From 1995: Serra Opponents Could Run With Patronage Issue

The following article was published exactly 15 years ago today, appearing in the Hartford Courant on June 27, 1995. It was written by Bill Daley.
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"Patronage" apparently is the dirty word of choice for both Republicans and dissident Democrats.

Those at a Republican town committee meeting Monday seemed poised to wage as big an attack on Mayor Thomas J. Serra's hiring record as Maria Madsen Holzberg, the mayor's challenger for the Democratic nomination.

"As far as patronage is concerned, I will not consider anything like that," said Emanuel Pattavina, the sole announced GOP candidate for mayor.

City hiring procedures have been a big issue for Holzberg, who on Monday called on Serra to hire a consulting firm to work on filling the town clerk's and building inspector's posts.

Greg Harris, a GOP committee member, took note of Holzberg's issues. The Republicans could draw on them if she loses a September primary to Serra, he said, but what if Holzberg wins? What themes could Republicans use? he asked.

Former Mayor Stephen Gionfriddo -- whose appointment as mayor after his predecessor stepped into the tax collector's job drew fire from Holzberg in 1993 -- conceded that the GOP would have a tougher time against Holzberg in the municipal election because she doesn't have a record to defend. He said Republicans would stress Pattavina's municipal track record while highlighting Holzberg's inexperience.

Pattavina is a former longtime Democratic councilman who turned Republican after being repudiated in 1993 by the Democrats for siding too often with the GOP on council votes.

Gionfriddo added that the Republicans could also seek to draw on disaffected Serra supporters, an idea Pattavina addressed with tongue firmly in check.

Pattavina noted that Democratic Town Chairman Bill Pillarella has announced that he won't support Holzberg if she wins the party primary. He thanked Pillarella in advance for his support.

Earle Roberts, a GOP committee member who attended Holzberg's announcement, said the Republicans need to focus on the issues of patronage and open government. He drew a sharp reaction from High Sheriff Joseph Bibisi when he mentioned Bibisi's hiring practices.

Bibisi's hires since he took office June 1 include a former Middletown police officer who has been accused of threatening another officer with a loaded gun.

"I have picked people who believe in my philosophy, my work organization," Bibisi said. "It is not patronage. It is choosing people who believe in your philosophy and work ethics. . . . There's a difference between patronage and reorganization."

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The 1995 Democratic mayoral primary was hotly contested between incumbent mayor Serra and challenger Holzberg. Holzberg repeatedly attacked Serra's hiring record; the Courant reported that in their first debate, "Holzberg repeatedly accused the mayor of unnecessarily filling vacancies in city departments--often with friends, some of them politically connected--that would best go unfilled to save money. ... She said with the police vacancies, the mayor 'hired people with a history of assault and gambling.'" Serra, in turn, called his opponent "the minister of disinformation."

Holzberg won the primary by 173 votes. Serra, and some other Democratic Town Committee members refused to support Holzberg in the general election, which Holzberg won.

Conservation Commission concerned about Common Council grab of Cucia Cash

The Conservation Commission met on the same Thursday evening last week that the Common Council decided to ignore the expressed wishes of the Conservation Commission and use the proceeds of the sale of Cucia Park as revenue for balancing the current budget. They discussed this issue and decided to send a letter to the Council and Mayor about the use of the Cucia money.

The likely sale of Cucia Park is the final result of an 18 month process involving the Army Corps of Engineers, community activists from Maromas and Westfield, city officials, and virtually all those elected to represent Middletown. The Cucia Park sale was the subject of many meetings of Middletown commissions and committees, including those of Planning and Zoning (September 24), Economic Development (October 14), the Conservation Commission, and Common Council (October 6) itself.

The Army has offered the City $2 million for the sale of Cucia Park, according to Councilman Tom Serra. At their Thursday budget meeting last week, the council voted to use $1.5M of this to pay for City operating expenses. Moreover, in the Democrat's statement about the budget, they vowed to use "additional income from Cucia Park" to increase the City's Fund Balance.

These plans contradict a resolution passed by the Council in October, which required that "monies sufficient to replace the park and open space land as a result of such sale would be placed in a special City Account for the purchase of park and/or open space land." No effort has been made to determine how much it would cost for this replacement.

2008: Background to the Sale of Cucia Park

Cucia Park was selected by the Army Corps of Engineers as the preferred site for a proposed military training facility in Middletown, but only after extensive political furor over previous site selections on Freeman Road and then on Boardman Lane. Those first two sites would have caused the loss of environmentally important open space for Middletown.

To help the Army select a site that would be favorable to both Middletown and the Army, Mayor Giuliano appointed an advisory panel to work with the army on site selection, the panel is chaired by Councilman Ron Klattenberg. In August of 2008, this panel (full disclosure: I am on the panel), endorsed the sale of Cucia Park, in Westfield, to the army as an alternative to the Boardman Lane property.

Councilman Klattenberg recognized that the sale of a park by the city would lead to a loss of open space for the citizens of Westfield and Middletown, and he asked the Conservation Commission to endorse such a sale. The Conservation Commission, at their September 11 meeting, agreed to do that, with one important condition. In their letter of September 18 to Common Council and the Mayor, they said (emphasis from original letter):

The Conservation Commission endorses the recommendation of the Mayor’s Advisory Panel that Cucia Park is currently the most acceptable site for the proposed Army base. Since this site will cause the loss of a City park, we strongly urge that the monies received from this sale be placed in a fund exclusively dedicated to the City’s Open Space program. There should be no net loss of Open Space!

The endorsement by the Conservation Commission was critical to Klattenberg's panel. It was instrumental in allaying concerns from city residents that budgetary and political considerations would lead to sales by the city of its open space.

Common Council agrees with Conservation Commission.

At their October 6 regular meeting, the Common Council enthusiastically agreed with the Conservation Commission's recommendation (Eye coverage). They overwhelmingly endorsed the sale by the City of a Park in Resolution 10-12: Endorsing Cucia Park after a full review by the Economic Development, but only after Councilmen Serra and Daley introduced an amendment stating that money from the sale of Cucia Park be dedicated to replacing the loss of open space. The council agreed with the Conservation Commission.

The following is an extract, reproduced verbatim from the official Council minutes of the October 6 meeting (if you do not thrill to read official Council minutes, skip and read my summary below the minutes). These October 6 minutes were approved at their November 3rd meeting, without any modifications:

Councilman Serra moves to amend in the paragraph that is before the last “Be It further resolved” paragraph to read “Be It Further Resolved Be It Further Resolved: That the loss of approximately thirty acres of potential park and open space land lost to the City of Middletown be compensated with no net loss of equivalent open space and purchase of development rights new park land and or open space; and Be It Further Resolved: That all monies received by the sale of Cucia Park shall be placed in a special City account for the purchase of park and/or open space land; and” Councilman Serra’s motion is seconded by Councilman Loffredo.

Councilman Serra was ready to vote against this because this park was going to be taken from the rolls. Yes, we wanted a training base here at Pratt and Whitney site; however he is irritated at the approach of the Army and their strategy. They are bullying us and there is no economic gain here ; he will vote for this if this amendment passes because it ensures we don not lose park or open space land.

Councilman Daley states he respectfully urges a friendly amendment to this amendment. He is concerned about the wording indicating that all monies would be in the special fund. The process calls for negotiation and terms of sale and we don’t know what the amount would be. He is concerned that funds the City will see from this could go to other concerns besides open space land that would be lost. I would ask Councilman Serra to accept a friendly amendment to say that funds sufficient to replace the park and open space land that would be losSerra states he will accept it.

Councilman Daley restates his friendly amendment “Be It Further Resolved: That monies sufficient to replace the park and open space land as a result of such sale would be placed in a special City Account for the purchase of park and/or open space land: and” Councilman Serra again agrees to the change. ...

[At this point, the mayor and councilmen Bauer, Faulkner, and Pessina object to the restrictions that this resolution places on the use of city funds.]

... Corporation Counsel Howard responds he believes they can redo this later. The Chair comments if we are not locking ourselves into doing something we might regret he sees no problem with the amendment.

Councilman Streeto wants to go on record that Councilman Serra’s amendment was well taken and open space funds are popular with the citizens. Replacing the open space area with another would be a win-win situation for the City.

The Chair, hearing no further comments, calls for the vote. It is nine aye votes by Council Members Serra, Loffredo, Klattenberg, Santangelo, Daley, Kasper, Faulkner, Streeto, and Roberts and three nay votes by Council Members Bibisi, Pessina, and Bauer. The Chair states the matter is approved with three in opposition. ...

[Councilman Roberts suggests an amendment to remove discussion of the River Road property from the resolution, this was defeated.]

... The Chair calls for the vote on the amended resolution; it is eleven aye votes by Council Members Serra, Loffredo, Klattenberg, Santangelo, Daley, Kasper, Bibisi, Faulkner, Pessina, Streeto, and Bauer; and one nay vote by Councilman Roberts. The Chair states the matter passes as amended with one in opposition.

Summary: On October 6th, the Common Council voted 11-1 in favor of a resolution which mandated that money "sufficient to replace open space" be reserved in a special city account

2009. Cucia is Army's "Preferred Site"
The Corps of Engineers announced (April 13) that Cucia Park was their preferred site, and published a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) on Cucia and two other alternatives. This draft EA is currently in a mandated 30 day public comment period. When that ends, the Army will release a Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI), which will allow the Army to proceed with Cucia Park for their facility.

Hoping that there will be no further complications, the Army has begun the purchasing process. They are required to pay what the army's own appraiser determines is fair market value, this is $2M.

City Budget and Cucia Park revenue
Every elected official I've spoken with agrees that this year presents one of the most difficult budget situations in Middletown's recent history. This is primarily due to a $5.3M drop in revenue compared to last year, according to Mayor Giuliano (March 19). To balance the budget, Giuliano proposed reducing expenses by cutting programs and obtaining concessions from city unions, and increasing revenue by a 4% tax increase (April 2nd).

Giuliano evaluated using money from the sale of Cucia Park to balance the budget. In an email to The Eye, he gave several reasons why he rejected this approach, "1) we can't duplicate this kind of income, 2) we don't have a purchase & sale, 3) we don't know what the conditions/contingencies of sale will be, 4) the Council (in an amnesiac moment) further encumbered the anticipated sale proceeds with a commtment to buy one of the Bysiewicz lots.

The Democrats were more willing to consider using the proceeds of a Park sale to balance the budget. Councilman Serra, in a March 22 interview with The Eye, said that the Democrats would consider using the money from the sale of Cucia Park to the Army for operating expenses if the budget situation was dire enough. He said that the money should be used first to replace the loss of open space, second for Parks and Recreation, and "If necessary some perhaps will be used for operating expenses."

The Democratic caucus on the Council decided to increase spending compared to the Mayor's proposed budget, but would not increase taxes. This worsened an already dire budget problem, which they solved in part by using most of the anticipated revenue from Cucia Park in next year's budget.

I asked several Councilmen whether the use of Cucia Park revenue in next year's budget was consistent with the resolution passed in October. Klattenberg emphasized that the resolution simply required that sufficient funds be set aside for open space acquisition, writing in an email, "I support using monies from the sale of Cucia Park to fulfill the obligation we have to compensate the residents of the city for open space lost. ... there is no question the city must provide "sufficient" funds to implement whatever plan is selected."

Gerald Daley wrote me, "it is clear that my “friendly amendment” was aimed at making sure that the loss of Cucia Park would be replaced." Councilman Streeto concurred, writing, "we were committing to replacing the lost open space with an equivalent open space parcel."

Councilman Serra told me in a phone interview that he also supports open space. He expressed his hope that the City would get more for Cucia Park than the $2M the Army has offered. He said, "I hope that whatever [extra] money we get for Cucia Park is used for three things. First, to purchase the Bysiewicz lot [that the city agreed to purchase to keep the Army from using that land]. Second to purchase open space. And third, passive recreation."

Serra also told me that the Democratic caucus did not make any effort to determine how much it would cost for the city to replace open space equivalent to Cucia Park. He said they had not had any conversations with the Conservation Commission about this issue, and had not consulted anybody about open space replacement.

Conservation Commisssion concerned
At Thursday's meeting, the Conservation Commission discussed the revenue from the sale of Cucia Park, and the Common Council's plan to spend most of it on operating expenses. They voted to send a letter to the Council and the Mayor, reminding them of the letter they had sent on September 18, and of the Council's own commitment of October 6 to reserve Cucia Park revenue to replace open space. Sheila Stoane, chair of the Conservation Commission, told me that this letter would be going to the Council shortly.

Serra Discusses the City Budget

In an interview with the Eye, Democratic majority leader on the Common Council, Tom Serra, blasted Republican Mayor Giuliano for playing politics with the budget during this period of fiscal crisis for the city. He defended the Democratically controlled Council for their handling of a number of controversial decisions during last year's budget process (including the Remington Rand sale, discussed elsewhere), and promised to restore funding for public access broadcasting of Council meetings.

Calls Mayor's Budget Round Table Discussions a "Sham"
Serra said he had attended the Budget Round Table discussion by the Mayor at the Chamber of Commerce and was "extremely irritated" by it, "These [Round Table discussions] are really just a campaign trail battering of the Democratic Common Council, a way to thrust his opinion on the residents." He called for cooperation between the mayor and the Democrats, "The Mayor hasn't communicated with Council one iota."

Serra said he found it ironic that a Republican Mayor was less fiscally conservative than a Democratically controlled Council, claiming that since Giuliano took office he had raised taxes by 5.3%, which is more than the previous 10 years, when Democrats controlled the executive branch. Serra said that the initial offer made by Giuliano to the police unions was a 32.5% raise over 5 years. The raise that was ultimately approved through arbitration was for much less: 22% over 5 years. Including the arbitration costs, this difference saved the city almost $3 million over the 5 year contract. Serra expressed his commitment to providing raises that match the increase in the Consumer Price Index.

The police raises were not budgeted by the Common Council, but instead paid for through the City's Fund Balance. Serra minimized the impact of those withdrawals, saying the fund balance is not a city "savings account", as characterized by the Mayor. Instead, it serves two purposes: it provides funds for unexpected expenses and it signifies to the bond rating agencies that the city is in solid financial health. He said that the unreserved Fund Balance of $13.8 million was ample to give the city a top credit rating by the Moody's rating agency. He said it was "smoke and mirrors" for the mayor to claim at the Budget Roundtable discussions that the Democrats "raided your savings".

Balancing the Budget This Year
Serra called for three approaches to producing a balanced budget.

1. Reasonable cuts in services.
   
2. Lower raises for union contracts, across the board. Serra emphasized that the cuts should fall fairly on all bargaining units.
   
3. Tax increase. Serra said that this should be minimal.
   

I asked Serra why the Democrats had not participated in the January 30th conversations between the Mayor, departmental directors, the Board of Education, and the unions. Those discussions were about possible furloughs and/or reductions in pay raises, an area that Serra said was an important part of balancing the budget this year. He dismissed those conversations, "as a ploy to get Democrats involved in negotiations to share the burden [of negotiating]. That's not our role, we will get involved as a legislative body. ... It's his responsibility." He recalled that when he was mayor during a recession in 1994, he negotiated with unions a delay in their raises.

Serra anticipates that there will be additional revenue in next year's budget compared to last year, including $750,000 from the NRG power plant, and possibly $1.2 million from the Kleen Energy power plant.

We also discussed the possible revenue that might come to the city if the Army decides to purchase Cucia Park for their military training facility. He indicated that the Democrats would consider using money from the sale of Cucia Park to the Army for operating expenses if the budget situation was dire enough. He said that the money should be used first to replace the loss of open space, second for Parks and Recreation, and "If necessary some perhaps will be used for operating expenses."

Public Broadcasting of Council Meetings to be Restored in the Budget
One item that Serra specifically vowed to restore in the budget is the money for broadcasting of Common Council Meetings, which he initiated as mayor in 1994. "Since the demise of print media, it is definitely important to people ...... Cititizens out there need to see what elected officials are doing." Responding to the mayor's concern that broadcasting of meetings leads to longer meetings, Serra pointed out that the Mayor, as chair of Council meetings, has control over the length of meetings. He called on the Mayor to utilize Roberts Rules of Order effectively, to run more efficient meetings.

Agreement with the Mayor on the Board of Education Budget Process
Councilman Serra said that in years past the Board functioned well in establishing a budget. He felt that the budgeting process last year was not as functional as it should have been, sharing the frustration of the mayor.

Serra explained that the autonomy of the Board of Ed (by state statute) means that the city has minimal control over spending on education. However, in years past he has advocated with the Board for an increase which simply matches the Consumer Price Index. In November of 2007 he met with board members Raczka, Keiser, and Boyd, Superintendent Frechette, Finance Director Erlacher, and Councilman Klattenberg to discuss the education budget. He was frustrated when the Board came to the city with a 12% increase in their budget, far more than the 5% he felt was justified.

His frustration increased last year when the Board threatened to close Macdonough School if their budget was not met, generating extensive public protest directed at the Common Council.

The Budget Process Going Forward
The Council will begin analyzing the Mayor's budget as soon as he submits it on April 1st. Common Council will hold a series budget meetings in April to discuss with City department directors the budget implications for each department. Those meetings will take place on April 14th and 15th at 6PM, April 20th at 7PM, and April 21st at 6PM; they will be open to the public but there will be no public comment period. On April 28th at 7PM there will be a public hearing on the budget.

Council is required by statute to approve the budget by May 15th. Councilman Serra was confident about Council's ability to balance the budget without substantial tax increases. "There may be very slight increase in the mill rate, we're talking about tenths of a mill, not several mill."

Serra defends handling of Remington Rand sale proceeds

Democratic Majority Leader in the Council, Tom Serra, defended the Council's handling of the sale of the Remington building, in an interview with The Eye on Sunday. He was responding to Mayor Giuliano's criticism of the use of the anticipated sales revenue by the Council to balance the City's budget in the 2008/09 year budget. The sale of the Remington building has recently been jeopardized by the reduction in the share price of the company, Unisys, responsible for the $5 million clean up of environmental contamination at the site.

Serra said that the deal should have been finalized before the stock price of Unisys collapsed from about $5 to about $0.50 per share. Serra said that the resolution authorizing the sale was passed in April of 2008, and questioned why the closing of the deal took so long. He said about the mayor, "He was cool to [the sale of Remington Rand] when it was suggested," and said that the Mayor's "footdragging is responsible" for the possible collapse of the sale.

The Remington Rand sale to Thomas Briggs was endorsed in April 2008 by the Economic Development Committee. The City also considered another offer for the building, by Evan Blum. The Council used the anticipated proceeds from the sale of the building as revenue in the budget that they approved on May 15th of last year. On June 2nd, the Council voted to accept Briggs' offer to purchase the building.

Scold Then Fold

At last night's Common Council meeting, council member Thomas Serra admonished fellow council member James Streeto when Streeto introduced a motion to allow city staff directors to leave the meeting after a standing meeting segment called "Questions to directors."

Serra noted that directors might be needed at any time during the remainder of the meeting to answer questions on resolutions before the Council.

"And it must be said," Serra said. "That these are city employees who are paid for 40 hours but work 35."

The council voted to keep the directors at the meeting.

In fact, Serra's warning proved true when two city directors were called well after 11 pm, at the end of the long meeting, during a meeting segment titled "Questions to directors on non-agenda items."

However, as one of those directors was being questioned, Serra stood, put on his coat and left the meeting before it was adjourned. He was accompanied by several other Council members including Hope Kasper, Joe Bibisi, Grady Foster and James Streeto.

When council member David Bauer reminded Streeto that the meeting had not been adjourned, Streeto replied, "I know we're not adjourned, but I know what a late night is." He then left the Council chambers.

The director under question, Finance Director Karl Erlacher, was being asked by Councilman Vincent Loffredo about the affect of the impending departure of Aetna from their Middletown headquarters.

Erlacher said that there was not enough information to make a definitive statement, and that Aetna was still in negotiations with GE Capital. Under followup questions from Loffredo and Councilman David Bauer, Erlacher admitted that the city needed to take the impending departure seriously, and that plans should be made for a significant drop in the grand list when the departure occurs.