Board of Ed Introduces New Hybrid Bus

Before Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting, members were treated to a ride on Middletown's newest hybrid bus, the second in the District's bus fleet.  Upgraded with regenerative braking, this new bus doesn't need to be plugged in. Click here for Middletown Press coverage and here for the District update submitted to the Courant.  For a complete explanation of how regenerative braking works, click here.

In District Highlights, Principal Joe Cassela shared some of the many exciting components of Woodrow Wilson Middle School.  Calling WWMS "Middletown's best kept secret," Cassela told the board that he has high expectations for himself and the students, and that these expectations are increasing behavioral and academic performance.  The Drill Team performed for the BOE, students spoke of a commitment to community service and academics, and staff members explained anti-bullying efforts (the Pride Patrol) and other programs. Board members were treated to oatmeal raisin cookies baked by Mrs. Harris in Family and Consumer Science and served by Mr. Harris (Tech Ed, spouse to Mrs. Harris).

In other district news, Middletown will be receiving a $25K grant to run a program at Bielefield Elementary School, aimed at giving hispanic children after school academic support.  The goal of the additional support is to help close the achievement gap when these students take their CMTs.  Enza Macri, Assistant Superintendent, told the Board that "we are very proud of this program.  We really listened to what parents wanted, and now 90 children are getting academic support four days a week.  Parents who don't speak English well enough to help their children with their homework are able to have their children get help after school."

Elementary School to MHS Director of Fine Arts and District Operations, Marco Gaylord, has been named Person of the Year by The Middletown Press.  Read the full article here.

Superintendent Pat Charles reported the results of 199 personal interviews she had with a wide range of Middletown parents, teachers, politicians, and students as she gathered information about the nature of the community and organization of Middletown.  Charles conducted the interviews to establish a presence in Middletown and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the Middletown school system.  Charles heard repeatedly that the Arts program, improved focus on academics, caring and dedicated staff, and broad course offerings were strengths while Middletown parents and leaders were concerned about the achievement gap, curriculum rigor, library quality, and Special Education.  Dr. Charles will use these findings as the BOE reviews and revises its goals, creates budgets, and plans strategically for the future.

In budget news, the BOE is hoping to get funding from FEMA to cover the costs associated with opening the cafeteria as a shelter during last year's hurricane and snowstorm. Budget Chairman Ted Raczka worried out loud about the "Washington D.C. kick the can down the road" approach to budgeting, noting that "sooner or later we are going to have to balance the books, and we will have to bear the burden."  Raczka was talking about the fact that the district now has a deficit of more than $1 million dollars for this year, in addition to the 10% budget increase the Superintendent is asking for.  "Instead of approaching this as a winners and losers situations, let's consider that all boats rise or all boats sink - cuts should come out of every one's pockets, " Raczka commented.  In other words, rather than cutting programs in their entirety, Raczka is advocating cutting some from every part of the budget to spread the pain.

The next BOE meeting is Tuesday, January 22 at 7pm.  The board is scheduled to adopt the 2013-2014 School Budget.  The meeting will be held in the City Hall Common Council Chambers.

Superintendent presents 2013-2014 School Budget

Superintendent Patricia Charles presented her 2013-2014 budget to the Board of Education Tuesday evening, asking for increases in almost every part of the budget.  Five major price increases are driving the overall budget increase:

1. Contractual increases in salaries (asking for 7% increase)
2. Increased cost of benefits (assuming a 20% increase in costs)
3. A need to purchase critical technology infrastructure & hardware (asking for 23% increase)
4. State mandates for the new Common Core State Standards, professional development, assessments, and reform efforts 
5. Tuition for out of district students (33% increase asked for - covers both special ed services and magnet school participation)

The combined sum of requested increases totals almost $8.5 million; however, there currently is no bottom line request for the new budget because of additional negotiations still underway with the City.  Superintendent Charles has a meeting next week with Mayor Dan Drew about the possibility of combining redundant services, and this may drastically change what the BOE budget looks like.  For example, the City and the BOE both maintain grounds-keeping personnel.  If this function could be assumed by the City for school grounds, the BOE would not have to spend this money.

Once the City and the Superintendent agree on what services can be combined, the Superintendent's budget can be finalized.  A bottom line budget number is expected at the January BOE meeting.

In the mean time, Dr. Charles has to deal with the current budget deficit for the 2012-2013 budget.  The BOE approved immediate cuts in the following areas:

Athletics trainer ($5000)
Activities ($20, 548)
21st Century After School ($15, 000)
Cell phone reduced ($3000)
1 custodian - unfilled position ($40, 000)
All City Arts Show cut back ($2000)
Adult Ed benefits ($40, 000)
BOE salary/benefits reduction ($2000)
Facility use (Hall House) ($9, 621)
Increase cafeteria prices ($15, 000)
Consultant fee reduction ($2, 500)
15% hold on supply funds ($142, 969)
long term sub ($31, 889)
city return of unexpended utility balance ($70, 381)
EAP RFP ($5, 400)

Total - $455,308

These immediate reductions really only cover approximately 1/2 the actual deficit amount.  As the school year continues, there are several unknowns that may exaggerate the deficit: winter weather, the out-placement of special ed students, unexpected facilities issues/repairs, state funding reductions, maternity leave, and magnet school participation.  Furthermore, approximately 75% of the budget is salaries and benefits, so any significant budgetary savings would have to include cutting teaching positions.

BOE member Sheila Daniels praised the Superintendent, thanking her for a thorough presentation that was eye-opening and daunting: "I think you presented a budget that will move us forward."

BOE Budget Committee member Ed McKeon thanked Dr. Charles for her hard work and analysis for savings, noting that he intended to personally support her budget requests.  "We have to work hard to make sure the budget is realistic, but we have been skating on thin ice for 5 years.  We have been working on budgets that have sent us backwards, and we can no longer accept budgets that push us backwards.  We will continue to see erosion to magnet schools."  McKeon went to on say that the "Public has to understand the position that the state put us in - without any proof in the pudding - that this problem is foisted upon BOEs without legislators addressing how to fund education system.  The poorest communities have the biggest problems and the wealthiest communities have no problems.  It is unacceptable for the governor to say he's cutting education and expecting us to do more.  Our schools can't perform at the level expected if resources are taken away."

Budget Chairman Ted Raczka seemed stunned at the proposed budget, and he raised several potential issues of concern:

1. How could a new budget get put together if staff contracts had not yet been approved by the Common Council?
2. Several of the budget object codes were not clear or transparent for Raczka to understand what the budgeted funds would be used for.

Raczka seemed to be the only BOE member who verbalized doubts about the proposed budget: "An 11% budget increase?  Almost 8 million dollars?  This is breathtaking given the realities in our community...this would be a fundamental change in how city funds everything.  The community can't afford that kind of budget increase unless other things are let go."

In contrast, BOE Chairman Dr. Gene Nocera commented, "we have a clear understanding of what the district needs, it took a considerable amount of time to present this, and our responsibility to present this in as clear a way as possible.  The next 30-60 days are critical to move the district forward."

Besides approving budget reductions, the BOE also acted to approve the 2013-14 School Calendar (yes, February break is included!) and it increased breakfast and lunch prices by $.15 and $.25 respectively.  The cafeteria price increase will begin January 2, 2013.  For more information, read Dr. Charles' letter to parents here. (click on the Cafeteria Menu Prices Increase as of January 1, 2013 link)

The next regular BOE meeting is Tuesday, January 8, 2013, at 7pm in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall.

Mayor Delivers Budget With Proposed Tax Increase

Mayor Dan Drew released his proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 on Monday, and at the regularly scheduled Common Council meeting gave what he said would be a regular "Budget Address" (full text HERE). The total budget (including Water, Fire, and Sanitation) is $153.7M, an increase of 2.1% over last year. The budget raises the mill rate from 26.1 to 27.1.

In his address, Drew said that he inherited a "budget crisis" when he took office, he blamed both increased expenses and the loss of $1.9M in tax revenue paid by Aetna (the grand list actually remained stable compared to last year, due to an increase in other properties). Drew said that his administration had taken a number of steps to reduce expenditures, reducing the potential tax increase from 12% to his proposed 3.8%.

Breaking News: New Mayor's Budget Cuts Education by $3.5 Million

Mayor Drew's fiscal year 2013 budget denies any increase in funding for education. This represents a nearly $3.5M cut from the budget requested by the Schools.

In his budget address, Drew said he was flat-funding the schools, but pointed to money that he hoped the State would provide:

This proposed budget funds education consistent with the 2011-12 fiscal year with the understanding that the State of Connecticut will provide an additional $872,000 directly to the school system. Additionally, the City will provide after school grants funding in the amount of $55,000 that will aid the schools in providing programming for students.

Board of Education Passes 2012-2013 Budget

At tonight's Board of Education meeting, the 2012-2013 proposed budget of $74, 161, 155 passed with only one dissenting vote. Board Member Ryan Kennedy voted against the budget, saying he had heard from many residents who simply cannot afford for taxes to go up in this budget cycle. Kennedy did say that he does support the new math curriculum proposed by the budget, but that he can't at this time support an increased budget overall.

Click here for a link to the proposed budget, then select the link that reads "Superintendent's Recommended Budget for FY 2012-2012. The proposed budget represents a 4.82% increase over last year's budget. However, Budget Chairman Ted Raczka called it a "roll-over budget," meaning that other than contractual increases, budget amounts remain at the same level as last year. Raczka was also quick to add that the budget is a work in progress, and that he hopes members of the public will follow the process and advocate for a budget that meets the needs of Middletown students. BOE Chairman Gene Nocera commented that this year and next would be a difficult budget cycle and that he hoped to navigate the next two years with great concern for preventing staff lay-offs: "That would disastrous for our district and our programs," Nocera added.

Recent events at Farm Hill Elementary School completely overshadowed this evening's budget vote. Fourteen different parents and/or concerned Middletown residents spoke to the board about behavioral issues at Farm Hill. Over and over parents commented about the lack of information about what was happening while expressing a combined frustration at the perceived lack of resources or ability to handle behavioral problems. Superintendent Michael Frechette presented a report to the BOE about what resources have been available to Farm Hill and what new resources are coming as part of an expanded plan on how to address the concerns raised. At Farm Hill's upcoming Thursday (1/12/12) PTA meeting, Dr. Frechette will be meeting with the PTA to explain what is happening. Frechette will hold a similar meeting with Farm Hill teachers and staff on Friday (1/13/12). This EYE reporter was also told that several BOE members plan to attend the PTA meeting as well.

Additional information will be available as this week progresses, so check back for an update on this topic.

New Board of Ed Settles In

Last night's regular Board of Education meeting was all about process and board members settling into their roles and responsibilities. The Board voted to approve committee assignments and Adopt-a-School responsibilities. If I followed the amendments correctly, the breakdown looks like this:

• Budget Committee: Ted Raczka (chair), Ryan Kennedy, Ed McKeon
• Communication Committee: Ryan Kennedy (chair), Ted Raczka, Mitchell Wynne
• Policy Committee: Sheila Daniels (chair), Bill Grady, Ed McKeon
• Curriculum Committee: Bill Grady (chair), Sheila Daniels, Mitchell Wynne
• Transportation Committee: Bill Grady (chair), Ryan Kennedy, Mitchell Wynne
• Feasibililty Committee: Ed McKeon (chair), Cheryl McClellan
• MFT Negotiaitions: Sheila Daniels, Ava Hart
• TEMS: Cheryl McCellan
• ACES: Ava Hart

There was a bit of disagreement over whether the Feasibility Committee actually existed and what its role was supposed to be, but the objections of board members Ted Raczka and Bill Grady were overruled in the end. BOE Chairman Gene Nocera said he would plan to have the committee's responsibilities confirmed at the next BOE meeting.

In District Highlights, MHS Principal Robert Fontaine summarized the NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) visit and the high school's accreditation process. Every ten years the high school goes through a rigorous review process lasting almost 3 years: first the school does a self-study, and then it is visited by a "team" made up of school administrators from the six New England states. Winter Storm Alfred rearranged the originally scheduled visit, so 9 of the 13 original team members were able to return on November 30th and December 1st to complete the visit. Principal Fontaine shared that he was told the NEASC team was very impressed with the reception it received at MHS: "The Committee was very impressed with our students and their behavior and their intellectual engagement...our students were well behaved and represented themselves well." The official results will be published in May, and the school will have either two years or five years to implement any recommendations the committee has for improvement.

Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges spent a considerable amount of time explaining the 2011 CMT (Connecticut Mastery Test) results to the board. While "miraculous" results have been made in the reading scores for Middletown students, math and writing score have lagged. Senges assured the board that the administration has already taken steps to address the problem: for example, the amount of time in math in 6th grade has doubled to 80 minutes from 40 minutes to address the drop in math scores between 6th and 7th grade. "Closing the achievement gap further means being more strategic since other sub-groups are not achieving at the same rate," Senges told the board. "What it really boils down to is that we've accomplished this with no additional increase in our budget in three years, and if you want this achievement to continue, we have to provide the resources in our budget to make it happen."

Board member Mitchell Wynn asked Senges for specific examples of what the district is doing to improve the gaps in CMT scores, and Senges replied, "We pretest before we teach anything. Then teachers get together to decide what the students need to learn first before anyone continues on. We're trying to teach missed material in a new way, and give more time for students to get it. We're also differentiating between students so not everyone is learning the same thing at the same time..." [Author's note: since I have been covering the Board of Ed, there has been a systematic attempt to get rid of tracking (this is the process of dividing students into groups by ability for teaching purposes). The argument against tracking was that honor students are always going to do well, and students at the other end would benefit by being in the same group with higher achievers. I'll apologize if I'm not understanding it correctly, but now it seems like pre-testing and differentiation is exactly the same process but just a new name...]

When a few board members asked if she was consulting other districts with problems similar to our own, Senges got very defensive: "I want to say this with all due respect: we're doing better than any other district our size with similar achievement gaps. Our teachers know what they have to do and they are doing it. Other districts are coming to us to see what to do, we don't need to go to them."

Not many individuals spoke at either of the public sessions, but significant among those who did were the Mayor, Dan Drew, and Common Council member Grady Faulkner. Mayor Drew commended the BOE for the positive working relationship between the two entities so far, noting that "we've resolved a potential dispute and I'm sure we can continue to make progress and work together to resolve any remaining issues." Drew went on to comment that he had an open door policy and that he appreciated the open communication that was starting to form between the BOE and the city. Councilman Faulkner asked the board to consider more visible events during Black History Month in February: "There's a large black population in Middletown and it's been kind of quiet for the last few years during Black History Month. I'd really like to see something more done."

Finally, it's December, and that means budget time. Superintendent Michael Frechette will present his budget to the Board of Ed at the December 20th meeting, with the first look coming at the December 19th Budget Committee meeting. Members of the public are welcome to attend the Budget Committee meeting, and I would encourage you to pay particular attention to how this new board works together in the coming months. It's one thing to play nice in the two-meeting honeymoon after the elections are over, but it's something entirely different to produce a budget! Stay tuned!

Superintendent to Board of Ed: "Remember the Cliff? We're Here."

Much of Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting revolved around the 2011-2012 School Year Budget, but not because BOE members were talking specific details about how to cover the $2.4 million gap between the BOE's requested budget and Mayor Giuliano's proposed budget. Superintendent Michael Frechette told the board that he's make a zero budget work for two years, but that he can't do it for a third year. "We've done what we need to do to get this far, but it will be devastating next year with $2.4 million in cuts. Summer school will be gone because that's $200,000 right there. Class size is going to go up and programs are going away. Oh, and we're losing $700,000 in grant money too for next year."

BOE Chairman Ted Raczka commented: "This is a watershed year. It's important that we remember what we've done in the past. What got us through those tough, tough times was to make sure it was a community decision. Is Middletown going to support education? It's our duty [the Board of Education's] to make sure folks understand the significance of this budget." Raczka went on to say that he hopes passionately to avoid making the budget about a conflict in personalities: "This is a decision for us as a community to make about supporting education."

Several parents spoke during the public session about the impact on Macdonough if significant cuts are made to the summer program. Ed McKeon urged the BOE to be open with parents: "help us be your advocates to the Common Council." His plea was echoed by another parent: "We want to stand up for you at the Common Council meeting, and we want to make sure our schools get the resources they need. " PTA President Jennifer Alexander told the BOE that the $12,000 for 60 kids to attend a half day program for 5 weeks was a "very frugal way to give these kids a chance at stopping the summer slide" in academics. Alexander also asked the BOE to revisit the districting boundaries as the projected Kindergarten numbers might push Macdonough over its ideal student population number of about 240. "I would hope the board takes the opportunity to consider a more nuanced tool like some kind of parent choice option to manage this issue."

During Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges' report on the District Data Team (this is the group that manages implementation of the District Improvement Plan as required by the State), it became very clear that from her perspective, Middletown will not be able to continue the progress it has made over the last three years if drastic budget cuts take place. "This work [the District Data Team's work] is critical to our future success....we are going to take a huge step backwards in this process if we can't continue."

Of the 18 districts required to implement District Improvement Plans because of CMT results that failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (APY), Middletown is considered the "poster child" for the progress it has made. The State has finished its official monitoring and, according to Senges, "feels we've accomplished what they wanted and they are confident the process will continue." While Middletown met APY this past year for the first time in several years, the benchmarks went up again for this next year, and it is likely that the district won't meet APY this year. Senges told the BOE that while she hopes Middletown is "off the list," her actual goal is "to make consistent progress in closing the achievement gap."

Budget Committee Chairman Jay Keiser asked Business Manager Nancy Haynes to gave an update on the 2010 audit and the current budget. Posted on the District's webpage, the 2010 audit had "no findings of anything" for both the state and federal audits.

On the current budget, the $400,000 shortfall that occurred because of the cost of snow removal from school roofs has been whittled down to about $257,000. If this shortfall can't be covered, it immediately impacts next year's budget by this amount. However, Haynes is currently holding back the 2nd payment the BOE owes the city for health insurance for classified salaries because the city won't give her a statement showing the official cost of the insurance. "I think the city is overcharging us because several other departments had reductions in the cost of this insurance but we haven't and they won't give me any kind of bill or documentation to show the actual amount owed. It's not good practice to pay a bill without seeing the bill, so I'm holding payment for now." Haynes speculated that the savings might be enough to cover the shortfall, but that she won't know until the attorneys work it out.

The vote to approve changes to when the public session is scheduled during the meeting and what can be talked about by the public at what time was tabled until the next meeting. Three BOE members were not present (two had significant family issues this past week), and BOE Member Bill Boyd asked to table the discussion/vote until these members were present: "I know that they [the missing BOE members] have significant opinions on this subject and we shouldn't decide without them." Corinne Gill commented that while she completely understood the reason for the absences, she didn't want it to become a BOE habit to put off discussion because someone with a significant opinion wasn't there. Jay Keiser commented that he would not be voting for the new policy: "I agree we have a number of people who come to be disruptive and not helpful, but does this mean it's OK to make legitimate people with legitimate concerns wait until the very end of the meeting? Is this fair?" William Grady then stated, "We have to remember that this is a board meeting held in public, not the public's meeting. Public comment should have to do with our agenda because we're not here to just sit and listen. We can't respond, we can't engage. It's not that we don't want to, but it's not the time to do it. We have to run our meeting and our agenda." [Author's note: the proposed policy would split the public comment session into two segments. The first segment, at the beginning of the meeting, would be only for comment on items specifically on the agenda for that meeting. The second segment at the very end of the meeting would be for comments on any subject pertaining to the board's purview.]

In other business, the MHS graduation date and closing of school is June 21st, but Woodrow Wilson graduates on June 22 because it lost an extra day due to electrical issues. The BOE meeting on June 21st was moved to June 28. The Vo-Ag program was authorized to begin the application process for a $50,000 equipment grant to replace its 18 passenger school bus. The vehicle is used to take students to off-campus locations for training and visits that can't been accomplished at MHS.

The BOE's next meeting with the Common Council is April 26th at 6:30pm. There will be a public hearing before the Common Council on April 28th at 7pm. All members of the public are encouraged to attend and to voice their opinion on what education in Middletown will look like for 2011-2012 and beyond.

BOE Meeting Time and Location Changed

The Board of Education will meet tomorrow night, Tuesday, April 12, at 6pm at the BOE Central Office at 311 Hunting Hill Avenue, Board Room (Room #1).

Key items on the agenda include the setting of the date for Graduation, the second reading of a policy that would change when the public session is scheduled during the BOE meeting (and what can be spoken about during the public session), and a report from the budget committee.

Board of Education 2010-11 Budget

Click here to see the 2010-2011 Middletown Public Schools budget. As you scroll through the beginning memos, you'll see a summary sheet with the specific breakdown on how a zero percent budget was achieved (remember that $859,520 was cut from the originally proposed budget).

The specific breakdown for the line item transfers totaling $1,497,466 is also included.

The last Budget Committee minutes available online are from 1/25/10, so there isn't a recent look at how the Budget Committee evaluated the budget...hopefully this changes soon!

Union President urges citizens to support Mayor's Budget Thursday

Letter to the Eye:

The Common Council is meeting on Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 8:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall to propose and pass their budget for the next fiscal year. I am writing as a City of Middletown employee and member of the Local 466 Executive Board. I realize that I’ve now just opened the door for a slew of venomous posts against city workers and in particular union workers. I also have a last name that ends in a vowel so of course I must have gotten my job by “knowing” someone. Might as well cover that at the start.

My purpose in writing is to urge the people of Middletown to support the Mayor’s budget in that it moves the classified union positions from the Board of Education budget to the City’s budget. These employees are part of the classified system, hired and fired through the Mayor’s office. These employees are paid under the City of Middletown’s federal tax identification number. These employees, both unions 466 and MMPA, are covered by the collective bargaining contracts that are negotiated through the Mayor. The same amount of salary will be paid to the employees whether they are paid by the Board of Education or by the City; it’s set by the union contracts. The benefits are the same whether paid by the BOE or the City. However, when preparing the budget, the City identifies each employee and positions and budgets, as exactly as possible, the amount to be paid to that employee, then puts a certain percentage into a line item called salary reserve. This percentage is used to make up for changes in personnel; for example, should an employee leave or retire, generally their replacement is hired at a lower starting salary. This would leave that line item with a surplus at the end of the year. But perhaps in another department, a position is reclassified and the employee given a salary adjustment, this additional needed by the line item would come out of the salary reserve. The Board of Education does not budget using a salary reserve line; they budget full salary. The Superintendent of Schools has stated that if these positions are moved out of his budget, he will have no other place to go if he needs money. My question is then, is there a surplus of funds in his line item in the budget? If no surplus, then I would assume that he’s going to achieve a surplus of funds in that line item from layoffs?

466, the union representing the majority of the classified employees at the BOE currently has something like 25 open grievances or labor action with the Board of Education that would be unnecessary in the past as they would have been handled with a phone cal or a meeting. However, the lines of communication have deteriorated so much that it is no longer possible to settle these issues at that low a level. We’ve several instances where grievances have been adjudicated and the BOE has refused to make the ruled adjustments whether monetary or not.

By moving the payroll for the classified employees to the City side of the budget, the BOE would then be treated like every other department in the City. The employees working for that department would be supervised and directed by the department head. The union contract would be applied equally and fairly to all members.

At the meeting for the departments to present their budget requests to the Council, the Superintendent of Schools referenced a state statute that basically limits the funding that a council can appropriate to a board of education so that it cannot be less than what was appropriated in 2009. The Mayor asked for a legal opinion from Shipman & Goodwin on this statute and although they cannot guarantee that there would not be a violation (I’ve never seen a doctor, lawyer or teacher for that matter, guarantee anything) they were confident that there would not be a violation of this statute. I’m attaching the opinion.

I’m being told that the budget to be proposed by the Democratic Council members does not support the Mayor’s budget with the positions being paid out of the City’s side but leaves the positions in the BOE’s budget. I am asking that the Council not do this at this time; once those funds are appropriated to the BOE they are no longer under the control of the Council. I am asking that they wait – let us get the necessary rulings from the State Department of Education and the State Department of Labor that we need to assuage their fears of a penalty. As you can see in the opinion, the determination of having shorted the BOE is made at the END of the fiscal year. They can move the positions to the City side and then change their minds and appropriate the funds to the BOE later.

Please urge the Council to do the right thing.

Thank you,

Linda Salafia

Chapter C President

Local 466

AFSCME

An Overdue Tribute

Common Council members Gerry Daley and Phil Pessina called a tribute to former police captain Salvatore "Flash" Faraci, "a long overdue tribute." The Common Council voted, by acclaim to name the road which leads to the police firing range, Captain Salvatore "Flash" Faraci Road.

Faraci designed, planned and managed the building of the police firing range which opened in 1983, and was then, one of two town ranges in Connecticut. The range has now being shared with the FBI.

In other business, the Common Council voted a unanimous "nay" which, if a reverse parliamentary procedure, meant that they endorsed the contract that the Board of Education negotiated with Middletown teachers. The contract institutes a virtual freeze on salaries for teachers in contract year 2011, and an overall increase of $561,000 in salaries and $235,000 in one-time thousand dollar payments for the 420 teachers affected by the contract.

"A hard freeze on wages is a commendable contribution in helping to address the fiscal problems that the city, and in fact, all other governmental institutions will be facing," Daley said.

"$800,000 over a three year contract in our budget is really nothing at all," Council member Thomas Serra added.

Busted Sewer Budget Means Probable Rate Hikes

In a memo to Mayor Sebastian Giuliano and City Finance Director Carl Erlacher, Water and Sewer Director Guy Russo revealed that only two months into a new fiscal year the Sewer Department is out of cash.

In his memo, Russo indicates that because of "(the economy, conservation, lack of usage, wet weather) that total sales are down" to about 6.5% below anticipated revenues. In addition he cites a 7.1% delinquency rate, further anticipated "low sales," anticipated slow collectibles as ongoing issues which will prevent solvency in the near term.

The Sewer Operating Budget is currently out of cash and is owed $1.4 million.

The city is meeting Sewer and Water payroll, but all vendor and supply payments are on hold.

Russo is suggesting a rate increase of $1.45 per thousand cubic feet treated to help make up for the shortfall. This increase would generate $128,000. Another rate increase may be needed in May.

While the lack of revenue is part of the problem, the department has, for at least the past two years, set budget at a higher number than would be available from actual billings. In 2007, the department budgeted $3,730,757 but only billed $3,568,690 resulting in a difference of -$162,000 and an actual shortfall of -$388,446 because of non-collections.

In 2008, the department budgeted $3,960,899 when actual billings were only $3,876,072, a difference of -$84,827 leading to an actual shortfall of -$386,325.

And in 2009, the department budgeted $4,386,272 against anticipated billings of $3,941,888, a difference of -$444,384, and an actual shortfall of -$724,000.

By state statute, the Water Pollution Control Agency (WPCA), the controlling agency for the Water and Sewer Department, is financially autonomous from the city, meaning that once the city has approved a budget, the WPCA is solely responsible for managing expenditures and revenue which applies to that budget.

Among the strategies suggested for making up the shortfall are the rate increase, an immediate loan of half a million dollars from the General Sewer Improvement Fund (which would have to be repaid by fiscal year 2010), an aggressive stance toward collection of unpaid bills (using a collection agency already working for the city), a freeze on filling vacant positions, and cancellation of several sewer projects and the purchase of a new sewer vehicle.

Erlacher will be making a presentation on the Sewer budget crisis at tomorrow's meeting of the WPCA (5:15 PM, Water and Sewer Department headquarters).

Milardo Reports Budget Carryover for Board of Education

John Milardo who publishes a newsletter for the Middletown Managers and Professional Association, Local 6092, AFT-CT, reports the following:

The Board of Education is carrying over almost $1.4 million into this budget year from last year. How? I don’t know?

BOE Administrators received their mileage “reimbursement” checks this week.

Based on current IRS mileage reimbursement rates, which are $.55 (cents) per mile. Here is the Board of Education mileage reimbursement breakdown.

• Superintendent of Schools received $6,200.00. That amounts to; 11,272 miles per year, or 940 miles per month.

• Assistant Superintendent of Schools, two (2) positions, received $4,200.00, each.

That amounts to; 7,637 miles per year, or 637 miles per month, for each Assistant Superintendent.

• Director of Maintenance received $3,900.00. That amounts to; 7,091 miles per year, or 591 miles per month.

• Business Manager (new position, 3 weeks on the job) received $4,000.00. That amounts to; 7,273 miles per year, or 607 miles per month.

School Budget Proposes Elimination of Six Elementary Classes

According to an email sent to the Middletown Eye by Board of Education member Ryan Kennedy, the budget submitted by Superintendent of Schools Michael Frechette eliminates six elementary classes. The assumption is that already-crowded classrooms in elementary schools will become more crowded if the budget passes.

The meeting will not be held at the High School, as are many meetings which expect to draw large attendence. The Board of Education Budget Meeting will be held at 6 PM at 311 Hunting Hill Avenue at the School Administration Building.

Council Undoes Budget Veto

The Common Council voted along strictly partly lines Thursday evening 8 to 3 to reinstate the budget they adopted on May 14. Mayor Sebastian Giuliano vetoed the budget, and the Council needed 8 votes to reinstate.

The $129.7 million budget assumes no increase in taxes and limited cuts of programs. The mayor's counter budget of $128.5 million was based on a 1 mil tax increase.

The Democratic council members contended that the city is healthy financially, with new revenue streams, one-time revenue sources and a more-than-solvent general fund. The mayor, and Republican council members noted that none of the revenue sources is guaranteed, and that counting on money not in hand is risky.

Part of the budget is the return of a fireworks celebration, something that was cut out of the mayor's version of the budget, but there were plenty of fireworks during the official meeting with some louder explosions once the meeting was finished (more on that in a separate post).

The debate began when Council member Gerry Daley questioned the basis for the Mayor's veto of the budget. He questioned the Mayor's contention that a nearly $2.6 request to settle retro salary increases based on the police union contract was an "unexpected" expense. He also wondered why the mayor was projecting revenue problems, like the loss of the Aetna facility from the tax rolls, which would not hit the budget until the following fiscal year.

The mayor explained that the $2.6 million would have a draining effect on the general fund, and that his job was to consider not only the current tax year, but the tax burden in successive year as negative impacts hit the budget.

Daly was the first of several Democratic Council members to emphasize that the budget they were proposing was one which avoided a tax increase, and a cut in services.

"These are not ordinary times," Daly said. "And that's why I think taxpayers need a break.'

Umbrage began to be taken in large proportions when Council member David Bauer asked a series of questions, which were required by Roberts Rules of Orders to be "rhetorical." He wanted to know why a compromise budget, offered by the mayor, which would have had no tax increase, and an additional $800,000 in savings was rejected. He also asked if the Council's rejection of a negotiated "no layoff" clause with unions meant that the Council was expecting layoffs to be part of the budget solution.

In a short diversion where the rules of order were discussed heatedly, charges were traded.

"This is not a dictatorship," Daley said of one of Giuliano's rulings as chairman of the meeting. "This is a democracy."

Answering Bauer, Majority leader Tom Serra charged that Bauer was using scare tactics.

"You did the same thing last year," Serra scolded. "Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs. This budget is going to work and there will be no layoffs."

All the Democratic members painted a rosy picture of the the City of Middletown's financial health. They pointed to revenue from the sale of Cucia Park, and to expected tax revenue on the opening of the Kleen Energy plant. Both Serra and Daley mentioned that they expected no problems with bond ratings. Daley indicated that even after expenditures the general fund would be at a level higher than five years ago.

"There are a lot of things going on in town on the positive side," Daley said. "We owe it to the taxpayers of Middletown to give them a break this year. What is Middetown if we don't have the quality of life. We the Democrats stand united for no tax increases."

Council member Vinnie Loffredo chastised the mayor for the first budget sent their way. He noted that union concessions were tied to specific cuts.

"That was totally unacceptable," Loffredo said. "How were we going to go through that (budget) process under those pressures. Those threats. Everyone of the concessions was linked together. It was a house of cards."

Loffredo conceded that the mayor and the unions later unlinked the concessions to specific budget cuts.

Bauer wouldn't let a vote be called without a final warning.

"This budget raises the specter of layoffs," he said. "The numbers don't lie. Last year this Council cut by one third what the mayor had proposed as projected spending. Then the council ended up spending every cent of the third they had cut, and beyond."

After a final rebuttal by Gerry Daley, a vote was called, the veto was rejected, and the Council voted to adjorn.

Common Council To Vote on Vetoed Budget

The Common Council will conduct a special public meeting Thursday at 7PM to vote on overturning a veto of the budget by Mayor Sebastian Giuliano.

While both sides met to discuss the budget, the resolution reads as follows:

In Accordance with Chapter VI, Finance and Taxation, Section 1 of the
City Charter, readopting all items that were vetoed in the 2009 – 2010
budget and that said budget be effective as adopted by the Common
Council at their meeting of May 14, 2009 at 7 p.m

In an email to a Middletown Eye contributor Mayor Sebastian Giuliano writes:

" Carl Erlacher, Diana Doyle, Tima Bomes, Debra Milardo, Geen and I came up with a proposed compromise that would ahve saved as much as $800K by keeping the union concessions in play, making some cuts (while preserving the great majority of their pet project spending) and using considerably less of the Cucia Park projected proceeds. Word is that the majority caucus is just going to override my veto and keep their own budget."

The Citizens Advisory Committee met Wednesday evening, and as a result of stimulus dollars provided to the city, restored funding to several organizations who had seen their annual contributions cut drastically or completely. If the Common Council takes the advice of the Citizens Advisory Committee, the St. Vincent DePaul Amazing Grace Pantry, which had been set to receive no funding, will now receive $6000 for the Pantry, and $10000 to perform a relocation study for their soup kitchen. In addition the Chamber of Commerce will move from $8000 to $19,0000.

Mayor's Veto May Result In Compromise

As reported earlier today, Mayor Sebastian Giuliano vetoed the city budget proposed by the Common Council last Thursday.

In a written statement accompanying his formal veto, the Mayor listed five specific reasons for rejecting the budget. He indicated the Council might be unaware of a $2.6 million appropriation from the reserve fund to adjust Police salary and overtime as a result of collective bargaining agreements. He also noted a $1.8 million dollar decrease in revenue in the next fiscal year due as Aetna prepares to move its operation out of Middletown. In addition, the mayor points to nearly $100,000 in revenue overprojections he feels the Council has made in real estate tax revenues and licenses. The mayor also feels that the projected sum of $1.5 million dollars for the sale of Cucia Park to the Army is misguided. Finally, he feels that projected savings from "voluntary concessions" is unrealistic after the Council rejected the union concession package.

"I cut spending as far as I could cut," the mayor said in an interview this afternoon. "I negotiated a million dollars in concessions from city unions, and I could only get the budget down to a 1 mil tax increase. The Common Council added all the cut spending back. They spurned the $1 million in concessions, and they proposed no tax increase. Where's the money coming from."

After hearing criticism from his Democratic opponent in the mayoral race Giuliano indicated that the tax increase of 1 mil is a minimal increase.

"It's an average of $160 a year per household," the mayor claimed. "That's four dollars a week for the average taxpayer. You'd give up a cup of coffee and a donut a week. You don't want to give that up, and in return you'll choose financial chaos in the next fiscal year."

Democratic majority leader Thomas Serra, who had only just reviewed the mayor's veto and counterproposal, was cautious in his assessment.

"We'll caucus and discuss it," Serra said. "It looks like he's proposing a 25.5 mil rate, which is no increase. If that's the case, it will be how comfortable the caucus is with the lateral changes. We thought the mayor's cuts were completely responsible, but we were worried about the disparity in furlough days in the different unions, and the loss of funding for Police officers. We believe the citizens of Middletown cannot bear an increase in tax payments."

The mayor also indicated there might be room to compromise.

"If we all sit down we might be able to find a way out of it," the mayor said. "But if you say you're fiscally responsible you can't use a one-time cash receipt to help solve a problem that will come back year after year. You know who deals with it in the end - the taxpayer."

This is the second time the mayor has vetoed a budget. Last year he objected to the use of projected funds from the sale of the Remington Rand building. That sale did not occur as planned.

The Common Council can override the mayor's veto with a two-thirds vote of Council members. The Council has 10 days to consider the veto and call a meeeting to adjust the budget. The Democratic members plan to caucus immediately to consider the veto and possible adjustments to the budget.

Democratic Mayoral Candidate Dan Drew Reacts To Budget Veto

Press release from Dan Drew, Democratic Mayoral Candidate

Mayor Vetoes Budget Proposed By Common Council

Mayor Sebastian Giuliano has vetoed the budget proposed by the Common Council. Giuliano filed the veto today. Details to follow.

Common Council Votes on Budget Tonight

The Common Council will hold two meetings tonight in Council Chambers.

The first meeting is a special meeting to vote on water billing and on union concessions attached to the budget.

The regular meeting is to vote on the budget as proposed by the mayor, and adjusted by the Common Council.