I much rather deal with anything but a stacked deck. What I find hypocritical is a Mayor asking for local control for collective bargaining with city employees and regional sharing when it comes to income. Guess what? You can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteI support binding arbitration. I also believe an arbitration process must be an honest negotiation and that a public bargaining unit must engage in them with a sense of fairness toward the stockholders, that is the taxpayer. I believe alone among the state pension plans (there are several) the probate judges are fully funded because, historically, we had to fund our system on a fnancially sound basis: we adjusted the state's contribution and the members contribution based on an annual actuarial contribution. But we have also struggled with benefits and our benefits, which are paid as an annual expense are set by the comptroller. Our system has benefited from recent stat benefits changes, recently negotiated by the state and unions, which has reduced overall costs but still not to a sustainable level. I'm sure all state employees and retirees will get affected by additional changes. I hope they will be fair, but I know they are necessary. Our minimum retirement age as a judge is 62, but with a reduced benefit. With 10 years service, the vesting requirement, a probate judge would receive 20% of best three years with each additional year accruing at another 2%. I treasure my 31 years. We do not get bought out for unused vacation or sick time. Probate employees are severely limited on how much leave or sick time hey can accumulate.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, employees do not have a union. They are in court now seeking the right to organize. There are 54 judges. I was one of three who supports the employees.
My point about preferring local control? The right to upset an agreement with legislative approval to create an oversight panel is, like it or not, part of our state schema for collective bargaining . Bankruptcy is the federal escape hatch. Municipalities are severely restricted in how they can raise revenues. But their propensity to spend like drunken sailors ( my apologies to all drunken sailors) is well known and locally observable. Where were unions cautioning when we came up with the stadium plan? Or Dillon Stadium? The damage has been done, and now our bright young mayor has to get us out of the hole. He has to have the tools to do so.
Arbitration which is fair is what mayor Bronin wants to avoid at all costs. All of the major union contracts expire June 31. 2016 with no further agreements in place. So their is no reason why he cannot let them expire and then either negotiate in good faith or go to arbitration. Instead of trying to rig the outcome he and his staff should be busy doing what they were elected to do . Which is follow the established rules and negotiate. It isn't the unions jobs to caution about a stadium deal that they have no say over or knowledge of the deals. Judge you are as much of a fraud as the mayor. You want to blame the unions for the ballpark and Dillon stadium, but the useless treasurer get's a pass. None of the union leaders O.K.'d or wrote any of the checks for these deals. It's funny how we are supposedly about to go belly up yet the Mayor was able to find 5 million dollars for the people who donated over 100,000 dollars to his campaign.
ReplyDeleteIf the unions are to be held responsible for deals like the stadiums then they should be given decision making powers across the board. All of the departments are far more responsible with money than the treasurer is. Kevin no matter how you and the once honorable judge try to pass blame off on the unions the city and most of all the treasurer are the most responsible. If the treasurer isn't held responsible why not save money and let the council majority leader write the checks. Then maybe we will have some accountability.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Unions can just be given a free pass based solely upon their vow of silence. If they expect to take a leadership role based solely on their Union status, they also need to be vocal about their concerns and not just sit back and wait until disaster strikes. The unions (trade Unions) had no trouble flexing and helping push the previous administration into the disastrous decision for the Stadium. Will the short term construction jobs created by that project now outweigh the lay-offs and loss of jobs by the budget mess it created? And look at the great job done by the Council and City Hall on the budget over the years, sure now let's give them control over a billion dollar pension fund, that would be gone in no time. And "once honorable judge" as you call him is still probably one of the most honorable people I have had the opportunity to meet during my time in Hartford and you might not like his position, but he is usually on the mark with well thought out solutions based on facts, not emotions.
ReplyDeleteThis is Bronins' council with his guidance. It seems like they want all power but no liability or challenges.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteat 10:14am: It's much easier to find Waldo than Pedro.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I overheard that Pedro spoke to Yard Goats' owner Josh Solomon and that he plans on showing up for the first game.
I hope he does, it's going to be an excellent opportunity to arrest him in the presence of thousands Hartford residents and the media.
I'll be at the stadium for the opening game. I'd love to see Segarra with handcuffs.
ReplyDeleteSegarra must be reading the Courant from time to time. He knows what's going on. He knows that Hartford is drowning. The fact that he didn't issue any statement tells me that he agrees with everything said.
ReplyDeleteHas the Courant even been reporting on this? I get more info here than I do in the Courant (and a lot sooner also)
ReplyDeleteDon't you worry, at 2:10pm, Segarra himself - with Charlie of course - found out about themselves right here. Starting with their caviar fiesta, paid for by the taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteEverybody knows that Pedro checked this blog every single day while in office. Not sure if he reads this blog these days. He probably doesn't care, he was in this for the $150,000 a year and the benefits.
I have just heard from a friend of mine that Thomas Deller is in court against the City of Hartford trying to get unemployment. Unemployment? Deller "The Seller"? The guy who resigned in disgrace? I thought my good friend was joking, it took me time to understand that this nonsense is for real.
ReplyDeleteThis is simply the Hartford insiders corruption, milking the city until it drops dead: Kee-Borges, Waller, Panagore, Kupiec, Huertas, LaLuz, Winch, Perez, Segarra, now Deller. The list is long you ba----ds.
@11:08
ReplyDeleteI have a sneaking suspicion thatt Pedro Maria loves doing the handcuffs thang.
Kevin, can you remove that picture of rJo in red top with her arms raised. It is bothering me.
ReplyDeleteTony C.
ReplyDeleteI think you might see HFD looking at the possibility of EMS transport also. Many major Cities already do it, New York, Boston ,Chicago. AMR won't be happy, but it would definitely be an added revenue stream. I don't know what the start up costs would be, but it would make a lot more sense to send an EMS vehicle that can also transport rather than a fire engine or ladder truck to every medical call. I think a typical ambulance bill is from $1200.00 to over $2,00.00, depending whether it is basic life support (BLS) or advanced life support (ALS) for more serious cases. Multiply that times the number of calls HFD gets per day, maybe 20,30 or more and that is some significant revenue (providing the "victim" has insurance to cover it or is on Medicaid or Medicare. We should also be billing insurance companies for HFD responses for extrication, hazmat cleanup at accidents and other related services. Many other cities and towns already do.
I think Chief Freeman is already looking into much of this, it is called thinking outside the box
7:21PM
ReplyDeleteSorry, but get used to it. If she runs true to form, I think I will have plenty of opportunities to use it for the next four years.
rJo always is always in red.
ReplyDelete8:32 PM
ReplyDeleteI guess that is appropriate since that is what she did to the City also during her Council leadership days, put us in the RED
Kevin, I understand how a community can place pressure on a candidate to include a council candidate in exchange for support. Can you enlighten us about who, how and why the North End community would place pressure on Bronin to include Ole Stank rJo on? Couldn't they find someone with intelligence, talent and honesty - of which none fit the character of rJo D2.
ReplyDeletePlease stop using that term or I will not allow your comments to go through. To answer your question that is the way the system works. it is not about quality candidates, it is more about winning the votes no matter what the cost. Hold your nose and ignore the smell as long as they deliver votes. At least Segarra,Kennedy and Wooden are gone, so is some of the stink of City government, but the smell will still linger for years.
ReplyDeleteSegarra-Kennedy-Wooden are finally gone, but we must get rid of Winch-Jennings. Must.
ReplyDelete4:31 AM is right: we must dump rJo Winch and Cynthia Jennings. You may add that in the state level we must dump Edwin Vargas and Minnie Gonzalez.
ReplyDeleteAll 4 leeches, or idiots, if you prefer.
Winch, Jennings, Vargas & Minnie Gonzalez are no dummies, they know how to play the game for their own benefit.
ReplyDeleteCall them blood suckers.cause that's what they are.