New Haven Issues

BOA Budget Vote

2007-05-30T13:15:00.000-04:00

The budget was approved resulting in a tax and spending increase. The NH Register covered it well in the print edition (and their premium e-Paper) as well as the NH Independent. I am also a part of a loose group of people working to increase city efficiency, reduce waste, and spend within our means. We covered the BOA roll call votes, started a BOA Accountability Project and intend to release White Papers on city spending and more. You can keep up with our efforts here:

www.nhcan.org

This will clearly be a November Ballot issue and we encourage your ongoing support to controll city spending and support candidates who represent our concerns.

Follow The Debates

2007-05-01T20:40:00.000-04:00

2007-05-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right! The BOA Finance Committee made minimal cuts - an appeasement strategy. Be there at the full Board of Aldermen at a special budget meeting May 29 @ 7pm for our last chance to make changes!

New Haven Citizen's Budget Proposal

2007-04-18T11:56:00.000-04:00

Here are twelve pages of ideas we have for the BOA to review for possible cuts to the City's Proposed 2007-2008 Budget.

Citizen's Budget

Press Release

Also, be sure to be there at the BOA Finance Committee Meeting at 6pm Thursday, 4/19/07 (Tomorrow) on the second floor of City Hall.

Budget: Line Item Explanations

2007-04-18T09:19:00.000-04:00

The City Budget does not explain all of the line items. Those explanations are reported on Form 106. We have scanned in all of the Forms 106 (10.6 MB) for review. Feel free to download and review for more detailed information about the budget.

Next Steps

2007-04-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

Turnout at the April 19th meeting @ 6pm (Aldermanic Chambers, City Hall) is vital. Bring a neighbor or 10. Here is a flyer you can post around your neighborhood or deliver to your neighbors.

DOWNLOAD THE APRIL 19th Flyer!!!

Correction

2007-04-12T18:09:00.001-04:00

All:

I need to make a correction to a posting and email I made about a recent city meeting not being published. Two alderpeople, Ina Silverman and Roland Lemar pointed out that the meeting on monday night about the elderly tax freeze was published in the New Haven Register on Monday, April 2nd, page D5, top of column 2. I relied on someone who works hard to keep up-to-date on things and told me the meeting notice was not published without verifying this myself. I thus forwarded the notice to everyone. The statement was thus: "Someone pointed out that there was an important meeting that again went unpublished with the legal notices. See note below:"

In this email/posting, I also claimed that this was done "again". This was an imprecise attempt to express my frustration about how hard it is to find out about these meetings and how last minute the word is passed along about such meetings. I am sure the BOA properly publishes such notices in the legal section of the NH Register. With modern technology, is this the only option? How many of you regularly read the NH Register Legal Notices? I know this is ultimately each of our responsibility. Still, I think it is a bad way to get citizens involved.

It is hard for citizens to keep informed about meetings or to get proper notification of them unless you check the legal section of the register daily for such postings. Even the city's website does not keep agendas for BOA posted sufficiently far in advance to make room in your schedule and even meetings themselves are sometimes not posted that far in advance (the April 19th meeting just got posted the other day). You seemingly need to keep checking daily to find out what is going on. I think this is a failing of the city to not make it easy for citizens to keep up to date about important meetings. With modern technology, it should not be such a major effort to keep up to date about scheduled public meetings. I suggest a city RSS feed or email broadcasting system. Both would be easy to implement - I am not sure of the "terms of use" agreement, but perhaps using Yahoo or Google Groups to manage such a system like is done here with the Downtown Management Team: http://groups.google.com/group/DWSCMT?msg=subscribe

I appreciate both Ina and Roland for pointing these errors out. I am happy to admit to being wrong when it happens. These are serious topics with serious implications and I hope to communicate things to the best of my ability and correctly. If you find errors with my postings or emails let me know. If you want to help with the organizing as an editor, let me know.

What are your thoughts?

Also, be sure to be there for the meeting on April 19th @ 6pm, Aldermanic Chambers for the budget meeting of the Finance Committee.

Thanks,

Jeffrey Kerekes

Interesting Debate On the INDEPENDENT

2007-04-11T09:36:00.000-04:00

Check out the debate here about education, tweed, more police and more:

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2007/04/eat_rock_sticke.php#comments

Be sure to turn out on April 19th @ 6pm, Aldermanic Chambers for the budget meeting of the Finance Committee

Elderly tax freeze to be voted on this coming Monday. Read more about it!

Finance Committee Update

2007-03-31T11:42:00.000-04:00

We had another meeting of the Finance Committee on Thursday. The Board of Alderman were more fired up this week and asked a number of more tough questions. Kudos to Charles Blango who did a great job and who was much more challenging than last week. Jorge Perez and Roland Lemar also asked a number of questions to budget presenters. Ina Silverman was more active than last week and Al Paolillo and Mordechai Sandman also questioned presenters. The remainder of the committee was again largely quiet.

Finance Committee Members

Rodriguez (Chair) (Ward 26)
Silverman (Vice-Chair)(Ward 25)
Perez (Ward 5)
Jackson-Brooks (Ward 4)
Colon (Ward 6),
Shah (Ward 23)
Blango (Ward 20)
Shalek (Ward 1)
Rhodeen (Ward 13)
Sandman (Ward 28)
DePino (Ward 18)

What To Do:

Contact your Alderperson
Talk to a neighbor and tell them what is happening
Show up at the BOA Hearing on April 19, 2007 @ 6pm in the Aldermanic Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall
Generate a list of ideas for the city to save money
Contact your Alderperson
Contact your Alderperson
Contact your Alderperson
Contact your Alderperson
Download the Flyer and distribute it to neighbors
Sign the Online Petition
And, of course, Contact your Alderperson

Some News Stories

2007-03-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

Read the Budget

2007-03-23T12:01:00.000-04:00

The budget can be found online:
Mayor's Proposed 2007-2008 Budget.

Why weren't they asking, "Where can we make some cuts?"

2007-03-23T11:55:00.000-04:00

The finance committee meeting last night reviewed the mayor's proposed budget. From an audience's perspective, Only two Alderman (Jorge Perez and Alphonse Paolillo, Jr) seemed to have read the budget and only those two asked any real questions of the presenters defending their budget. The next person to ask a few probing questions was Charles Blango. The rest of the committee mostly just sat there throughout the 3.5 hour hearing (which allowed for no public comment). If you are concerned about the second largest budget increase along with the massive tax increase in a long time, you are not being represented in this process. We need people to attend the next Finance Committee meeting on March 29, 2007 @ 6pm in the Aldermanic Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor.

Why weren't they asking, "Where can we save some money?"

Did you know?
The NHPD spends 1/4 of a million dollars per month on overtime!
We spend $115,000 to train new police officers and they are under no obligation to stay once they finish training (they are free agents).
The NHFD spends $3 Million dollars per year on overtime

Learn so much more by attending the Finance Committee meeting on March 29, 2007 in the Aldermanic Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor.

Pass Out The Flyer!!!!!

2007-03-21T11:49:00.000-04:00

Hello All:

As part of our efforts to organize people against the Tax Increase and Mayor's Proposed Budget, we are asking that you print out and distribute the attached flyer. Consider passing it out in your neighborhood, at church or social organizations. We are also interested in getting people to pass these out in front of City Hall from 12pm - 2pm Monday-Friday. We need to get people to attend the Finance Committee's meetings and hearing (see below) as well as people calling their Alderperson.

Don’t Know Your Ward? Check online!
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Aldermen/index.asp#WardMap

Sign the Petition Online:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newhaventaxreduction

Keep Up-To-Date
Website: http://newhavenissues.blogspot.com/

Email List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newhavenissues

Show Up & Be Heard:
City Budget Workshops are open to the public in the Aldermanic Chambers
March 22, and 29, with a culminating hearing, if needed, on April 19.

Download the flyer!

News Coverage

2007-03-18T21:15:00.000-04:00

Here are a few stories about the tax increase:

Neighborhood Group Meetings

2007-03-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

Another way to get involved is through neighborhood groups. Here are a few:

The Downtown Wooster Square Community Management Team (DWSCMT) consists of members of the community who have organized to serve as a forum for problem-solving, information exchange, and decision-making centering around neighborhood quality of life and public safety issues.

http://groups.google.com/group/DWSCMT
Join our mailing list at DWSCMT@gmail.com

Come to our Monthly Meetings and interact with your fellow neighbors, aldermen, police, and many other city officials and agencies 6pm the 3rd Tuesday every month in City Hall meeting room 2

Common Ground: A Ward 8 Meeting which typically meets at Conte School on Chapel Street and with few exceptions, are on the second Tuesday of each month (except Jan, July and Aug usually).

The Westville / West Hills Management Team meets Tuesday March 20th at 6:30 at the Valley Street substation.

Cedar Hill Community Association meets the first Thursday of the month at 6pm at 1375 State Street, The New Flame Restoration Church has allowed us to use the all purpose room. The door is on the side were the book store is just ring the bell and we will let you in.

Please tell me about your group!

Evolving Plan

2007-03-17T15:25:00.000-04:00

We need to have significant turnout at the below meetings or we will not sufficiently arrest the attention of the Board of Aldermand and Office of the Mayor. Please get people to attend the following meetings:

Public Budget Hearings - The next three city budget workshops are open to the public in the Aldermanic Chambers March 15, 22, and 29 , with a culminating hearing, if needed, on April 19. Each workshop will feature different City departments. For more info and a list of who is showing up when, contact Donald Hayden at the Office of Legislative Services at dhayden@newhavenct.net.

Volunteers Needed To Hand Out Flyers

2007-03-17T15:17:00.000-04:00

We are seeking volunteers to hand out fliers in front of city hall M-F, 12-2 pm until the vote on the Mayor's proposed budget. If we could get three volunteers a day, the burden is not placed upon a few people. This can help us get the message out.

New Email List

2007-03-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

We created a "newsletter" style email list for distributing important news to your email address. We promise to not send a lot of email and you can manage your subscription at anytime. This is not a discussion style email list to avoid a lot of email traffic. If you want to start a discussion, do that here on the website through comments. To join the email list, start here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/newhavenissues

Next Public Hearing

2007-03-16T12:03:00.000-04:00

Another public hearing will be April 19th at 6 p.m. in the aldermanic chamber at City Hall (165 Church Street, 2nd Floor).

To calculate adjustments in a July 1 tax bill based on the proposed tax rate, use the calculator at the city’s Web site.

Mil Rate Petition

2007-03-16T11:48:00.000-04:00

Mil Rate Reduction Petition March 2007

We, the undersigned homeowners and renters in New Haven petition the New Haven Board of Alderman to keep New Haven an affordable place to live with a significant reduction in the mil rate on Property Taxes. Major increases in energy rates coupled with new property assessments (often 200-300% increase) pose a severe economic threat to all those who live here.
We petition the Board of Aldermen to take immediate action to reduce the mil Rate overall and the Mayor’s proposed budget.

Sign the petition online:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/newhaventaxreduction.

We're Organizing

2007-03-16T11:46:00.000-04:00

Please help us organize around the Mayor's 2007-2008 Proposed Budget. With the new property assessments and minimum Mil Rate change, we might all get priced out of the city leading to flight and blight.