Video: East Hartford Budget Meeting – Board of Education

Part 1

Part 2

East Hartford Mayor Sets Stage for Tax Increases Statewide

East Hartford has one of the earliest municipal budget calendars in the state and as a result can offer a predictive window into the state’s municipal budget climate. If this year’s East Hartford proposed budget is any indication than Connecticut taxpayers are in for a world of hurt.

Municipal elections are now past and Councils, Mayors, Boards of Finance, Selectmen and all of the other various forms of leaders we employ in our Connecticut towns are feeling a bit less politically squeezed and, as predicted by myself and candidates in other towns, tax increase proposals from these leaders will be coming fast and furious as they deal with falling revenues in the only manner they have the political fortitude to employ, tax increases.

East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey on Tuesday night presented her budget in what to this observer seemed a nervously defensive tone. No doubt she was well aware that a tax increase of over 9% would not be met with smiles and commendations.

To the credit of the Mayor each year the public availability of budget information has increased and this year is no exception. In fact, this year the Mayor has presented the most complete set of information yet. So Mayor, while I won’t thank you for raising my taxes, thank you for providing me with the details I need to know the how and why behind the increase.

I encourage you to review the budget information on the town website.
BUDGET INFO

Budget sessions continue with the Board of Education on Thursday night at 6:30, an all day session Saturday starting at 8:30 and a Monday night finale starting at 6:30. These can be viewed in person at Town Hall, or on EHCTV Channel 5 on Comcast.

Citizens should keep in mind the public hearing on Wednesday, March 3rd at 7PM where we can express our concerns about this proposal as well as plans to REDUCE spending proportionally to the losses in revenue rather than continuing spending unabated.

I am happy to say that I have heard from a Town Council member who is at least as outraged about this proposal as I am. Maybe there is hope.

Thanks.

Thank you to everyone who offered their support during my Town Council campaign. Your support was invaluable and although I was not successful in my Town Council bid we were successful in laying the groundwork for a better East Hartford.

Thank you Joe and Carolyn Kronen, as the campaign chairman and treasurer respectively, you have been an indomitable force of knowledge and motivation. Your unwavering support and dedication will not be forgotten. Your talents are indisputable.

Eileen Powers, you are easily one of the most driven and charismatic persons I have had the pleasures of working with. Through pure force of personality you seem to conquer obstacles with ease that others couldn’t even approach. I look forward to your continued efforts to make this town the shining emblem of reform it is destined to be.

Susan Kniep, it was my pleasure running with you. Even though our political affiliation is just a few months old we have had a natural alliance over these past years. As our government has failed us in its duty of fiscal conservatism and allowed rampant nepotism and political influence peddling to take root in East Hartford you have consistently defended the taxpayer while others have been conspicuously absent. I will see you in the Town Council chambers.

Pete and Lois Gero, your behind the scenes work and support could not be replaced by a dozen volunteers. Pete’s daily calls of support and speculation upheld my spirits in the most fatiguing moments of the campaign and Lois’ generous offering of her time and good spirits on the phones and the internet truly made the difference.

To our supporters, volunteers and donors we are greatly indebted to you. Your kindness, support and generosity is the fuel which drives us on in our endeavors. We couldn’t do it without you.

Congratulations to those candidates who won election and re-election. I have a new and deeper respect for the process of seeking political office. It is no light task and certainly no light responsibility. I hope that this election will inject new energy into the governmental bodies of East Hartford and inspire a more critical process of thought and action.

LTE: Strong Arms or Soft Opponents?

The Town Council meeting on the 16th was a truly interesting combination of arrogance, intelligence and poor representation. I was stunned at the turnout in the chamber. Hearing the many students and parents who came forward to the microphone speak drove home just how impressive and passionate these young minds are. I applaud those who came out to defend their music, sports and honor programs. You did well.

The arrogance of the Board of Education, particularly Chairwoman Mary Alice Dwyer Hughes, in using unarguably vital pieces of the high school experience to manipulate funding and avoid the serious restructuring in the education budget that they were tasked with this year should offend us all as taxpayers. Instead of seeking out true long term savings the Board of Education created an instant crisis by putting Music, Sports and Honors classes on the chopping block. It only takes 5 minutes of thought to realize that the Board of Education would never have gone through with this plan had they been called on their dirty bluff. They have to be elected this year too after all.

The Town Council for their part had the forethought to plan for a potential state budget crisis and put aside 2 million dollars to make up the difference in the event of a state funding shortage. Not only did the BoE fail to make the meaningful cuts needed in the budget but they demanded this 2 million dollars of reserve funds and redirected the blame for their failure onto the Town Council by ginning up misplaced outrage arguing that it’s the lack of the 2 million dollars of reserve funds that is responsible for the cuts in these core programs. Mary Alice Dwyer Hughes took the position of ringleader and lead arm twister.

As bad as this strong arm manipulation by the BoE was I just can’t help but feel the Council is more to blame for it than the Board of Education. Marcia LeClerc gave a concise sound reason for the funds being placed in reserve. The state may come up short and the reserve funds are a necessary safety. She then made a logical leap that I couldn’t follow. She and the rest of the council supported giving the funds to the Board of Education based on the recommendation of the Mayor despite the fact that exactly the same unknown budget conditions existed that made the reserve funds necessary to begin with. What happens if the the funding doesn’t stay the same? I guess it’ll be an “oops, who could have known” moment on the council.

Worse is that the BoE ended up with a million dollar surplus from the last fiscal year. This means two things.  First, despite complaining last year that funding was inadequate we paid them a million more than they needed. Second, with the 2 million reserve and 1 million surplus combined the BoE won’t even need to follow through with many of the cuts it already made. Our Town Council has utterly failed us in this issue by failing to hold the BoE to any kind of fiscal restraint in this recessionary period and failing to protect us from a possible state funding shortfall. A responsible council would have called out the political stunt on the 16th for what it was and sent the BoE back to their budget books to decide if they really wanted to campaign on cutting music, sports and honors.

LTE: Papier-Mâché Elections

As yet another election approaches for East Hartford this November it’s important that we steel ourselves against the onslaught of rhetoric and look-at-me politics which threaten to swallow us whole like a Connecticut River flood. Inevitably those officials already in office will parade papier-mâché accomplishments as evidence that they deserve another term while challengers will attempt to prove they have something new, or perhaps old and ignored, to offer. We have a duty as the electors of East Hartford to demand truth and seek honest answers. We must hold those who are not forthcoming with these accountable at the polls and in the chamber hall.

One of the papier-mâché accomplishments we’re sure to see this year will be the new budget which maintains the mill rate at the same level as the previous year. While it seems like an amazing accomplishment in comparison to previous budgets by the current office holders it’s nowhere near where we need to be and appears to be the best we can ever hope for from this council and this Mayor. Sadly this zero increase budget was not balanced through serious and sustainable reductions or efficiencies. Instead it was balanced on the elimination of town maintenance items such as police vehicle replacements which will in turn need to be double funded next year, or triple funded the year after and temporary union concessions. Certainly these are enough to get the Mayor and Council through this election if unchallenged on the facts but the reality is that we will all pay heavily for this next year and the years after when these false savings have to be paid for. The Mayor and Council have made no progress whatsoever in halting the freefall of our grand list, one of the two major drivers of our ever increasing taxes.

Interestingly prior to the 2007 municipal election the Mayor and Council played the same trick on us proclaiming they had shrunk the budget only to make up for it in 2008 giving grand speeches defending an increase in the Mayor’s salary and condemning the acts of previous councils, which most of the council members conveniently forgot they were a part of, in failing to fund maintenance spending. That year we let them get away with it. This time let’s not fall for it again.

By the way, have you thought of running for office? Maybe it’s time.

Jon Searles
East Hartford

Pawlowski Fired from State Job

The Republican American is reporting that the Journal Inquirer (subscription now required online) is reporting that Hank Pawlowski, the East Hartford Board of Education member who resigned after being arrested for hit and run, assaulting police, drug possession and driving while intoxicated, has been fired from his job at the State Freedom of Information Commission.

From the report:

The head of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission says an agency lawyer is being fired after being charged with a hit-and-run collision and violent confrontation with police. FOI Commission Executive Director Colleen Murphy says she informed Hank Pawlowski’s attorney that his employment ends May 21.-East Hartford police say Pawlowski fled from a collision in January, then struggled with officers until he was subdued with a Taser, police dog and chemical spray. He had been on paid administrative leave since the arrest. Murphy says she worried keeping him on staff would damage the FOI Commission’s credibility. Pawlowski’s case is pending in Manchester Superior Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to several charges. His attorney says he has a serious but treatable mental health condition.

Here is some previous coverage from this blog:

Hank Pawlowski Criminal/Motor Vehicle Docket Is Up – Summary of Charges

8 Bag Pawlowski to resign from BoE

CORRECTION – Councilman Bill Horan Will Not Defend BoE Pawlowski After Drunken Rampage

Mug Shot – Is he saying High?

Say WHAT!? BOE member busted with 8 bags o’ pot.

Video & Public Comment: 2009 Budget Hearing

Here is the video of the 2009 Budget Hearing. There were 4 members of the public who commented, myself included. The others were Susan Kniep, John Bezzini and one honest to goodness average citizen,

Budget Hearing Intro
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M529hpNZoIE]

John Bezzini Comments
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwLPSX2mtVU]

Susan Kniep Comments
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfs9Rdj0eSU]

Susan Kniep Comments Contd.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8sN3dPVJbw]

Shelly Ranney Comments
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNj1EN3ATng]

Jon Searles Comments
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGnnW9F3x1I]

Here is the budget commentary I submitted:

East Hartford Town Council Members,

First, I’d like to commend the effort of the Mayor to bring forward a budget which doesn’t increase taxes on residents or businesses in a time when neither can afford it. This is an accomplishment I thought I would never see.

That being said I have found some immediate issues with the budget as presented. While the Mayor does indeed appear to have made a solid effort to cut back and balance the budget as honestly as possible. I have found that some maintenance items which are part of the 5 year capital improvement plan such as rolling stock replacements have not been included in the budget as presented. Failure to properly fund such items in this budget will provide no real savings to the residents of East Hartford since we will eventually need to purchase extra vehicles to make up for the deferred maintenance. This council was vocal last year about the need for constant and continuous maintenance of the town infrastructure. I believe it was Mr. Kehoe who spoke to the folly of previous councils in neglecting the maintenance of town roads causing the exorbitant repair costs we face today. This is a mistake I should hope will not be repeated.

It is my opinion that the Board of Education has failed to present a budget which adequately shoulders their share of the burden in these hard economic times. This places a disproportionate amount of the reductions on the municipal side.

I am disappointed that despite the unique opportunity and motivation that these hard economic times provide the Mayor and BoE have limited their budget reductions only to levels required to balance the budget and have failed to make meaningful reductions to the tax burdens we all feel. I hope the council will make more serious attempts to do so.

I firmly believe in the editorial advice of the Gazette’s new owner Bill Doak that one shouldn’t tear something down unless they have a plan to fix it and as such I have researched the town budgets from 1999 through 2008 as well as the 2007 and 2008 Blum Shapiro Financial Audits in hopes of identifying areas of excessive growth which may aid you in your budgetary duty. I also attempted to review the last ten years of BoE budgets but was informed by a BoE representative that no physical or electronic copies were readily available prior to 2007. This naturally leads to the question of how the BoE can prepare a budget without historical budget data.

My statistics come from the 2007 and 2008 financial audits for the Council’s convenience. I present this information as mathematical evidence free of the emotional entanglement which too often obscures budgetary issues. Nor have I given any consideration to the political popularity.

What I found is that in the period of 1998 to 2008 the size of the municipal government remained almost the same with a net growth of 5 employees. With the Mayor’s proposed elimination of 20 positions the net change is -15. The largest municipal growth item was the addition of 14 employees in the police department.

While I am not qualified to opine on the cause and effect relationship of these new positions the statistics bear mentioning that arrests are down significantly in 2008 from 1998. Whether this indicates current overstaffing or past understaffing is something for the council to determine, but it warrants a look.

I have also looked at the growth of each summary expenditure item for the ten year period of 1999 to 2008 to see if they indicate any particular arm of the government which could offer opportunities to cut back. Here are the growth rates in order of smallest to largest. These numbers can be compared to the CPI inflation rate of 27.95% for the same period.

Capital Improvements – 24.8%
Legislative – 26%
Debt Service – 28%
Boards & Commissions – 30.5%
Contingency – 33.5%
Development – 33.5%
Executive – 34.4%
Board of Education – 43.6%
Public Safety – 45.4%
Public Works – 48.2%
Parks & Rec. – 51.8%
Health & Social Services – 62.7%
Inspections & Permits – 83.1%
Finance – 114.6%

The education side of town employment shows an entirely different picture. In the period of 1998 to 2008 educational employment showed a net increase of 243 employees. During this period the school systems did experience a significant increase in enrollment, however this enrollment peaked in 2005 at 8,397 students. Despite the subsequent fall from this peak to the current enrollment level which is estimated around 7,000, which is the lowest in over 10 years, employment levels did not decline.

In 2005 the school system had a student to staff ratio of 6.98 with a student to administration ratio of 233.25, a student to teacher ratio of 13.72 and a student to non teacher/admin ratio of 15.15. Based on these ratios, 2008 employment levels and the estimated 7000 students enrolled for 2009-2010 the school system is currently overstaffed to the tune of 19 administrators, 103 teachers and 53 non teacher/administrator positions. While the BoE has already proposed cutting a number of positions for the 2009/2010 budget year there is clearly more room for reductions. Unfortunately due to the lack of BoE budget availability I was unable to identify where these excess positions are located.

It would also be prudent for the BoE to investigate savings associated with school consolidation now that enrollment has fallen so significantly.

I hope the council will give serious consideration to the information I have provided in an attempt to provide legitimate tax relief for the residents and businesses of East Hartford.

Jon Searles

Related Coverage:

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/03/06/towns/east_hartford/doc49b00ee673682558067510.txt

Grand list shrinks…. again. Does this mean tax increases?

The grand list has shrunk again this year marking a consistent trend during the term of Mayor Melody Currey. The only years not showing a drop in the list were attributed to the widely unpopular revaluation, but even the reval adjusted list shrank. This history makes it disingenuous at best when the Finance Director and Mayor make their public budget projections based on the grand list not shrinking.

Despite the annual drop in the list the Mayor has submitted budget after budget which increases the spending of the town without regard for the tax impact on the citizens. Last year some of the council members were declaring victory that the mill rate had fallen despite the fact that the actual tax impact on East Hartford Residents had never been higher.

Now, almost 12 months later foreclosures have become an epidemic and the per household tax burden is approaching $400 per month. Could the two be related? You be the judge.

The newly release Net Taxable Grand List is $3,103,953,346 down $43,013,279 from $3,146,966,625 for the 08/09 budget year. When multiplied by the 98% collection rate that gives the town $3,041874,279 of property to base the mill rate on.

To maintain the same level of spending as 08/09 which was itself an abusive budget tax increases are required.

So far the Mayor has revealed a drop in Non-Tax Revenue of 3.2 million of 08/09 which we’ll assume will exist in 09/10 as well. That brings the Non-Tax Revenue estimate to $55,622,281 reducing portion of the 08/09 spending level of $155,830,432 which needs to be raised through property tax to $100,208151. That means a minimum mill rate of 32.94 to maintain spending. That translates to an average tax increase of $184 or $15/month per household. That’s 4% in one year. How many residents lost their jobs, forget received a 4% increase in wages. As a portion of household income property tax would represent burden of 11.52%  up from 11.07% in 08/09. At this growth rate the local property tax burden will equal 14% of the average household income within 5 years.

This picture will get worse as PILOT, ECS and grant money dries up. It’s also going to be magnified many fold if the BoE doesn’t get it’s act together and commit to a serious trimming of fat in the East Hartford education district. So far the BoE has offered no substance to indicate they understand the problem.

What our officials need to do is draw a line. They need to understand that a ZERO increase in all areas of the budget is the starting point this year. They need to pare down from there. To even pretend to be serious about the plight of the businesses and residents of East Hartford our officials must cut spending by $3.9 Million. To properly govern they probably ought to pare at least 3 times that and, as unpopular as it will be with those who have a vested interest, most needs to come from the education side.

The Mayor’s public statements so far have been encouraging, but given the history of East Hartford’s government I’d be surprised if they could even hold the budget, forget implementing the reductions required to prevent a tax increase.

Hank Pawlowski Criminal/Motor Vehicle Docket Is Up – Summary of Charges

Hank’s dockets are up in the online system and show he doesn’t yet have representation as Bill Horan previously responded. I’ll be sure to let you know if Bill’s name ends up on there.

You can view the dockets, which have the same content, at the links below.

H12M-CR09-0221034-S
H12M-MV09-0411371-S
(These links are apparently session specific. Just enter Pawlowski in the search and they’ll come right up.)

Here’s a run down on the charges/penalties:

53a-167a	INTERFERE WITH OFFCR/RESISTING	A	Misdemeanor
53a-181	BREACH OF PEACE 2ND DEG	B	Misdemeanor
53a-117	CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 3RD DEG	B	Misdemeanor
21a-277(b)	SALE OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE	U	Felony
53a-155	TAMPERING-PHYSICAL EVIDENCE	D	Felony
53a-167c	ATTEMPT TO COMMIT ASSAULT-PUB SFTY/EMGY MED PERS	C	Felony
53a-167a	INTERFERE WITH OFFCR/RESISTING	A	Misdemeanor
14-224(b)*	EVADE RESP-PROP DAMAGE/INJU	U	Misdemeanor
14-227a	ILL OPN MV UNDER INFL ALC/D	U	Misdemeanor
14-223(a)	DISOBEYING SIGNAL OF OFFICER		Infraction

The Class A Misdemeanors carry a maximum $2,000 fine or maximum 1 year sentence or both.
The Class B Misdemeanors carry a maximum $1,000 fine or maximum 6 month sentence or both.
The Class C Felony Carries a 1/10 year min/max sentence or a $10,000 fine or both.
The Class D Felony Carries a 1/5 year min/max sentence or a $5,000 fine or both.
The Unclassified Felony carries a maximum sentence of 7 years or a $25,000 fine or both.
The first Unclassified Misdemeanor carries a $75/$600 min/max fine or a maximum sentence of 1 year or both.
The second Unclassified Misdemeanor carries a $500/$1,000 min/max fine and a 6 month maximum sentence and a 1 year license suspension and may require an alcohol treatment program.
The Infraction carries a $150/$200 min/max fine.

All in all the worst case would be $47,800 in fines and 25 years. I imagine no where near that kind of punishment will be imposed.

CORRECTION – Councilman Bill Horan Will Not Defend BoE Pawlowski After Drunken Rampage

Bill was kind enough to set the record straight in a comment below. I will repost it in this entry for clarification.

Bill Horan Says:
January 8, 2009 at 4:18 pm edit

First, let me say that Hank is a very good friend of mine, has served the citizens of East Hartford very well for a great number of years, and that I have the utmost respect for him. Second, let me clarify that I have NOT been retained by Hank to represent him in this case. I did speak to a friend that informed me of the incident Wednesday, and I called the EHPD to inquire whether he would be arraigned Wednesday, be held overnight and arraigned today (Thursday), or be released and arraigned on a later date. My plan was that if Hank were arraigned yesterday or today, and I had not yet heard from him, I would go to G.A. 12 and be available to represent him in his arraignment if he had not made other arrangements. He is my friend, and I wantted to be there for him if he needed me. I learned Wednesday afternoon that he was released and given a Court date later in the month.

As of this moment I still have not spoken with Hank and I have still not been retained to represent him. When I do speak with him I will apologize for this mix up, as apparently something was taken out of context and it was assumed I had indeed been retained by him. Hopefully we will speak soon, as I want to express to him my support as his friend, and my encouragement that people are human and everybody makes mistakes, and that this chapter in his life will be behind him someday.

A lawyer from South Windsor who is a friend of mine represented a Superior Court Judge in Court recently for a DUI, and said something to the effect that a person’s character needs to be determined by their accomplishments throughout their lifetime, and not just by a moment of indiscretion frozen in time. The same should, and hopefully will, be said about Hank. I wish him the very best of luck in dealing with this matter, and I know he has the strength of character to weather this storm. –BILL HORAN

ORIGINAL ENRY:

The Gazette has it’s story up about Hank Pawlowski’s arrest this morning. You can check it out here:

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20236720&BRD=1642&PAG=461&dept_id=10299&rfi=6

There is something that bugs me in that story.

Pawlowski is a 10-year Democratic member of the East Hartford Board of Education. Those who know him expressed shock and disbelief at the news of his arrest.

He is being represented by William ‘Bill’ Horan Jr., a member of the Town Council and a defense attorney with Webber, Jacobs, Murphy & Horan of Hartford.

It seems that of the thousands of defense attorneys in CT the least appropriate one is a fellow member of the local government. As Mr. Horan is a sitting Council member and a member of the Democratic Town Committee along with other Democratic Board of Education Members he would have the potential to exert improper influence on other Board of Education members in the handling of this incident. While I’m sure Mr. Horan’s scruples wouldn’t permit him to do such a thing the possibility is there.

Being a principled person my ethical flags go up quickly. Do you think this is a conflict?

[polldaddy poll=1256975]

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