As voters get ready to go to the polls Tuesday, the endorsed Democrat and the incumbent mayor hoping to keep his job exchanged more verbal blows over a bail-out package offered state municipalities under the just-passed state budget for Fiscal Year 2018.
Endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate Nancy Rossi is “concerned” with the latest developments regarding the state budget passed by the General Assembly passed by the General Assembly last week. Her concerns have been met with a joint statement by the city’s assembly delegation, promising continued action to aid the city with necessary funding.
In a statement released this week, Rossi, says the plan to give the city necessary aid under a four-tier plan included in the just-passed budget is a déjà vu moment for the city.
“The budget makes ‘bail out’ funding available for towns like Hartford and West Haven. It is my understanding that West Haven would be considered a Tier III distressed municipality and eligible to apply for up to $8 million in temporary state funding under the plan,” she said. “There are Tiers I through IV for distressed municipalities with the latter being the worst off financially. If West Haven applies and receives the funding, it would come under the newly created Municipal Accountability Review Board (MARB). The newly created MARB would have similarities to the board that was brought in to oversee the city during the early 1990’s.”
The MARB would be comprised of eleven members including the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management and the State Treasurer. The other members would be appointments of the governor and legislature. The review board’s authority would include the oversight of West Haven’s budgets, bonding, contracts and collective bargaining agreements. The board would be in place for at least three years, or until the city can balance three consecutive budgets. This is similar to the situation the city had in 1991-1194.
“This is not simply an ‘advisory board’ as Mayor O’Brien claimed earlier,” asserted Rossi. “This is a board that will have oversight and a say in the governing of West Haven.”
She said the mayor was told to be conservative in his budgeting estimates, but did not heed those admonitions.
“Mayor O’Brien was warned by me and others not to over-inflate his budget revenue by adding in an additional $8 million that we all knew were unlikely to materialize. The state is having its own financial problems. Where did Ed O’Brien think the state was going to get the extra money?” she asked. “His budget included state revenue of $62,008,951. The budget passed by the legislature allots $53,540,457 in state aid to West Haven. That leaves us more than $8 million short this year. It was Mayor O’Brien’s action and bad decisions that have led us to the brink of insolvency and now the possibility of an outside review board. This is not permanent funding. You still have to address the problem that West Haven spends more money than it has. You still have an $8 million budget gap to fill.”
She said the city has been here before, and it was not a good time for taxpayers.
“The last time the state sent a review board to West Haven our property taxes nearly doubled. We already have long-time residents fleeing the city. We cannot afford any more tax increases. Mayor O’Brien’s actions and inability to lead will haunt this city for years to come,” she said.
In response, the mayor’s campaign did not address the concerns directly, but sent a statement from the city’s assembly delegation. The following statement was signed by Sens. Gail Slossberg (D-14) and Gary Winfield (D-10), and Reps. Dorinda Borer (D-115) and Michael DiMassa (D-116) as well as Mayor O’Brien:
“In response to both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly passing a bipartisan state budget with veto-proof majorities, Mayor O’Brien and members of West Haven’s state delegation have issued the following joint statement: “While this has been a long and difficult process, the Connecticut General Assembly has passed a state budget which will make West Haven’s municipal budget whole. West Haven residents can rest assured that there will not be a shortfall in the current budget and our public education system will operate fully funded.
“Mayor O’Brien and our entire state delegation fought hard to ensure West Haven’s needs were considered throughout the budget deliberation process and that hard work has paid off. The amount of state aid allocated to West Haven in this budget matches the state aid West Haven received in the previous fiscal year. Considering the state’s current fiscal situation and the fact that many towns and cities are facing cuts in state aid, this is a win for West Haven.
“Additionally, West Haven will likely see an increase in state aid for education in the next fiscal year due to a change in the Education Cost Sharing formula. Additional funding that West Haven needs for the current fiscal year will be made available through the Office of Policy and Management and the newly formed Municipal Accountability Review Board which is comprised of state and local stakeholders as well as municipal finance experts. This board would have the ability to review and offer advice on the city’s finances after providing West Haven with the additional funding.
“Mayor O’Brien and our state delegation fought for this to be included in the final state budget. The city’s budget being made whole and having more input from experienced professionals are very positive developments for West Haven. We are all looking forward to continuing to fight for West Haven going forward.”
For his part, Mayor O’Brien took a final shot at his opponent, saying it was just more negativity without any real solutions.
“Once again we see a press release that is full of negative comments and not a single solution. I am working with our state delegation on a daily basis to fight for West Haven and make sure we get the best deal possible. Many cities and towns are facing cuts due to the situation the state is in and we avoided that through our hard work and advocacy for our students and residents,” he said.
It is really simple. The current administration was cautioned about becoming voer zealous with spending and did not heed that warning. Now there is an 8 million dollar shortfall which they can whistle dixie about making up. If you don’t have it and may not get it, how can you spend it. Would Goldworks have purchased $800,000 worth of gold if they did not have standing orders and down payments for it?