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Tuesday, May 6, 2014

SEGARRA VETOES KENNEDY RESOLUTION

Mayor Segarra once in a while does so the right thing. Councilman Ken Kennedy, who has a history of introducing resolutions to micromanage the operations of HPD, today lost another round in his scuffle with HPD. Remember the corvette engine resolutions  on the new cruisers?

Kennedy had introduced a resolution to disband both the HPD Fiscal management Unit and their Human Resources Division. Both moves would have been penny wise and pound foolish. The HPD Fiscal unit has oversight over the HPD budget and manages all purchase orders and invoices payable.

For anyone familiar with the internal Audit reports, HPD has never been a problem when it comes to fiscal management. I am not aware of any issues or questions regarding  the use of HPD P-cards( credit cards). The reason... the strict oversight of all purchases by the HPD Fiscal manager. Doing away with that oversight would be a small savings and a huge mistake.

After the Council passed the resolution it was sent to Mayor Segarra for his signature. According to sources, Segarra today vetoed the resolution, leaving the HR and Fiscal Departments intact at HPD, at least for the time being .

DISGUSTING


The above comment was apparently made at last nights budget session by Hartford City Councilwoman
Cynthia Jennings and then tweeted by Steve Goode of the Courant.

Now I think most of us realize not to expect too much out of Hartford City Hall when it comes to leadership, but this is a new low when it comes to the Council. The actions of the Council repeatedly show little or no appreciation for HPD, but this is an insult to every good hard working member of HPD and the Dispatch Center .

The big question is why this comment now? This Council has had oversight over the budget for several years and has run the City budget into the ground year after year. Are the deficits suddenly the responsibility of Chief Rovella and HPD. This Council has shared an equal part in the recklessness and over spending for years now.

Not to mention that the "high pay" Jennings' references has all been voted on and approved  by Jennings and her colleagues. Neither police officers or EST Dispatchers make up their own salaries, they are set by the collective bargaining agreements approved by the Council.. If they don't like the salaries, have a backbone and vote against them, don't bully the employees at budget time.

I am not sure how many of the Council have actually taken the time to ride with a police officer or sit with a dispatcher on a busy night. I would venture to say very few.

I would challenge Councilwoman Jenninngs to be the first one jumping out of a cruiser on Garden Street and running toward the sound of gunfire from a Tek-9 machine gun being fired in a backyard, or maybe sitting with the overpaid dispatcher taking a call from a parent whose child is choking on a piece of candy and turning blue.

See how low the threshold is as the overpaid dispatcher multitasks to hopefully save a life, entering the call for EMS and Fire to respond quickly, at the same time trying to calm down the parent who may be watching their child dying in their arms and trying to relay life saving instructions to the caller.

I have to disagree with the Councilwoman, the skill set is extrremely high, especially at those times when we as residents need to rely on our Police Officers and Dispatchers.The Councilwoman also needs to do a little more checking on the skill sets and I think she will be surprised by the number of Hartford Police Officers with advanced college degrees, including masters Degrees and Law Degrees.

No matter what the intent of the comments was meant to be, it is not what I expect from someone who should be a leader and the Councilwoman owes an apology to everyone she offended.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

FROM HPD

 I Know this is short notice for a meeting at 5:30PM today but the e-mail just went out at 11:30am, but if you know a young Hartford author, try to attend for more info.

The Hartford Guardians Promote Non-Violence in Partnership with Project Longevity and Step Up, Step Out; End the Culture of Violence (SUSO)

Hartford, CT---In support of our collective mission to work with the community to eliminate violence, we have partnered to promote a youth essay writing contest. The contest asks:
“How I can eliminate violence in my community?”
All Hartford student’s grades 4-12 are eligible to participate.
Please join us on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at 4:30 pm at the Hartford Public Library Downtown to help spread the word about the contest and to pick up an application form.
We hope to see you there!
Who: The Hartford Guardians, Project Longevity, and SUSO
What: Youth Anti-Violence Essay Contest
When: Wednesday April 30, 2014 at 4:30 pm.
Where: Hartford Public Library Downtown in the Atrium
Why: To promote public safety, community partnership, and support our youth
For more information please contact: Tiana Victoria Hercules, Esq. at 860 760 7952

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

MY BLOG LIST

Blogs come and go, people change jobs, writers lose interest, for a multitude of reasons the list changes regularly. I have updated my blog list in the right hand column. I have added Zach Jankowski's blog from the Yankee institute called "Raising Hale".

 His first posting highlighted is about someone that has been covered on this blog before, click on Raising Hale to read an interesting story about Hartford Politico and Segarra confidant Angel Morales. More should be coming out soon about  allegations lodged against Morales and what happened to those allegations and why.

Some of you may recognize Morales from his "model searches" at the Hartford Public Library.

 For more about Morales, click on a previous posting here or here .


Also WFSB's Dennis House has changed the location of his blog "the Hartfordite" and you can check that out by clicking the link.

If you are aware of a blog you think may be a good fit to be listed here, e-mail me the details

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?

On January 22, 2014 I wrote about a Fire Lieutenant from the Hartford Fire Department assigned to Engine 14 on Blue Hills Avenue. The allegations regarded the on duty behavior of the Fire Lieutenant who was assigned to Engine 14 on Blue Hills Avenue. Allegations of drug use and alcohol use , on duty, to the point the lieutenant was impaired came from several sources. You can read that posting here.

Rather than deal with the issue, Hartford Fire Administration merely moved  the Lieutenant to Engine Company 2 on Main Street.

Now according to sources, the Lieutenant went into a local bodega this week, in uniform insisting that the bodega owner give him beer since he apparently had no money on him. When the bodega owner refused, the LT. took the beer and exited from the store, essentially stealing the beer. It was all caught on video.

Now, according to sources, the Hartford Fire Department has again been forced to deal with the issue. This time, rather than a transfer, he was put on vacation. This guy clearly has a problem and is a danger to the men and women of the Hartford Fire Department as well as the residents of Hartford. If he is impaired at work he is most likely also driving home at the end of his shift intoxicated.

When will someone step up and do what needs to be done. Either have him get help or terminate him before someone is seriously injured or dies as a result.

More to come on this

UPDATE 4/24/14 7:00pm- Apparently Caldwell was an "Acting" Lieutenant  at the time of the alleged drunken incidents at Engine 14. I am told he longer has the title of Acting LT. He never obtained his rank officially, similar to the boyfriend , fiancee , significant other who has been very successful moving up through the ranks without  obtaining his positions officially through testing and legitimate processes. 

Also , the incident took place on March 31, 2014. No police action has been taken as of this time , I have asked for an explanation as to why.

JUST FOR A COMPARISON

Here are the mill rates for the entire State of Connecticut and all local tax districts.

These rates are for the tax year ending 2012 as listed on CT.gov

Hartford is open for business and we welcome homeownership with open arms.

Hartford is the highest