Hearing over, not process
In our editorial on this page two weeks ago, we urge West Haven residents to take an active interest in the budget-making process now underway. With the completion of the charter-required public hearing on Monday, the City Council now goes into a monthlong deliberation as a Committee of the Whole, reviewing the plan issued by Mayor Nancy N. Rossi.
As stated in our last essay, the public’s primary ability to discuss and question the budget plan takes place at that hearing, but we wish to reiterate our support of those who will go beyond that one-time event, and take an active interest in the upcoming deliberations.
While the City Council members come together in special session and committee, the public is not uninvited from the deliberations, and may attend some or all of the scheduled resumptions. We say “resumptions” because the Committee of the Whole does not adjourn its meetings throughout the month, but suspends them. This maneuver allows debate and votes, retaining the original quorum, should members not be able to attend on certain dates.
We urge residents to take part because this is not a sequestering of the City Council so much as a focused overview of one particular issue, namely, the budget. While the public does not have the opportunity for comment while in session, there have been many times interested parties have brought certain issues to the attention of council members, and those issues have resulted, in some cases, attempts at changes in the plan.
The point is the public, the taxpayers, are and should always be part of the process of budget making. After all, it is the taxpayer who foots the bill for the running of the city and the school system. He who pays the piper does have the right to call the tune.
Many times, those most involved in the deliberative process are those interests most closely associated with the budget: employees, unions, etc. This is why we believe the reinstitution of a group similar to the West Haven Taxpayers Association of four decades ago is important. Taxpayers speaking through one voice make an impact on politicians and are more effective than individuals acting alone.
Lacking that organization at the present time does not preclude residents from becoming involved in the work of the council over the next several weeks. Committees will focus, many times, on certain issues or problems to the detriment of others. This is not for lack of interest, but because time and deadlines require prioritization. Having taxpayers jog the collective memory of the council can be a help.
Over the next several weeks, ending on the first Thursday of May, the City Council will review the budget package. We reaffirm our belief the taxpayers should continue to attend those sessions, and offer what ideas they might.
A lesson in foot-dragging
City residents are getting a lesson in the slow-walking we were given by the Simon Group in the eight years it had promised to build The Haven, the erstwhile project that never got off the ground.
For years, neighbors of the project, city officials and taxpayers were given a master class in obfuscation, delay and deflection as the buildings on the property languished, and rotted. Now, the group is reportedly looking to sell the land, and might even have an undisclosed buyer. In the last two weeks, more has been done on the property than in the eight years combined. It proves the kabuki theater we were subject to by the developers.
Let us hope the land is sold, and quickly.