I think he has partially succeeded since our Police and Fire Department are both on the verge of a major crisis. HPD is well over a hundred officers short and severely understaffed. Last Saturday alone the midnight shift had almost ten officers on overtime. That is close to half of the officers on duty at the time (minimum staffing is apparently 21 officers). On Sunday, almost one quarter of the HPD officers were on overtime.
The previous weekend, the special events detail for the Circus at the XL Center and the Yard Goats game were understaffed by 14 officers, about half of the entire detail. How do you think that will float when public safety is an issue for people coming to the Dunkin Donuts Park because the Police are unable to staff the events?
HFD is in the same position facing upwards of 40 seasoned firefighters ready to bail before Jul;y 1st.
Currently HPD may be facing an exodus of almost 40 officers eligible to leave and in addition, sources within HPD have told me that anywhere from 20 to 40 officers are pursuing opportunities with other agencies and towns and have requested information from the City as to their benefits if they were to leave.
In case Mayor Bronin is too busy campaigning for himself and others across the State to realize this, Hartford is about to face a huge Public Safety crisis. Actually, we are already in a crisis, it is only going to get worse, much worse , as the summer months approach.
Luke is bankrupt on any solutions or leadership to get Hartford back on a sustainable footing and I think that has become clearly evident to anyone paying attention. His threats of bankruptcy for the City are most like a ploy to pressure the State into coughing up the needed funds to bail Hartford out. It would be disastrous to file for bankruptcy, as well as immoral, to file without doing anything and everything possible to avoid it.
Take a moment and think back, what has Luke Bronin done to change the systemic problems in Hartford. Does the word "NOTHING" come to mind. Sure he laid off numerous low end, lower paid employees to bolster his argument to the Union's that they needed to make concessions and be part of the solution....or else! But at the same time he loaded up the opposite end of City staffing with numerous salaries approaching or over $100K a year.
His Youth job Corp might have been a good idea, but who knows, we will probably never see realistic numbers on that program
Bronin's tendency to blame the City's problems on its employees is not doing anything to build our City or its neighborhoods. If anything, just the opposite if we lose more dedicated and hardworking employees who feel their benefits and financial security are in imminent jeopardy.
If Luke thinks our Police Officers and Firefighter's are riding the City of Hartford gravy train, I would urge him to run down Franklin Avenue with one of those dedicated officers as some lunatic with a gun is firing back, after they just shot a couple people in broad daylight on a busy street. Maybe he could follow a couple police officers as they run into an occupied apartment building filled with thick black choking smoke as they try to rescue residents, ending up in the hospital themselves for their heroic efforts. That is what our overpaid public servants do, day in and day out Mayor Bronin.
Maybe, just Maybe Mayor, instead of playing the political games to advance your own career, you could come up with solutions to help the people that voted for you. Maybe it is time to roll up your sleeves to actually get to work, and not just as a gimmick when you saunter out to the podium at your dog and pony shows. (It would be interesting to see who Luke's PAC just paid $7,000 in direct mailings for in February)
https://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC20_April_10_Filing_49422.PDF
https://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC20_April_10_Filing_49422.PDF
Why haven't we filed a lawsuit against the State of Connecticut to force them to pay their statutory requirements under PILOT. Paying only 35 or 40 percent of what they owe us is not right. Maybe everyone from Hartford should only pay 35% of their DMV registrations when they come due. Hey, it is only fair, if the State of Connecticut can do it, why shouldn't we?
And a PILOT lawsuit is a court filing that would do a lot more for the City of Hartford than the damage any bankruptcy ever would. And it might just force the State's hand instead of threatening them with bankruptcy.
his only strategy was to move toward bankruptcy to bust Hartford's unions
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My impression is that Luke is a careerist. He had little understanding of the depths of the fundamental structural problems the City faces, and therefor it may have been a career mistake to raise seven figure campaign funding for such a thankless and impossible job. But, no mayoral candidate except Judge Killian said a word about the budget, and since John O'Connell was on Council I haven't heard anyone complain about overspending. Is there anyone at City Hall who can honestly assess our situation? Our muni tax revenue only covers half of the its expenses, so hey, let's build a baseball stadium.
It is not within the Mayor's power to "bust" the unions. We're stuck with them by state law even if we can't afford them.
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The Municipal Employee Relations Act was enacted in 1965 and covers employees of local government with the exception of certified teachers and administrators. MERA governs the collective bargaining relationship between municipal employers and employee organizations representing municipal employees. It prohibits certain practices by employers and employee organizations. It provides procedures for filing, investigation and adjudication of election petitions and prohibited practice complaints. MERA prohibits strikes. Originally, MERA provided for mediation and advisory fact-finding to resolve impasses in collective bargaining. In 1975, the legislature amended the statute to provide for compulsory mediation and arbitration of unresolved issues.
Kev, I assume your not to optimistic about John Gale's proposal to save Hartford with the purchase of a hockey team and resurrecting the Whalers ?! Please keep in mind that Gale is Bronin's number 1 and closest confidant, how scary is that? So let's take a look at the past and present ,8 million for Park st renovation,25 million for IQuilt sidewalk,? Million for stadium ,30 million to renovate Albany Ave, hundreds of thousands to spruce up the parks,and how about this one,,, they spent 10 million on Union Place in the last ten years and now Sara Bronin wants to spend tens of millions more! 25 million alone just for a parking garage! Has anyone seen what the ten million got you? ITS A GHOST TOWN! Unlike alcohol or drugs ,you CAN NOT hit "rock bottom" when your addicted to spending other PEOPLES MONEY!
ReplyDeleteI thought Bronin's plan was to have the State sales tax raised to 7 percent with the extra money being earmarked for the big cities? As Luke said "We have a competitive sales tax compared to other states". My prediction is Mayor Bronin quietly walks away from politics and goes to cash in with an insurance company in Hartford. Why does this guy want the grief? This guy is playing old time politics but the world has changed. Why would a 30ish year old guy want to waste his youth, miss his kids growing up to deal with this mess? Murphy and Blumenthal have 36 and 18 years left to serve and Bronin will never be Governor.
ReplyDeletei think you might want to reconsider the position. Luke I think is angling for LT Governor if what I am hearing is true. The Mayor's office was never Luke's intention as his final destination. To some people it is about ego and moving up the ladder, whether their accomplishments warrant advancement or in Luke's case NOT. Hartford is not impressed with his performance, why would anyone on the statewide level want him?
ReplyDeleteTo the comment above regarding money spent on projects: don't forget about the 3/4 of a Billion $ spent on Front St, Convention Center, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe State taxpayers are already providing for up to 2/3 of Hartford's budget, don't expect any more. I'm sure a large % of drivers in Hartford don't bother with paying the DMV for driver's licenses and motor vehicle registrations.
As far as PILOT, Windsor Locks gets screwed the worst.....Bradley International takes up 50% of the land space in that town and receives pennies from the state in lieu of property tax.
Why is everyone ignoring the fact the Rich only pay a 5% tax the proposal governor Weiker gave back in 1992 was only supposed to last4 years but continued Kevin you barking up the wrong tree this is bigger than Luke Bronin and every other mayor you know how many millionaires and billionaires live in CT because their taxes are so low ?? The working poor and middle class pay the most taxes theship is sinking grab raft while you can
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ReplyDeleteYou mention various projects but I don't think those were funds by the Hartford tax payers. Research it please before making accusations.
The Hartfod Parking Authority is using their guidelines to the aggressive max. They are literally shaking down residents with excessive ticketing. The authority is a public/private entity, as we all know. This issue must be addressed by council or made an issue in the next election cycle.
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ReplyDeleteWhat are they doing besides enforcing parking regulations?
Apparently 12:55 parking rules don't apply to you! Hartford residents chaotic behavior runs rampant all over the city. And you think we should all live in a lawless, fearless society of rule breakers. So I suggest the next time you get a parking ticket, you should THANK the Hartford Parking Authority and insist you'll do better next time. Because without their services, people might go CRAZY,like parking on sidewalks, abandoning cars for years, parking in front of fire hydrants, and taking up multiple spaces. Shaking down residents with excessive ticketing is absurd and you are a complete idiot. And to all you Hartford residents, grow up and don't break the law!
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ReplyDeleteHi Eric Boone, nice to glowingly talk about your shakedown of city residents as a non resident. While I don't have any tickets outstanding because I PAY mine if and when I get one, which is a rarity. I find the thuggish behavior of Hartford Parking as a shakedown of city residents. I say this because the same result could be had without excessive fines. There is no need to punish a meter violation with a $45.00 fricken dollar find. That is criminal. At least reduce to manageable fines like $25.00 with early payment at $20.00.
I wish I could say more but I will stop at this point.