As I have said here several times previously, Luke Bronin's "Chicken Little" act is wearing thin. The sky is falling chants are wearing real thin. We have been hearing the threats for almost two years now , and nothing has changed . There is still no viable plan for sustainability as requested by the big three CEO's who are still holding the purse strings tight on their pledged $50 million dollar contribution to help the City.
That money will only be released when and if the 3 feel comfortable that Mayor Bronin actually has a plan. So far, it doesn't seem to be a priority for Bronin and no plan has been submitted.
I am not sure Bronin actually has a plan or is even capable of devising a plan. Bronins suburban "share the pain " crusade was pretty much a flop. His shame the Unions into cooperation efforts pretty much went no where, and his constant forays into the halls of the Capitol during the recent session were probably more of an annoyance to Legislators rather than producing any positive results
Originally I would have been opposed to a Chapter 9 Bankruptcy but now in talking to numerous parties, including attorneys familiar with the process, I have to say, in the words of Nike...JUST DO IT.
Nothing has changed financially under Bronin as Mayor. Let me rephrase that, nothing has changed positively financially under Mayor Bronin. It has gotten much worse under Bronin and on the positive side, our financial ratings can't drop much lower.
Every day we listen to Chicken Little, is one more day wasted before we get on the road to recovery, Enough of the false promises and gambling on Hartford's recovery.
A couple months ago, Bronin borrowed in excess of $20 million dollars to be able to pay Hartford's bills. Apparently Bronin felt comfortable borrowing the money based on a promise from a Hartford Legislator that the State of Connecticut would cough up money to bail Hartford out. That might actually be the honorable thing for the State to actually pay their fair share for all the Tax exempt property in Hartford.
But considering we are going on several months with no state budget and the State of Connecticut facing a billion dollar deficit themselves, who would like to place a bet on the odds of any State representative from Hartford riding in on the white horse to save the day. And who in Hartford's delegation has the pull to get the majority of the legislature to buy into Hartford's bail out and get it passed? Clearly not the same State Reps who convinced Bronin the check was going to be in the mail month's ago.
Stop the phony narratives, stop the blackmail techniques and get to work on a plan to turn Hartford around , and give up your plans to balance your budget on the backs of Hartford's Unions. If that involves a Bankruptcy filing then do what you were elected to do and begin leading. It may hurt for a while that you were the Mayor that led Hartford into Bankruptcy, and is probably isn't the next step on the ladder you expected for your political career. More importantly, hopefully, a few years from now, you will also be known as the Mayor that led Hartford out of it
33 comments:
Fast eddie will return in two years ...
Where do i drop off my cash donations to minnie gonzalez to fly down to puerto rico ? I have cash in large bills .
They need to be unmarked bills wrapped in a brown paper bag. You will be contacted with directions to the drop point
My frustration is we all know that the only logical way out of years and years of mis-management is bankruptcy, so why not "just do it"? I thought we were going to file a year ago and, if we had, we'd probably have a plan in place by now to re-organize the City and move forward. Instead, it's just deja vu all over again. What, exactly, do we lose by filing? I suggest we lose nothing, and have a lot to gain.
Bronin is dangerously close to squandering his time in office with threats to the citizens and cajoling to the suburbs, but no actual action or leadership.
Let's hope he shows that he has the ability to lead sooner rather than later.
EXACTLY, why doesn't the little King get it?
Kevin,I really thought Luke was on the road to financial recovery when he made the BOLD decision to layoff 2 dog catchers early in his career,, BOY WAS I WRONG!!! Bronin is such a creep that he was blessed with a permanent shitty/arrogant grin that he cannot shake off while making up bullshit in front of a camera. Luke and his incompetent mentor DanWillLie Malloy were on the news tonight telling stories about pitching Amazon to put headquarters in Hartford. Do these two idiots not know that Amazon execs have the ability to get info on prospective locations? Stats on crime,schools,taxes,etc. are a click away on a smartphone . Just imagine if they sent a contingent to checks things out in person. Do Bronin and Malloy think they can hide the "bankruptcy thing" from Amazon???? Talk about being outta touch!
Bronin needs to get tougher on the union officials that exploit taxpayer dollars for what is referred to time for union business. Yes, union officials have been known to travel the city and beyond, in their own personal vehicles, to conduct union business.
This applies to both city and board of education.
Hey 8:24 am , union officials didn't exploit taxpayer dollars with the Park St renovation scam,the future 30 million dollar Albany Ave renovation,the 1 million dollar I Quilt sidewalk,the million dollar Pratt St do over, the 33 teachers going to Florida to accept an award,the $250,000 statue of Doc Hurley,the Abe Giles parking debacle,the selling of parking garages , the baseballs stadium built without a referendum,they kick out the developer of stadium that's suing for 90 million dollars ,I WILL STOP NOW!!!! The "exploitation of taxpayers dollars" by POLITICIANS far outweighs any dirty business unions are involved in!
Right on!!!
10:29 PM:
It's years and years of CORRUPTION and mismanagement
Corruption is not a crime, it is a condition.
So where is the news release about the deceased prisoner in hpd lockup. Foley must be water sking instead of informing everyone on facebook and twitter.
Sample investigative questions concerning the untimely death in booking
1- why the prisoner check log sheet was never completed by the officers or why the supervisor failed to check that the officers were doing ?
2- why is a death in custody not being investigated by state police?
3- what are the front teleserve windows still broken after six monthes ?
4- why are all the electronic locks in the fancy new less then five year building breaking ?
7:42pm
An email was sent out at 5:03pm with details
9:05pm
Maybe the booking Sergeant was busy typing up her next grievance instead of actually doing her job and supervising, as she was being paid to do.
Hold up Kevin all that high tech equipment and video surveillance someone actually died in there???
11:29PM
High tech equipment is only as good as the people sitting behind it if they are doing their jobs at the time, which clearly they were not if it took hours to detect a problem
First Rob Lanza now the drunk officer at the yard goats game now a dead prisoner not looking good for the home team this year when all this hits the 6oclock news
Kevin, I understand your frustration. It is mine also. I just think you are too hard on Bronin. He inherited a losing proposition becoming mayor of Hartford. He has laid off employees and cut hours of operation. He is the first to address head on, financial woes of Hartford. He activated a blight office and although, I am a little critical of them for allowing houses to remain empty for many years as long as the grass is cut, the office is being successful and functions.
Bronin is treading carefully and insuring he explores all avenues before filing. He has gone to surrounding towns with his tin cup in hand to no avail. He has asked the legislature to pay their fair share to Hartford and at least the governor has responded with some degree of interest. Bronin neds to have turned over every option to survive so that his petition is not rejected by a judge. That would be the worst possible outcome.
So hang in there. Yes, let's express our frustration. But just realize that the process is a slow one. Contrary to the Hartford Courant article, bankruptcy will reset the clocks going forward. There is no best alternative. Just a less bad one.
In addition, let's not forget that the city needs to really run the money tap dry before filing. If I filed for bankruptcy with money in the bank, it would be used to pay of creditors. It's not the same for a municipality, but all avenues must be exhausted for a successful filing to occur.
Oh boy
Kev, I hear that council members lose their posts if the city goes into bankruptcy. They're on the news stating bankruptcy is not an option. How funny is that ! What happens to their"assistants " ?Please tell me this is true so I can sleep better tonight. What happens to incompetent Bronin? Is he placed on the bench to watch others do what should have been his job? Please inform me.
Bill Katz , Please respond to points made by comment at 12:11 pm . Bronin shouldn't get a free pass almost 2 yrs in. Bill imagine hiring a contractor to fix your dilapidated garage and 2 later he uses the same excuses Bronin is giving. If Bronin can't figure it out then why won't he step down and let someone else do it? Just as I assume you would suggest to the incompetent contractor.
I missed the names of the booking Sgt and the drunk officer at baseball game
No I- file yet on the yard goats conduct on becoming by a new officer who was openly wearing her city of hartford firearm while comsuming large amounts of an alcoholic beverage. Im sure video and that witness state trooper range officer could help with the investigation. This is the same officer who almost got herself and her 99 hurt because she did not know her location when approaching an active domestic downtown. Sounds like a safety pattern happening.
She never knew how to be a cop, she was a complete failure, so tell me....how is she going to supervise when she doesn't even know the basics?
I think councilwoman Wilda is against a bankruptcy because it effects her real constituency, municipal unions, not the tax payer.
9:12pm
No you didn't miss anything, they were never posted. And until something formal happens they won't be
Seriously, you are a moron. Making crap up n going off rumour. Stop your constant hatered of your coworkers n do us a favor and quit. I don't want to work with a looser like you.
Thank you Kevin for not feeding into the hate and slandering of someone's name based on hate / jealously n hearsay posted by anonymous. Thank you
@8:53
I can't respond because I haven't the foggiest idea what that poster is trying to say. Luke a Bronin had nothing to do with issues raised in that confusing and unclear diatribe with the exception of firing an incompetent contractor.
With either bankruptcy or a control board, Bronin wants someone else to tell him what "tough choices" to make, so he can blame them later. Cuts to services and increase in taxes are going to happen in either case. The question is who will bear the brunt of the service cuts and taxes? In bankruptcy, bond holders will push the burden on to residents and a control board led by the Metro Hartford Alliance and suburban folks will do the same.
In fairness, he inherited some serious long-term problems and a state that breaks the law every year by under-funding the city $50-65 million. But, his efforts on righting the ship have always been more focused on others saving the city with some pretend "tough choices" thrown in. The job of Mayor is hard and much harder if you have no experience in actually running a complex government organization and are focused on your next job, not the one you were elected to do.
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