The real budget for the city of Hartford is ~$660,000,000. This has been bugging me so I wanted to do a quick post:
The proposed 2012-2013 budget for Hartford is:
$546, 640, 339
BUT....
The budgeted amount for education is:
$284, 008, 188
The proposed Budget for the Hartford Board of Education is:
$400, 109, 906
You'll notice the city budget amount and the Board of Education amount don't match. (Off by around $111,000,000) Why? Nothing more than smoke and mirrors trickery on the part of our civic leadership. They keep them separate knowing full well if they combined the two it would cause heart attacks city and state wide.
The claim will be that the remaining amount is taken care of by federal and state grants and funding. HOWEVER...this is not guaranteed money in that the state and the federal government are, in case you haven't been following the news...broke. And not the "Hey can I borrow a couple bucks until payday" broke. Catastrophic "European style" failure broke.
So if either (or both) cut funding, the city of Hartford is still on the line for the money. In much the same way as if you're uncle is helping you out paying your credit card bill and he calls up one day to say "Sorry, I can't help you out, your aunt got caught in the goat tub again and medical bills are eating up my savings."
The credit card company won't accept excuses. Either will the teachers union and, since over 80% of the education budget is salaries and benefits, they're going to have to get paid. Remember California and the "pay vouchers"? That ought to go over well here in Connecticut.
Revenue for the city, as per the proposed budget (and not the Mayors "We're $50 million short, what do we do?" chicken little impersonation) we have $284, 782, 690 in revenue. To put that in household terms:
You make $28,000 a year but spend $66,000 a year. Try that some time and see how far you get with your personal expenses.
Only in government could you get away with it. Wait...the Federal government has an unsustainable debt load? Oh, then the state will help us...wait...Connecticut is facing a massive deficit?
Well, now. Looks like it's a bad time to be in the budget business. Anyone know a good civic bankruptcy attorney?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Day Eighty-six - Hartford = Corruption?
In a city with a self-image issue (new branding, anyone?) , a self-esteem issue (if you open a business here, it will make front page of the paper!), and a penchant for the occasional shooting, yet ANOTHER issue has popped up regarding questionable decision making by a city official.
Holy cow.
For those of you new to Hartford or who just appreciate the drama of it all, here's a little history:
2009:
Former State Senator William DiBella appointed as MDC chair despite not residing in Hartford, a requirement for the position. (this becomes pertinent) Information here. Rumor is that the concern was that the MDC is a regional organization and if Hartford could not put forward a chair, the position would fall to another town.
2010:
Former State Senator William DiBella (appointed MDC chair) agreed to pay $800,000 to settle charges regarding a fee he received on a state pension fund deal. Information here.
Democratic Town Chairperson Sean Arena caught registering his car in another town to avoid paying property tax at 73 mil rate. Information here.
Mayor Eddie Perez was found guilty on 5 of 6 charges, including bribery and 1st degree larceny. This is under appeal.
Councilperson Veronica Wilson received accelerated rehabilitation while facing a charge of tampering with evidence (AR is not an admission of guilt, but a way of avoiding trial.)
Information on both here.
State Representative Hector Robles is fired for allegedly falsifying time cards claiming he was on the job as a police officer, while he was working private jobs. He was re-elected as State Representative. Information here.
(By the way, this isn't a comprehensive list. There are a number of issues also dealing with former employees, such as Corporation Counsel John Rose, information here, for instance)
2011:
Councilperson Alexander Aponte is reprimanded by the State Grievance Committee for five rules of professional conduct for issues stemming from before he was appointed to replace Mayor Perez. The grievance complaint is here and a history and backstory can be found here.
Treasurer Adam Cloud sends emails, as Treasurer, to leaders of city banks requesting donations to a specific charity. Information here.
It all comes home:
CEO of TicketNetwork Donald Vaccaro, (a donor to the Hartford Democratic Town Committee) hired the lobbying firm owned by William DiBella (Chairman of the Board of MDC) and will pay them ~$26,500 this year. Counsel for DiBella's lobbying firm is, oddly enough, ALSO counsel for State Representative Robles. Robles, in a fortunate turn of events, has landed himself a job with TicketNetwork. Why is this strange?
TicketNetwork is a recipient of Governor Malloy's "First Five" economic development program and could receive up to $6.3 million in loans. Full story here.
It's understood that life is about who you know and what connections you have, but shouldn't it also be about the company you keep?
While there are dozens of demonstrations ongoing throughout the country demanding that our nations banks and corporations be more accountable to the people, why are we ignoring the institution over which we have so much control? Our elected officials?
Holy cow.
For those of you new to Hartford or who just appreciate the drama of it all, here's a little history:
2009:
Former State Senator William DiBella appointed as MDC chair despite not residing in Hartford, a requirement for the position. (this becomes pertinent) Information here. Rumor is that the concern was that the MDC is a regional organization and if Hartford could not put forward a chair, the position would fall to another town.
2010:
Former State Senator William DiBella (appointed MDC chair) agreed to pay $800,000 to settle charges regarding a fee he received on a state pension fund deal. Information here.
Democratic Town Chairperson Sean Arena caught registering his car in another town to avoid paying property tax at 73 mil rate. Information here.
Mayor Eddie Perez was found guilty on 5 of 6 charges, including bribery and 1st degree larceny. This is under appeal.
Councilperson Veronica Wilson received accelerated rehabilitation while facing a charge of tampering with evidence (AR is not an admission of guilt, but a way of avoiding trial.)
Information on both here.
State Representative Hector Robles is fired for allegedly falsifying time cards claiming he was on the job as a police officer, while he was working private jobs. He was re-elected as State Representative. Information here.
(By the way, this isn't a comprehensive list. There are a number of issues also dealing with former employees, such as Corporation Counsel John Rose, information here, for instance)
2011:
Councilperson Alexander Aponte is reprimanded by the State Grievance Committee for five rules of professional conduct for issues stemming from before he was appointed to replace Mayor Perez. The grievance complaint is here and a history and backstory can be found here.
Treasurer Adam Cloud sends emails, as Treasurer, to leaders of city banks requesting donations to a specific charity. Information here.
It all comes home:
CEO of TicketNetwork Donald Vaccaro, (a donor to the Hartford Democratic Town Committee) hired the lobbying firm owned by William DiBella (Chairman of the Board of MDC) and will pay them ~$26,500 this year. Counsel for DiBella's lobbying firm is, oddly enough, ALSO counsel for State Representative Robles. Robles, in a fortunate turn of events, has landed himself a job with TicketNetwork. Why is this strange?
TicketNetwork is a recipient of Governor Malloy's "First Five" economic development program and could receive up to $6.3 million in loans. Full story here.
It's understood that life is about who you know and what connections you have, but shouldn't it also be about the company you keep?
While there are dozens of demonstrations ongoing throughout the country demanding that our nations banks and corporations be more accountable to the people, why are we ignoring the institution over which we have so much control? Our elected officials?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)