Hamden Daily News

Much to Do on Budget Night

Mayor’s budget solicits healthy if not critical response

By Sharon Bass

Yesterday’s public budget hearing spurred an action-packed evening of entertainment and somber pleas. It opened with an inventive and colorful protest in front of Memorial Town Hall. And ended with one councilman getting into a screaming match with a taxpayer during the public meeting.

First Stop

After last year’s historically high tax increase, the mayor is asking for a hike of over 6 percent in his proposed $173.6 million budget. To show their opposition, about a dozen members of the Hamden Alliance for Responsible Taxation dressed up as hobos, clowns and as Mayor Craig Henrici and stood on the corner of Whitney and Dixwell from 5:30 till the public hearing started at 7 p.m., holding up signs that said stuff like, “Governance Not Games.”

Behind them, propped up on the grass, was a large poster with doctored photos of Democratic Town Committee Chair Joe McDonagh, councilmembers Matt Fitch, Al Gorman, Carol Noble, Mike Germano and Gretchen Callahan, and Mayor Henrici depicted as circus people. McDonagh was The Ringmaster. Henrici the Top Clown. The Council political clowns.

“These are the rubber stamps,” a HART member said. Excluded from the rubber-stamp pictorial lineup were councilmembers Bob Westervelt, Betty Wetmore, Mike Colaiacovo, Curt Leng, John Flanagan, Willie Mewborn, Berita Rowe-Lewis, Kath Schomaker, Jim Pascarella and Ron Gambardella.

Carol Christmas, who planted the seeds for HART last year, wore a big green Hamden hockey shirt. “It’s for Craig,” she said.

“I’m here because our taxes are too high,” Cathy Mosher said from behind her Henrici mask. “Our 18-year-old son paid our taxes in July.” She said he contributed $800 from his savings account to the family’s $4,000 annual tax bill.

Carmen Siniscalchi, also a HART member, said it’s time the Council and mayor show some concern to the taxpayers and pass a budget that won’t drive people out of town.

Town worker Don Werner dropped by. He wore his Henrici for Mayor button.

“I support Craig,” said Werner, an ardent union advocate. “I support the budget. I think he’s making strides in getting us back on track. But I do have concerns. I’m very concerned with the library cuts.”

Stop Two

So were the folks standing outside Miller Library at 6:30 p.m. —30 minutes before the public showdown inside Council Chambers. They held a 60-second press conference about the two technical librarians Henrici cut from his budget, while adding another tech position to his office.

Sandy Bartell, librarian at the Brundage Community branch and co-president of the library union, Local 1303-115 of AFSCME Council 4, delivered a short statement as fellow workers and devoted patron Thomas Bardakian stood close.

“The mayor’s proposed budget would do great damage to the library system,” Bartell said. “It’s incumbent upon our elected leaders to provide our library workers with support. Save our library services. No more cuts.”

Final Destination

At 7 p.m., the public hearing on the mayor’s 2007-08 budget (excluding the school department’s, to be heard tonight at 7 o’clock) commenced in Council Chambers. The circus people joined the librarians and other disgruntled taxpayers to tell their elected officials what hurts most.

“Do away with any applause so we can hear as many people as possible,” said Council President Al Gorman. “We want to hear your advice. We’re here to listen and learn.”

Tax crusader Mariana D’Albis brought a petition with her to the podium. She said she collected 751 signatures in support of a non-binding resolution protesting tax breaks to any one group. Henrici has proposed slicing 10 percent off the property tax bills of people who live within the Newhall consent order boundaries, where contaminated soil was found.

“When will the Council think of the taxpayers?” D’Albis said. She criticized the mayor for hiring a new, inexperienced animal control officer when he could have promoted the assistant and saved money.

Delores Tetreault said she was angry that the administration didn’t seem to see the lights that burned 24/7 at the new middle school and spoke of other ways the town wastes money.

“We must wonder what our first mayor, John DeNicola [Sr.], would have thought of this,” she said.

Michelle Mast approached the Town Council with a machine gun of questions and suggestions.

  1. Why is there a new IT position budgeted for the mayor’s office?
  2. Keep the Board of Education budget flat.
  3. All employees should be required to work 40 hours.
  4. Make age requirements for retirees.
  5. Decrease sick-time payouts.
  6. Combine departments that perform similar functions, eg.: Parks & Rec and Public Works; and Community and Elderly services.
  7. Close the two community library branches and sell the properties.
  8. It’s not right to give Newhall residents a 10 percent tax abatement. Mast said that comes to $96,000 less in the town coffers. “You cannot single out one area of town for tax abatements,” she said. “Would this happen if this wasn’t an election year?”

A parade of librarians and their friends pleaded to restore the two cuts Henrici made. “The importance of a public library goes beyond providing books,” said Judy Naden, a children’s librarian. Hamden libraries offer computers for the public with instruction, if needed, and a wide scope of children’s cultural and literary programming all for free.

“What you’re doing to the library is depriving the children and it’s the only intergenerational unit in town,” said library volunteer Carolyn Opper. “I think it’s absolutely criminal the town doesn’t support a unit like this. Is this what you want for your children and grandchildren?”

Bill Palter, chair of the town’s Technology Commission, spoke in favor of the library cuts. As he talked about the benefits of having a “professional” tech support person in the mayor’s office in lieu of a technical librarian, two rows of library people moaned. More than twice.

“I’ve been assured the support will be there for the library two days a week” said Palter. “A certified technician instead of a librarian technician.”

Library Board Chair Peggy O’Brien countered Palter’s remarks. “The library needs someone on site,” not just two days a week, she told the 15 local legislators. Plus tech librarians do other things besides IT. They order books, train staff, help the public and work some Saturdays.

“This is not all about taxes,” said George Levinson of Shepard Avenue. “It’s all about spending. I’ve been perusing the mayor’s budget and I’m just astounded. I’m a single man. I have no kids. My taxes are going up every year. Our tax dollars are not being very well spent. Hamden is not a rich community.”

Levinson said neither the town nor school department budgets should go up at all next fiscal year.

“We’re still bitter about what happened last year,” said Mark Sanders, a lawyer who lives in Whitneyville and who crafted last year’s property reval phase-in, which the Council shot down. “Enough is enough. We have ways we can provide 4 mils of tax relieve” without cutting services.

One is to try for a phase-in again. Sanders, also a HART member, said it’s not too late. Last summer, the state Legislature upped maximum phase-in periods from three to five years. And a phase-in passed this year would be retroactive from 2005. “We could give Hamden $20 million in tax relief,” he said.

When the Council last year nixed the phase-in—which the administration was consistently dead-set against—some members cited a loss of state PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) dollars Hamden would get as a reason. (Nonprofits like Quinnipiac University and churches are tax-exempt so the town gets PILOT money instead, which only partly compensates for the loss of taxes.) But Sanders said just the opposite occurred. There was no phase-in and PILOT reimbursement decreased.

He said he would send the Council information on enacting a reval phase-in, which he claimed would chop off 2 mils in 2007-08.

The Altercation

Mike Moriarty of Haverford Street delivered an etiquette message. Particularly for Councilman Fitch. Moriarty said it is rude when councilmembers leave the bench while the public is speaking to them. While he said that, Fitch was engaged in a side conversation. He criticized the 1st District legislator for speaking while he was speaking. Fitch stopped talking but Flanagan threw a gasket.

When Moriarty said again it was rude to get up while someone’s addressing the body, Flanagan jumped out of his seat and yelled, “Really?” and left the chambers.

“The budget is terrible,” said Moriarty. “It’s too high.”

While talking to this reporter just outside the chambers, Flanagan strolled by and Moriarty sarcastically thanked him for walking out while he was talking. What ensued between the two large men was not easily comprehensible but it was loud and faces got red.

Police Commissioner and town- and school-meeting guru Meg Nowacki was one of the last to speak. She said she’s been attending Council meetings for 30 years. “People before me and behind me have changed,” she said of the councilmembers and the taxpayers in the audience.

“I hope you were impressed as I was�? by the quality of their statements, Nowacki said. “I attended the first department-head budget meeting last week. Most of the department heads asked for more money.”

Respected for her often intelligent and balanced views, Nowacki implored the Council to come up with non-tax revenues as allowed in town ordinances “but not followed through.” Local law allows the town to raise fines, limit leaf pickup, for instance. She also said department heads should be like Police Chief Tom Wydra, who spelled out exactly why his department needs more money. “Instead of just asking for it” without much orany explanation, Nowacki said.

She questioned POBs, something the mayor is pushing hard for to pump up the retirement account which actuaries say is just 29 percent funded. POBs are longterm loans with interest and are a gamble because the money is invested in the stock market. After researching pension bonds, Sanders wrote about his opposition in a recent HDN “Guest Column.”

Eleven-year-old Rebecca Muolo was the only minor to brave the podium. “With recent tragedies occurring in our country and world it would be very shortsighted to not fully fund the mayor’s proposed increases to the police and fire departments,” she said. They’re not exactly increases but filling vacancies left open because of the quasi hiring freeze imposed Jan 1.

“Next November is an election year,” warned Joe LeGrand, HART member. “I strongly suggest you come back with no increases.”

Initial Council Reactions

Germano said he liked the idea of paying town employees every other week instead of weekly, as a speaker had advised . Germano said the money could be floated and earn interest, and some employees who do the payroll could be cut from the Finance Department.

“I thought there were a lot of good comments but we can’t go back and renege on [union] contracts we’ve negotiated on,” said Westervelt. “This year I think we’re looking at cutting more than pleasing the department heads.”

Wetmore said she felt good about what the public voiced. “I really think people have been heard,” she said. “We cannot give the raises [Mayor Henrici] wants.”

A few hours earlier at the Miller Library press conference, patron extraordinaire Bardakian spoke passionately and nostalgically about what libraries mean to him and what a timeless institution it is, drawing the toddler who cannot yet read to the wise, well-read octogenarian.

“It gives me an opportunity to read all the newspapers and magazines of interest to me to be current with what’s going on in the world around me,” he said. “The library and the educational system are the two crown jewels in the community—any community. It’s an investment for youngsters to senior citizens.

Copyright © 2007 Hamden Daily News, reprinted with permission. Originally published on 17 April 2007.

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