I just got home from the Hartford City Council Budget hearings and after turning on the TV to check up on the RED SOX, I logged on to courant.com to see if anything new was going on. After looking at the "breaking news" I scrolled down to look at the Courant's blogs.
After listening to a couple of hours of the smoke and mirrors of the Perez budget being explained, I wanted to check the "Capitol Watch" blog to see what was being done in the final hours of the legislative session to reduce the budget gap. Instead of finding a headline about work being done in the final 24 hours of the session, there was a headline that read "Finalists Named For Best-Dressed At Capitol; Defending Champions Cafero And Klarides Are In The Running". You can read the full entry by clicking here
My first thought before reading the full entry was "what pompous fool from Fairfield County would waste the time on something like that?"
Does the legislature not realize that people are losing their jobs and losing their homes. In addition to the State budget, cities like Hartford are on the brink of failing and all some rich legislator is worried about is who is the best dressed?
Many people in Hartford can't even afford basic necessities and here some legislator is worried about who looks best in Gucci loafers or a Ralph Lauren suit?
Imagine my surprise when I read the article and saw that the legislator that I thought was some "pompous fool" was none other than our own Hartford State Representative Kenneth Green. Apparently the best dressed title is awarded by Rep. Kenneth Green's annual contest for the best dressed legislators and lobbyists at the state Capitol.
Is it any wonder that Hartford, and the state for that matter, is the mess it is. Rather than focusing on correcting the mess we call government, we can sleep sound at night knowing that Hartford's state representative Kenneth Green has taken on the role of Chief of the Connecticut State Capitol Fashion Police.
I wasn't convinced before tonight, but maybe it is time for some shakeups in the Hartford Delegation.
Oh, and the Red Sox just took the lead 4 to 1 on a base clearing double.
When I post here, especially when someones activities are called into question, I always wonder if I have covered all angles to get all the facts. Today was one of those days.
The blog posting yesterday about those "feeding at the trough" set a record for the blog. As of this afternoon 32 comments had been posted and a good dialogue (for the most part) was going on. But then my first call of the morning was from a "real" journalist who's opinion and advice I respect very much, not to mention that they are usually right on the mark. The caller asked me where the comment was from the Ebony Horsewomen.
I thought the documents and the facts spoke for themselves. Apparently that is not the way it works I was told. Helen Ubinas had given me similar advice a couple months ago and I have tried to get comments from the subjects of the postings when it was appropriate. The Archdiocese of Hartford's spokesperson refused to comment last week on Eddie's prayer vigil tonight and I posted that.
So to be fair, I went to 337 Vine Street, the location of the City owned stables housing the Ebony Horsewomen, Inc. I asked for Patricia Kelly and a woman loading a washing machine replied "that's me". I had met her about a year ago, but today she was in "work" clothes.
I told her why I was there and we sat down in a little room apparently used as a classroom. I asked her about the questions I had and her answers flowed out precise and to the point. I was thinking I had misjudged her and the operation. As much as I wanted to believe, something just wasn't clicking on my sincerity meter. The answers were too perfect, but I wanted to believe.
How can you not believe what you are being told when I told her "thanks for answering my questions , I'm all set now" only to be stopped and told "no you can't leave until I give you the tour. Ok, I wanted to be open minded, I wanted to believe
The tour started at the trophy case and then we walked into the stable area, where immediately we were met by a kitten that she spoke to like it was a child. Then out into the paddock area and the chicken coop where she explained how "the kids" are amazed when they see where an egg actually comes from. Then "take a look over here at the baby bunnies" as she poked her finger into the cage and talked to the mother bunny with her babies huddled in the corner.
And who isn't impressed by the majestic nature of a horse prancing around the corral. But I just still wasn't convinced. But I wanted to believe, really I did. Her explanation essentially was that the $108,000 was paid to her because she was actually saving the organization money. Reverse then play, let me hear that again? Yes, she needed health insurance and her husband needed health insurance. Her husband had preexisting conditions and was pretty much uninsurable. Ok, still losing you here, but I'm trying to follow.
She pays roughly $1800.00 a month for insurance for just the two of them. I understand that but why does the organization pay for that? They don't, she said, that's why they pay her $108,000.Ok, a little quick math here but I asked her, $1800.00 multiplied by 12 is what, $22,000 maybe $24,000 per year and that saves money by them paying you $108,000.00?
Yes, because we add our Workers Compensation insurance in there also. Ok, I guess I just may not understand this modern math.
And not to beat a dead horse, oops, sorry, probably not the right term. Not to ask too many questions but is it proper to be boarding horses and charging people to do that, when you pay the city nothing for rent and where does that money go, to the programs? That answer was simple and quick, "I do not board horses here for people".
After I left I just kept playing her answers over and over, I really do want to believe. But then this afternoon I got three calls and at least two e-mails relating to the posting. They were all from people that were very familiar with the Ebony Horsewomen and they all appreciated information that they were aware of being brought out..
I might add that none of the five individuals were people that had an "ax to grind" as far as I knew. And in fact I was speaking with one of my "confidants" about one of the e-mails and the response was "wow, I've never heard him say anything bad about anyone".
This whole matter really had me thinking how could this be made to look good or if I was in her position how would I justify it.
Just to back up a little, before I met with her I looked at her 2006, 2007 990's in addition to the 2008 990 that I had posted yesterday. I was troubled by a $3000.00 "bonus" she paid to herself as President of the Board in 2006 and the same type of $95,000 plus payments to Diversified Equus, Inc. for all three years.
And then finally, I called four people that serve on some high profile non-profit Boards to see if I was overreacting. I explained the scenario of the payments from a non-profit back to a private corporation owned by the President of the non-profit. I asked them if the actions were proper and the answers from all four were identical....."absolutely not". Two of them even went so far as to say I needed to contact the Attorney General's Office immediately.
Andrea Comer sent out an invite through "Facebook" for a worthwhile event .
The information is below, click on the link to find out more about the screening of "the Lottery".
According to Andrea,"The film profiles four New York families as they go through the school choice lottery process. Given Connecticut's achievement gap, legislative efforts this session, and the national focus on education reform, this film could not be more meaningful and timely.www.thelotteryfilm.com".
The screening will be held on Thursday , May 13, 2010 from 5:00 to 8:00PM at the Jumoke Auxiliary Building at 230 Scarborough Street in Hartford, CT.
As funding for Hartford's non-profits continues to tighten, tough decisions need to be made as to who gets the money and who gets cut out. Hartford's City Council will have to be making such tough decisions soon.
Many organizations who have applied for funding will find themselves getting nothing. Among such groups are the Connecticut Science Center, Inc, the Hartford Public Library, the Hartford Stage,the San Juan Center as well as others.
I made my first visit to the Connecticut Science Center this past Friday, and even at 10:00 AM, there were hundreds of school age children visiting the Center. Why the city would not do everything possible to work with and fund the Center is beyond me. I would venture to say that except for sporting events at the XL Center, the Connecticut Science Center is probably the number one draw bringing people into Hartford at this time.
I'm not sure how decisions are made as to who gets funded and who gets cut, but according to City Hall sources, much of the decision making is political and essentially no reporting is done to see if we are actually getting our money's worth out of the grants.
I'm still researching all of the grant applicants, over 70 in all, but a few interesting facts are popping up. Federally required reports, Form 990's, must be filed annually by all non-profits. These are essentially the "income tax" forms for 501c-3 and other non-profits.
One of the interesting form "990's" is from a group that had been in the news quite a bit over the past couple years.
The Ebony Horsewomen were put in the spotlight when they were trying to push through a plan to develop almost 300 acres of Keney Park for an Equestrian Center on public land. Many issues were raised about the project but one of the most interesting was the groups use of the City's horse stables off Vine Street in Keney Park.
The project happened to coincide with the re-instatement of the Hartford Police Department's Mounted Patrol Unit. The Ebony Horsewomen were using the stables vacated when the Hartford Police disbanded the mounted unit several years ago. Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts apparently had a conversation with the Ebony Horsewomen's President Patricia Kelly regarding the need for the Horsewomen to vacate the stables.
Kelly refused and created a somewhat tenuous situation. Apparently Chief Roberts asked Kelly to provide him with information regarding her programs, the demographics the Ebony Horsewomen served and other information so that he could lead the charge to leave her programs intact and find an alternative for the mounted patrol.
According to Chief Roberts, despite repeated requests he received nothing. On a 1Hartford program where Kelly was our guest, I asked her about the Chief's claims and she disputed Chief Roberts version and claimed she had provided all of the information he requested and then some. She so strongly disputed the Chief's claims, she said that she would e-mail me everything she had sent to the Chief to prove her story.
To this day I have received nothing from her.
This points to a major problem with these grants.I would be naive to think that political pressure doesn't enter into the awarding of government money, locally, state level or national level. But on the other hand, even if the money is awarded as a "political" favor, shouldn't there be some accountability and an obligation to see that we are getting our money's worth in return?
Ok, so back to the form 990's. They are a great resource and only paint a small portion of the picture, but in many cases they raise more questions than they answer. This is exactly the case with the Ebony Horsewomen. I can't say whether their programs are worthwhile or a scam for someone to profit from a non-profit.
Take a look at their 990's and decide if you would be comfortable giving $10,000.00 of your own money to them without having a few questions answered.
In the 2008 Form 990 filed by the Ebony Horsewomen and signed by Patricia Kelly as President of the Board of Directors and CEO, she lists her compensation as $0, no compensation.
Then scroll down a little further to page 4 and look at the section for "Independent contractors paid over $100,000". In that section you will find a payment to "Diversified Equus Corp." for $108,584.00. A quick trip over to http://ct.gov/sots and search Concord to find out more about Diversified Equus Corp.
According to the Secretary of States Office, Diversified Equus is the company of Patricia and James Kelly and a 3rd party from Maryland. For a Board member of a non-profit to benefit from their "service" on that Board is both improper and highly unethical, and some would say criminal. Is that the case here? I wish I could say, but since Patricia Kelly has never provided the information to me that she had promised, I can only say it looks bad and questions should be asked before checks are cut.
In addition, Kelly was boarding horses in the stables for profit, according to sources, one of them who had actually boarded a horse there, the money was paid to Kelly on a monthly basis. Since no documents or information is available, it is unknown if that money benefited Kelly personally or was actually put back into programs.
Next up on on the 990 list is a non-profit that applied for funding under the classification of "HOPWA", housing of persons with AIDS. A worthwhile classification addressing a much needed service in our City. But as with the Ebony Horsewomen, one of the non-profits receiving a proposed grant of over $70,000.00 raises some serious questions as to why it is being funded by the City of Hartford.
In pulling up the form 990 for the organization, Saint Philip House, I was immediately confused. I had heard of Saint Philip House, but other than that I knew very little about them.
The first question was raised by their address. Saint Philip house is located in Plainville. I'm not saying this is not an honorable operation, but why are we funding an operation in Plainville. I'm wondering how much CDBG money Hartford organizations receive from the Town of Plainville. The answer is most likely $0.00, nothing, zero.
But then, like I said before, the 990's are a great tool to answer some questions. And also like I said before, one of my City Hall sources said much of the process is influenced by politics rather than merit. So...... go to page 5 of the 990 and the answers become clearer.
The President of the Board of Director's for Saint Philip House is Jan Appeloff. For those that may not be all that familiar with the figures in Hartford politics, Appeloff is a member of the 6th District Democratic Town Committee and a huge supporter for Mayor Perez. Appeloff was also the driving force in the 6th District behind the failed attempts to re-elect former Democratic Town Chair Sean Arena. Appeloff's home has also been the headquarters for meetings held to chastise 6th District State Representative Hector Robles for his role in the downfall of Chairperson Arena.
With that being said, go down the list of Board members for Saint Philip House and right under Appeloff's listing as President you will find Ralph Arena listed as the Boards Treasurer. Yes Ralph Arena is the brother of former DTC Chairperson Sean Arena and another faithful Perez supporter.
Coincidence? It has to be, this is Hartford and nothing underhanded would happen here. I mean there has to be a logical explanation, why would we not grant the requests for funding for Hartford based organizations serving the needs for "HOPWA". There has to be a reason why we would underfund Hartford based organizations providing services on the streets of Hartford , while providing almost the full funding request to an orgainzation from Plainville.
Is it a political decision? Nah, can't be, tell me it isn't so. This is Hartford don't forget.
And finally for today, read the staff analysis for this program and tell me how you would vote. "2008 financial statement presented, cannot ascertain current operational/financial capacity to execute proposed program. Budget and narrative contradictory. No historical data on success, business openings, business retention and growth due to program participation. No date presented to justify demand for proposed level of service; recommend partial funding". End result, even after that review, is that the recommendation is to give the Spanish American Merchants Association $35,000.00 even though the application submitted is "contradictory.
Politics, no, please say it isn't so. End result, Spanish American Merchants Association- funded, Ebony Horsewomen-funded, Saint Philip House in Plainville-funded, Connecticut Science Center-rejected. It all seems to make sense.
More to come on this, but I hope the City Council does a little more due diligence before making their decisions.
Since the site I use to get the 990's is a subscription site and not available to the public, if you have a 990 you would like to see, let me know and I'll post it here. Just provide me with the legal name of the organization and I'll see what I can do.
Apparently Mayor Perez has had enough heat placed upon him for a couple of the positions housed in his office. Perez's Capitol Projects Manager James Keaney has been the focus of much discussion and criticism related to Perez. At the time that Keaney was hired, part of his contract deal was a city "take-home" vehicle. According to sources, Keaney requested, and was provided with, a luxury SUV with heated leather seats. To this day, Keaney drives that car back and forth to his home in Cheshire daily at the taxpayers expense.
Further criticism was dumped on Perez when it was revealed that Perez gave Keaney an "ESI" bonus at the time Keaney was hired to boost his salary to more than $180,000. ESI bonuses are intended to be used for existing employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions as a way to reward them.
Perez was further chastised when it was revealed the man James Keaney was hired to replace after his "retirement", was actually hired back as a "Special Assistent to Mayor Perez" at a rate of $85.00 per hour. Charles Crocini was rehired by Perez at about the same time others were being laid off. Even at a part time position, Crocini was(and is) making more than many City employees working full time.
And then add on to that Perez's decision to hire a full time "Energy Czar". He's only making about $90,000 a year, but I don't think he demanded a luxury SUV with heated leather seats, so there is a savings right there.
So, apparently Eddie had enough of being embarrassed by adding staff to his office through the back door approach without the Council's knowledge, in the middle of a hiring freeze none the less.
Well, this year a slick little entry in the Mayor's Budget Book caught my attention.
After reviewing this years budget proposal outlining the Mayor's Office budget, I was encouraged that Perez had come to his senses. No funding for Keaney, Crocini and the rest of the "hiring freeze hires". Was Eddie actually making cuts that made sense, an appropriation line showing -0- dollars.
My hopes were dashed when I got to page 22-1 and saw a "new" Office of Capital Assets. I asked a staffer from the Mayor's Office if it didn't require Council approval to create a new Department or Office? Nope, not if you are slick like Eddie.
Apparently, if no one questions the appropriation and the Council approves the budget, the new department would appear and be legal. Sounds a little underhanded to me, but at least it is out of the Mayor's Office and no one will notice then, too late, sorry.
So I guess Perez can say he reduced his office's budget when he is asked, he probably wont say that he buried the City's highest paid employee somewhere else, on page 22-1 of the budget book
First off, what is a "mil"? Here is the official definition form the State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM)
Mill Rates
Description
A mill is equal to $1.00 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. To calculate the property tax, multiply the assessment of the property by the mill rate and divide by 1,000. For example, a property with a assessed value of $50,000 located in a municipality with a mill rate of 20 mills would have a property tax bill of $1,000 per year.
Local property tax mill rates have been set for individual Connecticut municipalities for fiscal year 2009-2010. These rates are based upon the 2008 grand list and are available below. These are the most current mill rates and are reflected in each municipality's July 2009 tax bills.
Hartford's mil rate is approaching 80 mils. Here is a listing of all towns and boroughs for the State of Connecticut and their respective mil rates. The next highest mil rate is New Haven at 42.21.
Here are a few others:
Bridgeport 38.74 East Hartford 31.67 New Britain 34.98 New Haven 42.21 Stamford 26.50 Waterbury 39.92
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE STRICTLY THAT, MY OPINIONS.After getting fed up with the lack of openness in Hartford City Hall, I decided to begin a program on Hartford Public Access Television called "WE THE PEOPLE". Through tips received we have been able to expose numerous issues that the Perez Administration would prefer to keep quiet.
Any information received is kept in strict confidence, feel free to e-mail me at krbrookman@earthlink.net or call me at 860-883-2297 with any information.