Standing Room Only Community Forum

It was standing room only Thursday at the Thornton Wilder Hall at the Miller Memorial Library for Mayor Scott Jackson's community forum on this year's budget.

Every seat was filled with standing room only, and among those in the audience were Senator Martin Looney and Roland Lamar.

The mayor opened the forum by mentioning the fatal house fire Thursday morning where a Grandview Avenue man died searching for family members who had already gotten out of the burning home. His message to the crowd was to have an emergency plan in place and practice it. He felt this tragedy could have been avoided.

Jackson then went on to give an overview of the budget. The budget depends on what the federal government gives the state government, and what Hartford gives the towns, he said.

“The budget is in an era when government has to transition itself and find new ways to do business," Jackson said.

Mayor Jackson briefly went over a few of the outstanding issues Hamden faces, including sidewalks repair --  $3 million has been spent to ensure a repair structure that works was created. Sidewalks need to support the use of strollers and wheelchairs, he said, and blocks need to be completed before moving on to the next. 

The Memorial Town Hall renovation project is on time, and the new police station there should be open by late June, he said.

Leaf pickup has been problematic, the mayor said. Residents are spending time to bag leaves that are sitting out at curbs until the middle of winter, the mayor said.

“This is not the Hamden we want,” he said.

The town's transfer station has complicated issues, he said, including permitting issues and the fact that Hamden can only dump 2,000 tons of waste per year, the smallest amount in the state.

Hamden is progressive in its recycling efforts, he said, but overall recycling is down while trash disposal is up 11 percent.

Despite the $3 billion hole in the state budget, Gov. Dannel Malloy, in his budget address Wednesday, said the municipalities will be kept whole, which Jackson attributed to the fact that Malloy came to Hartford after having served for years as Stamford's mayor.

If Malloy's budget is passed as presented, Hamden will see an increase in state funding of about $100,000, Jackson said. Those funds are mostly from increased PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, payments made to the town to offset lost tax revenue from Quinnipiac University and the new Connecticut Transit headquarters on State Street.

“We will take every $100,000 we can get,” he said. 

A top priority is traffic calming near schools and the Farmington Canal, Jackson said, as well as paving roads.  But, he noted, this is happening at a time when the price of oil has gone up, which affects the price the town must pay.

Mayor Jackson then opened up the floor to Hamden resident’s questions. Among the concerns were taxes, finances, snow and leaf pick up.

One of the  main concerns for residents is how much of the budget is eaten up by town employee benefits. Several question why, if State employees are asked for give backs,  town employees aren't being asked to do likewise.

According to the mayor, 25 percent of the town’s budget is for employee health insurance. The town is self-insured which, he said, saves a lot of money because only the true cost of medical care is paid.

But, Jackson said, “we can’t ask for give backs until it is time to meet with the bargaining units.” And give backs have to be done gradually to make it easier to adjust to, he said.

Jackson also talked about saving money by regionalizing services such as trash disposal. Sharing the cost with other towns can help save money, he said At mayoral conferences he and his fellow municipal leaders are already collaborating to see where they can share expenses on services, he said.

But, he said, while e some services can be combineed, others can’t, such as police, fire and public works, which need to stay in town because of the nature of the jobs.

"We need boots on the ground," he said.

The state has 169 cities and towns and they all work independent, the mayor said. Connecticut is known as “the land of steady habits," he said, and “as we progress we have to change, we can not exist alone."

Hamden resident John Morrison suggested shutting off street lights to save money in low traffic areas. 

“People complain that these lights bother them,” he said. Some raised the question of the lights being a safety issue.

Snow removal stirred audience emotions, especially removal after the recent storms. One resident recounted the story of a Public Works employee knocking on her door at supper time asking her to move her cars or be towed.

"This was more snow than Hamden has ever seen since we have had paved roads,” Jackson said. And after this winter, Hamden is now ready to deal with a large amount of snow, he said, adding that there is a plan in place and will be dealt with in a different manor.

The question of whether the privatization of Public Works was an option came up since there is an acting director and not a permanent director.  Jackson said it has been hard to attract an applicant because the salary is about $25, 000, less than a similar position in other area Public Works departments. 

The town has cut its Public Works Department from 100 to fewer than 60 employees, Jackson said.

“You see Public Works all the time," he said. "They work hard.”

Privatization won’t happen anytime soon, he said, but they will have a consultant come in to evaluate the department.