Council Meeting Slogs Through Procedural Debates

For nearly five hours, the Common Council debated small but significant procedural details in resolutions and ordinances before them.

Before the Council became bogged down in debate, they honored retiring members of the Middletown Police Department including recently retired Chief Lynn Baldoni, 37 year veteran Joseph Labbadia and retiring officers with two decades of service including Michael Kerkes, John LaTerra, Amy Pear, Robert Siena, Robert Tremblay and David Visconti.

In a short speech recounting her years as chief, Baldoni reminded the council of a few promises she made.

"I told you I would do my best, and I did," she said. "I told you I would make mistakes, and I did."

She thanked the Council for their support, and commended her fellow officers for helping her shape a troubled department into one where respect and positive interaction with the community were paramount.

The hot topic of the evening for the public was a new fee system for bulky waste. Previously, every city household could summon a free bulky waste pickup every three years. Members of the public addressed the council on the need to reconsider assessment of a $75 fee proposed for the removal of bulky waste.

Property owner Paul Fazzino said that the council should "leave the system the way it was, or the North End is going to be a real mess."

"A change like this in a struggling neighborhood will severely affect the quality of life," said Izzi Greenburg, director of NEAT (North End Action Team). "These changes will result in more illegal dumping, more backyard dumping."

Public works director William Russo assured the Council and community members that his department had a $30,000 fund to address the issue of illegal dumping.

"The last thing we want is garbage sitting on the lawn," Russo said. "We're very agressive when it comes to keeping the city clean."

Some Council members wanted reassurances that the new fee system would not cause an overabundance of illegal dumping.

"You can assure the public that this situation won't deteriorate?" Council member Gerry Daley asked.

Russo assured him that many area towns now charge for bulky waste pick-up in the range of $75-$100 per pickup.

The Council asked Russo to report back on issues that arise with the new system in place, and Council member James Streeto (jstreeto@snet.net), a member of the Public Works commission invited the public to attend the next meeting (second Wednesday of September), to provide input on how the system could work better.

The two procedural motions which took up the majority of discussion were an ordinance which would allow the Common Council to approve use of outside legal help by the Personnel Department. The debate began during the segment of the meeting called "questions for directors" during which Personnel Director Deborah Milardo, and legal counsel Tim Lynch explained the standing procedure for hiring outside council, and the minor but frequent fees assessed for recurring personnel interactions with union members.

The Council voted to postpone action on the issue until its next meeting.

The Council also spent significant time debating an ordinance and a resolution which formalize an opinion that the Board of Education may not make personnel issues for non-certified Board of Education personnel under the city's jurisdiction.

An ordinance, proposed by Council member Vinnie Loffredo, aimed to create a liaison between the city and the Common Council. After much debate, that ordinance was sent back to the ordinance study commission for more study.

A resolution to notice the Board of Education that workforce decision must be in line with the City Charter passed unanimously.

The Council also passed a resolution to allow the city attorney to speak with members of West Lake condominium associations to talk about the eventual disposition of West Lake Park.

Local gadfly Sal Caracoglia once again attempted to address the Council on free speech issues. He was ruled out of order early in the meeting by Mayor Sebastian Giuliano and was escorted from the meeting by a police officer. Prior to the segment of the meeting entitled "public comment for item not on the agenda" the mayor explained that the meeting segment was designed to elicit public comment on the legislative role of the Common Council, "because it's almost impossible to make appointments with all twelve Council members." He emphasized the session was not to direct the mayor on executive matters as those issues could occur in private appointments with the mayor. Caracoglia accused the mayor, and the remaining Council members of stifling his first amendment rights. The mayor disagreed with Caracoglia's assessment, after indicating that he had extended Caracoglia "every courtesy," but when Caracoglia brandished the Constitution and Supreme Court rulings, the exasperated mayor declared him out of order, adjourned the meeting and ordered the Police Chief to clear the chambers.