Opinion: Consolidate Command Of Fire Districts

The Eye welcomes signed opinion pieces. The letter below was written by Dan Penney
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To the editor:
Recently, Mayor Drew and the Board of Education ( BOE) have developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which commits the city legal department to provide legal counsel for the BOE. Such a consolidation of duplicative city services represents significant cost savings that will not only assure that much needed funding can be best dedicated to our teachers and education but also helps taxpayers during these most difficult fiscal times. The Mayor and BOE continue to aggressively pursue other such opportunities. Such esprit de corps is unprecedented and certainly demonstrates what positive outcomes can be achieved when these relationships exist.

Along these lines,similar opportunities exist for the South Fire District (SFD) Board of Fire Commissioners who are presently discussing the vacant position of SFD Fire Chief.

A conservative estimate of annual taxpayer burden for this position is some $175,000 when one considers the annual salary, fringe benefits, dedicated vehicle, travel, private office space and other associated expenses being overseen by the SFD Board of Fire Commissioners to maintain this duplicative management position.

It's time for the SFD Board of Fire Commissioners to work with the city to develop a MOU that would have these services provided by city. Certainly both the city and SFD taxpayers could realize significant tax relief. Additionally, with such a unified command structure these critical emergency response services would be enhanced, in the best interest of public safety.

Dan Penney

Letter and Wish List from Ken McClellan

written by Ken McClellan:

My congratulations to all the candidates and incumbents who will be serving in elected office for the next two years. I wish you all the best, and hope that you will take your responsibility seriously, with the best interests of all the citizens of Middletown as your primary goal. During the campaign, there was a lot said and promised about transparency, accountability and managing the budget. To that end, I humbly submit my wish list and suggestions for the newly elected officials. This list should be easy, since most candidates campaigned on the premise of supporting many of these issues.

My Wish List

Board of Education

Institute Performance Reviews with peer input for the Superintendent and Assistants. Performance reviews are done in the majority of private companies and for all federal employees. Peer reviews are used by a majority of private companies and are valuable tools in determining the actual performance of an individual.

Review the Superintendent's contract for renewal when it is not more than a year left on the contract. Use the Performance Review to determine if he should be renewed.

Stop mileage payments to all school employees. Require vouchers and itineraries for any mileage reimbursement. This is standard practice in most private companies.

Submit a line item budget to the Common Council. Stick to the budget.

Change independent auditors.

Justify requests for changes in the budget or line-item transfers.

Set up a complaint review with the school system for all employees.

Conduct reviews of complaints with the Superintendent

Comply with all state laws, city charter and current court and labor department rulings, immediately.

Comply with federal law regarding whistle-blower protection for employees who bring reports of wrong-doing.

Common Council

Demand a line item budget from the Board of Education.

Require justification for requests for changes in the budget or line-item transfers in the BoE budget.

Require BoE and the school administration to comply with state laws, the city charter and court and labor department rulings.

Consolidate Finance Offices of the Board of Education and the city.

Ensure that the Board of Education and School Administration comply with all state laws, city charter and current court and labor rulings, immediately.

Budgeting for street and other infrastructure maintenance and repairs, rather than borrowing to fund routine maintenance. Bonding increases the cost of maintenance by adding the interest to the cost. It give the false impression that the council is saving money, when you're actually spending more.

Build the Emergency fund to at least 2 months operating expenses, to keep our bonding interest rate low. Additionally, investment income can be included in the budget, to help keep taxes down.

Look for real savings to lower taxes. Don’t hide the spending and tell us that you’re saving money.

Planning and Zoning

Review and update the Plan of Conservation and Development.

Review and update city zoning code to support the Plan of Conservation and Development

Review and update the Commission By-laws to support the PCD and zoning code.

Mayor Drew

Conduct a search for a police chief and look at qualifications before recommending a candidate for approval by the Common Council.

I also have a few predictions on how this next administration will play out. I’ll hold on to those for now.

Again, congratulations and best wishes to all our newly elected officials.

Ken McClellan

Middletown, CT

Occupy New Haven: A Citizen Report

The below is opinion/commentary written by a Middletown resident and is the work of the author, not the Eye writer who posted it. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Middletown Eye or any of the Eye's contributing writers. The reason for posting this in the Eye is to provide readers insight into the experience of being involved in the Occupy movement in Connecticut from the perspective of a Middletown resident.

written by Arun Ranganathan

Governing Under the Influence

On November 5th, I decided to go down to the New Haven Green to check out the Occupy Wall Street protest I had been seeing online and in the news recently. There was a brief Facebook post I read on Jimmy Jive’s page, a local Hip Hop artist and owner of Big Bar radio that said the occupiers were going to march against politicians “Governing Under the Influence,” of the 1% and they, the 99%, invited all citizens to join the march.

As I drove around Chapel Street looking for the “protest” I noticed almost immediately on the far corner of the green there was a tent city erected consisting of about fifty or sixty tents. I parked and walked over and heard the faint drums, horns and distant cries “we are the 99 percent!” I spotted a group of people walking and as they passed by I curiously read the hand painted signs on cardboard that had a wide range of issues on them. As the line reached the end, I quickly joined, walked silently, listened and observed. I felt the intensity and the mixed emotions, which ranged from compassionate anger to frustrated citizens.

It was then that I ran into ran into Tommy Doomsday, a local artist I recognized from a few shows I did. He was happy to see me and I him. As I began to walk with him he told me In the midst of our brief conversation he had been out there since the beginning, almost a month and he wandered off muttering and cursing at his laptop. As he walked away I saw a sign hanging from his back that I think said “Streaming live!” I followed the marchers to the center of the tent city where a podium was erected with the words “soapbox” painted on it. A young man stepped up confidently and said “Mic Check,” the crowd echoed his words. He made a brief speech about the constitution, argued his point about big business influencing politicians, ended with “the truth will not be silenced” and said, “the Soap Box is now open!”

As I listened to everyone walk up to the podium and speak, I could hear how relieved people were that anybody was listening to them at all. The speakers ranged from a homeless man who read a piece called “The Shadows,” the shadows being the 1% hanging over him as he scrounged for a meal, to a former Wall Street banker who was extremely concerned where our country was heading economically and politically. There were Yale students who gave up their dorms to camp out on the green and there were unemployed artists and concerned citizens who clearly felt they had nowhere else to turn to let their voices be heard.

The assembly consisted of a small group of about one hundred people who felt overwhelmed by both local and federal government policies. I quickly realized they represented the 99% I have heard about. They all had a wide range of grievances toward a wide range of issues on just about every level and some people were just there to support and looked just as confused as I was. Some people were upset about being forced out of their homes because they lost their jobs while corporations got bailouts. Other grievances reminded me of Michael Moore’s documentary film Sicko, citizens having to pay huge medical bills that far exceed their incomes and insurance companies' lack of coverage. Other people had issues with Monsanto and the control they have over the U.S. agricultural system and the laws that are supposed to be set up to protect citizens' and animal rights but are being warped by lobbyist. A few people felt that wars overseas were initiated by the big oil company’s influence over our politicians to unjustifiably use the military to stabilize the cost and flow of oil into the US. Some people brought up “The Personhood Act,” the failing education system and others warned the occupiers that rumors were circulating that after election Tuesday the town planned on evicting them.

There were young people, old people, middle aged people, Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, rich, poor, employed, unemployed, college students and professors who all stood in solidarity for what to me felt like an overwhelming emotion of simply being fed up. One thing I was clear about was they have lost faith in the current government and were assembling to gather enough citizens to take back a government that has been taken over by CEOs. These occupiers felt that our political system is “Governed Under the Influence” of big businesses (1%), which favor huge profits over serving the people (99%). That much was clear to me! Out of the many objectives people had the one goal they shared was that big businesses control society to such an extent that American citizens believe politicians have failed to represent our best interest even at the most basic level. I realized the 99% consisted of all American citizens, not just working class but middle and even some wealthy individuals that were fed up, concerned and cared about the state of our country. I learned the 1% were the extremely wealthy Americans and American business owners that had taken over our elected politicians using lobbyist and huge campaign contributions to feed their self interests at the expense of everyone else the 99%. I learned that the 99% felt they had lost their voice in government so they assembled peacefully in New Haven and simply asked that they be heard.

With that said I urge you to try going down to the next event on November 15th and listen to these citizens speak for yourself. You might step up to the soap box and add yet another issue to the long list of things but one things for sure, you will be heard and you will be respected!

Arun Ranganathan
http://www.occupynewhaven.org/

Scarrozzo blasts The Press

Commentary below is a letter of opinion authored by Chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee Matt Scarrozzo. It is his opinion only, and does not represent the opinion of The Middletown Eye news blog, the poster of this letter, or any other contributors of the Middletown Eye blog.

As chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee (MTC) in response to the letter Ms. Sundqvist published as an editorial [in the Middletown Press] on September 22, 2011. It essentially accused our current Mayor Sebastian Giuliano of misconduct by supporting Christine Bourne’s primary bid and endorsing Dan Drew as Middletown Press’s candidate for Mayor. Now that the primary is over, I cannot let the rumors that the Press is presenting as truths about the Republican candidates go unchallenged. No reference in the editorial did it state, if in fact it was the opinion of the Press or just Editor Viktoria Sundvist’s personal opinion that alleges such wrong doing by Mayor Giuliano. I must point out to the public that the endorsement written by Sundvist stated no reasons for why the Press was endorsing Drew or state for the public’s knowledge what exactly is his platform, no where was there an outline of his platforms printed by Sundqvist.

Dan Drew states his platform if for job creation, tax reduction and improving education. No where have we read what business Mr. Drew claims he owns in Middletown. If the Middletown Press is whole-heartedly endorsing this candidate, why were these key points not outlined in the endorsement? We need to remember that the Democratic Party at this time has the majority on the Common Council that sets the budget; if the budget is too high; this is a direct result of the work of the democratically controlled Council. It was noted in the Press’s endorsement that Ms. Bourne and the city have lawsuits against the BOE but at the same time, it is not mentioned that the BOE is also suing the City of Middletown. Let’s not forget who initiated the very first lawsuit , the Board of Education filed it against the City of Middletown.

This endorsement lacks any journalistic motivation on the part of the Press and head editor Ms. Sundqvist to provide real facts to the public. Ms. Sundvist’s only accomplishment with this piece of fictitious writing is that she has proven herself adept at trolling Facebook and plucking comments out of context at whim. Sundqvist insinuates about scandalous friendships between opposing party professionals, private citizens, and city employees as well as their kin because of handshakes, smiles or tidbits of candor on Facebook and turn it into fodder to fire at those who disagree with her golden calf, Dan Drew. Where is it in the City charter that states once elected, these officials would have to remove themselves from friendships and kin that they have know prior to the election if they are not in the same party . I could insinuate a lot about Sundqvist from her blind devotion and biased writing and her relationship with the Democrats, but I will not. The sad part is that Ms. Sundqvist could have corroborated her story with simple phone calls to verify facts; however, adding to the surmounting evidence that the Press does sloppy and biased journalism that they are selling to the public as fair and balanced news, as many MRTC members have fund, it’s very difficult to get coverage from that Press that requires even minimal effort and writing ability. The Press has a decidedly biased view of politics in Middletown and the public should be aware when reading the Press that they are reading only one side of the story. The “Middletown reporter” for the “Middletown” Press is always on vacation. A rename of the “Occasionally Half of Middletown Press is in order.

It is noticeable to everyone that reporters from the Middletown Press only sporadically attend public meetings, stay for the first ten minutes and the misquote a few people of their choosing and head for the door. Where was the Press Reporter when Chairman Raczka called for a recess and then pulled the TV feed on Ed McKeon while he was speaking at the BOE meeting a week ago? Drew’s endorsement by Working Families stayed up for 5 days on the Press’s website, yet in that time I know for a fact that MRTC members sent letters to the Editor about issues concerning them and none were published or even acknowledge. Council 4 AFSCME endorsed Mayor Giuliano and this received no front page coverage. The MRTC has found that often in the comment section of the online version of the Press, although comments are supposedly “screened”, sexist and derogatory comments against citizen members particularly those opposing the Democratic view allowed to remain for hours. If there is a time gab between when comments are sent for “approval” and posted, why then should the Press allow these vicious comments even for a second?

Want to know some truths about our Mayor you will never read about in our local paper that carries our city’s name. Here are some of what has been accomplished under Giuliano’s administration because of HIS leadership.

• moving forward on joining the Mattabassett District which will open our riverfront. The possibilities will be endless.

• the finishing of the state of the art High School.

• the army training center on industrial park road; best use of that parcel and managed to keep some park space.

• the expansion of the community health center and an anchor to the Northend

• the Mellili parking lot expansion and upgrading

• building a new senior & community center for our seniors.

Bottom line, the public needs to know that when they read the Middletown Press,

are reading one view point, one that which patronizes the local Democrats and rarely bothers to even shed light on views that differ from this. Print subscriptions should be discounted by 50% because the Press, led by Ms. Sundqvist is selling half-truths as news. An editorial is protected under freedom of speech; however an editorial written with lies and allegations is slanderous, and misleading to those who rely on journalists to be accurate. Ms. Sundqvist is allowed her opinion, as I am mine, however we as a community should expect a higher level of journalism from those in the profession. If the Press wants to be biased, fine, just call it a tabloid or novella, and stop misleading the community into thinking they are reading and purchasing a newspaper.

I encourage everyone who wants to hear the many view points of Middletown and get accurately quoted and researched news to read the Middletown Eye Blog, The Middletown Patch, or the Hartford Courant, and skip the Middletown Press and its so called professionalism.

If this letter to the same Editor I am criticizing even makes it to print, it is a step in admitting there is a problem with the Press and that’s at least a start. To find out more about viewpoints and accomplishments of all the MRTC endorsed candidates see our website or come by headquarters and meet us, we are here to serve.

Sincerely, Matt Scarrozzo

Chairman, Middletown Republican Town Committee

Commentary above is a letter of opinion authored by Chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee Matt Scarrozzo. It is his opinion only, and does not represent the opinion of The Middletown Eye news blog, the poster of this letter, or any other contributors of the Middletown Eye blog.

Opinion: South Fire District

Commentary below is a letter of opinion authored by Middletown resident Daniel Penney. It is his opinion only, and does not represent the opinion of The Middletown Eye news blog, the poster of this letter, or any other contributors of the Middletown Eye blog.

9/22/2011

To the editor:

Vested taxpayers of the South Fire District of the City of Middletown remain very concerned with the surprising and most recent developments relative to CVH Fire Department services at the CVH campus . There has been discussion that the South Fire District (SFD) taxpayers will have to pay for overtime expenses associated with new backup coverage at the SFD headquarters. Also, it was recently confirmed that staff and fire apparatus resources funded by the SFD taxpayers have been stationed on the CVH campus.

Additionally there was mention of an 'agreement' involving CVH and the South Fire District. The first question is by whom and under what authority? If in error I stand corrected but I believe that the CT CGS/Fire Codes are very clear in that the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for fire safety compliance matters at CVH State of CT property and buildings would be the CT Office of State Fire Marshall (OSFM), and not the South Fire District.

At the September 12, 2011 monthly meeting of the South Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners (see web page with meeting notices and minutes, digital recordings of meetings are also available, as posted minutes are only summaries of meetings) it was presented that the district had reassigned a primary fire apparatus and significant staff to be located on the Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH) campus on a 'trial basis'. Such a trial was further represented as more an evaluation of SFD response time throughout the district and less associated with the significant change in services being provided at CVH.

At this same meeting it was shared that a legal opinion of such actions was to be obtained via counsel retained by the SFD once a recently developed conflict of interest question could be resolved relative to said legal representation.

In recent conversation with the SFD Chief it was confirmed that a written agreement is nonexistent. It has also been confirmed that the SFD has requested upgrades of the fire headquarters building located on the CVH campus, using CVH funding. Such an accommodation would suggest a more permanent arrangement.

There have been questions raised by the public at the SFD monthly meetings, for some time, relative to PILOT funding administration. Other possible and related issues may also fall under purview of CT DOL (different union firefighter locals), TJC (Environment of Care accreditation patient safety /physical environment performance standards), CT DPH (Buildings and Fire Safety/mixed campus occupancies/licensure), as well as CT OPM and the CT State Auditors which it seems both would have an interest in allocations of public funds as well as compliance matters associated with of the original CGS based Charter for the SFD.

The SFD fixed budget is set via an annual budget process that identifies district expenses and is voted on via a referendum. Minimally, it seems that the opportunity for public hearings and mandated voting would have been provided for the some 7000 registered voters / residents of the south fire district, relative to such new and significant operational matters.

Most concerning is that new overtime cost and the expenses incurred relative to relocating a critical fire vehicle with SFD staffing to the CVH campus has been placed directly on the backs of the SFD taxpayers. One may also question how daily firefighter task at the SFD headquarters are being completed with staff being pulled. The SFD includes a significant population of seniors who live on fixed incomes as well as a good number of small business ventures.

Additionally, with the new practice of locating a SFD vehicle on the remote CVH campus, travel distance for this SFD vehicle responding from the CVH campus to a good number of SFD residential locations has more than doubled, presenting new fire safety/response time concerns as well as homeowner and insurance rate questions.

The challenge for the State of CT / DMHAS/ CVH Administration, is to work with the designated labor groups on the CVH campus and creatively utilize existing resources to provide the necessary services needed to assure that both staff and client safety in such a specialized behavioral health driven environment are best maintained, especially as such relates to TJC accreditation and CT DPH licensure. It seems that the SFD should only be involved on a cost effective strict MUTUAL AIDE basis, as is common practice throughout the State and with other fire services within Middletown as well as in nearby towns. The CVH also has the unique long established practice of having volunteer fire services integrated in its existing campus operations. From a cost effectiveness perspective, it is critical that CVH maintain such operational flexibility. CVH is equally well positioned to handle most of its own emergency calls, which are medical in nature, with the presence of highly skilled, behavioral health focused, medical and support staff on site.

There are a good number of retired and working professionals in our SFD community with extensive experience in such patient/staff fire safety, compliance, operational and public policy matters (hospitals facility/engineering professionals , TJC accreditation /DPH licensure compliance, retired SFD Fire Commissioners, retired State Firefighters etc.), driven by a focus to control taxes in our district, whom I'm sure would volunteer their time to bring forward creative ideas that would focus on enhanced and cost effective opportunities for improvement of CVH Fire Department Services.

A CVH organized review committee that also includes such technical content experts, from the public/community, would be a good starting point and certainly in the best interest of the South Fire District taxpayers.

Daniel J. Penney

Commentary above is a letter of opinion authored by Middletown resident Daniel Penney. It is his opinion only, and does not represent the opinion of The Middletown Eye news blog, the poster of this letter, or any other contributors of the Middletown Eye blog.

Opinion from Common Council candidate Linda Salafia

The below posted letter is solely the opinion of the author, Linda Salafia, and in now way represents the opinions or views of the Middletown Eye or any of the contributors to the Eye.

Letter to the editor,

I recently took a mini-vacation to downeast coastal Maine where there are several small towns that have marvelous views, artist shops and small cafes. However, the main streets in these towns don’t compare to our Main Street. The wide variety of restaurants and available parking that we have puts them to shame (got to be able to parallel park if you even find a space); we even can compete in the “view’ category with our river. When we join the Mattabassett District, we will gain more in that category.

However, I returned to politics as usual: the Board of Education again has decided to act independently and totally ignore decisions from the Mayor’s office and compliance with the union contracts regarding the hiring and paying of employees. The details of their actions I’m sure are becoming tiring to those not directly affected but the fact that they are still occurring is very important. The charter for the City of Middletown clearly states that the Mayor is the hiring authority for all classified employees for the whole city; every department. When grievances cannot be settled between the parties, they are heard by the State Labor Board who then rules; the union has just received another unanimous ruling in their favor from the Board awarding back wages to the employees who were harmed. I am predicting that the Board administration will again not abide by the ruling and the union will have to file again with the state. The disturbing issue to me is that we’ve a democratic majority on the Board of Education that is suspiciously silent through all this. As the body that the Board of Education administration answers to and reports to; they could easily instruct the administration to follow the charter and adhere to the union contracts but for some reason, they have chosen not to. Dan Drew is running on a platform proposing cooperation between the City and the Board of Education; however, cooperation could exist NOW if only the Board of Education members instructed the administration to adhere to the rules as they exist.

I am running for a place on the Common Council and I urge you to vote for the re-election of Seb Giuliano as Mayor. I also urge you to vote for ROW B on November 8th; it’s time to break the logjam; time to change the composition of the Board and Council; it’s time stop what’s going on now since those members of the majority party currently sitting on the boards are not requiring the BOE administration to comply with the rules.

Thank you.


Linda Salafia
Republican Candidate for Common Council

The above posted letter is solely the opinion of the author, Linda Salafia, and in no way represents the opinions or views of the Middletown Eye or any of the contributors to the Eye.

READER OPINION: Chris Bourne's run for office

The below letter is OPINION / COMMENTARY that was written and submitted by CHRISTINE O'GRADY and represents only the views and opinions of Ms. O'Grady.

I have been a life-long resident of Middletown and although I am not part of the political framework in town, I do consider myself an active civic participant. I always vote, read the papers and try and listen with an open mind. So, I was perplexed to hear Chris Bourne wanted to be Mayor. I am curious about her plans for our fine city and what she would do different from the current Mayor. I am hoping this letter will prompt Ms. Bourne to inform the public of her intention if she were to be elected.

I was aware that Ms. Bourne was the city’s Treasurer for many years and that she lost her party’s endorsement to run for re-election. She then stated that she was considering running for another office. And, apparently after considering her options, decided that she would run for mayor; because she always wanted to be mayor.

Ms. Bourne is running in the Democratic primary but also as an Independent in the general election. This harkens back to Senator Lieberman’s tactics where at all costs you must take care of yourself and personal gain, regardless of you party’s support. It is just messy.

Based on what I have read, I have no idea what Ms. Bourne stands for, other than herself. I understand what Dan Drew stands for and what he wants to do for our City. And, although I don’t always agree with Mayor Giuliano’s decisions, I understand his perspective. Again, I just can’t find any information about what Ms. Bourne supports or opposes.

It appears to me that Ms. Bourne really has no intention of getting elected as Mayor. She simply wants to ruin it for those with whom she feels ire; the Democratic leadership. Shouldn’t her energy be focused on separating herself from the incumbent and not her own party?

Christine O’Grady

The above letter is OPINION / COMMENTARY that was written and submitted by CHRISTINE O'GRADY and represents only the views and opinions of Ms. O'Grady.