The animus that characterized the relationship between Mayor Nancy Rossi and her predecessor, Edward M. O’Brien, during last fall’s campaign was well documented. The personal dislike carried over from the September primary, was fueled through a general election campaign that featured almost weekly back-and-forth charges between the two, and has not ended now that the election has been decided.
The former mayor took issue with a statement made by Rossi last week regarding the empaneling of the Municipal Accountability Review Board (MARB) by the state’s Office of Police and Management in the aftermath of the city’s bonding of more than $25 million last year, primarily for the elimination of a $17 million budget gap.
“The idea that my administration budgeted $8 million that we were not sure we were getting is ludicrous,” O’Brien said in a reply this week ( Click here for O’Brien’s reply).
At issue is revenue included in the budget passed in May 2017 that was to come from the State of Connecticut in form of various grants. Each year, the state gives municipalities a general idea as to what they can expect in the new fiscal year. West Haven originally was told to expect $12 million. O’Brien said during the campaign his administration decided to low-ball the amount and put only two-thirds of what was planned.
“In fact, it probably was the firmest number we had from the state at the time we were putting the budget together,” O’Brien wrote.
Unfortunately for the state’s 169 towns and cities, the budget battle over the summer brewed for months and resulted in most state grants getting eliminated. The city faces a gap because of the snafu.
In her discussion of the MARB empanelment, Rossi made mention of the $8 million gap and how during the campaign she and newly elected City Treasurer Mike Last urged the city not to put any anticipated funds into the budget.
“City Treasurer Michael Last and I asked the previous mayor and city council not to include that $8 million of wishful revenue at budget hearings and city council meetings, however our pleas fell on deaf ears,” she wrote.
The city can get the $8 million, but not until next summer under guidelines set up by the state. It came with strings attached, such as a state review board, which was a point of contention between the two when the campaign was raging. O’Brien didn’t accept the deal when he was in office, and now Rossi faces the choice to accept or reject the funds.
O’Brien, meanwhile, was not apologetic for working a deal with the state, and took the opportunity to take a swipe at Rossi’s contention her CPA status gives her a handle on municipal finance, a big issue during the campaign.
“West Haven also gets $45 million for our students’ education from the state, an amount that has increased due to my lobbying on behalf of our residents. If the CPA does not accept the $45 million from the state then is that to say I created a 45-million-dollar deficit?” wrote O’Brien. “I fought hard to get the $8 million to flow back to West Haven, money our residents paid in state taxes and I would contend that if the current mayor doesn’t accept it then she and she alone created an $8 million deficit.”
O’Brien gave Rossi warning that he will not be the scapegoat if the new administration looks to raise taxes.
“If her plan is to blame me and my administration and/or hide behind the state and institute a large tax increase, that is not leadership and it does nothing to solve the problems facing West Haven,” he wrote. “During the campaign, after she told everyone she was a CPA, she would tell everyone if I was re-elected, I was going to raise taxes, and as a CPA she knew more than any other finance professional, and my efforts to raise revenues by increased economic development were wrong. Standing firm in your beliefs and doing the right thing is hard but it is what is expected of our mayor.”
He pointed out most of the economic team he had in place has yet to be altered by the new administration.
“It also must be pointed out that my entire financial team, the people I trusted to make every financial decision is still her entire team, so how bad were they really? The only difference is the old mayor took their advice and the new one knows more than them,” he wrote.
A final contention is the size of the deficit for Fiscal Year 2018 that ended June 30. Rossi wrote last week the still-to-be-published audit will have more bad news for city taxpayers.
“Fiscal year 2017 is under audit and we recently learned that the estimated deficit for 2017 is between $1 and $1.5 million. Although this news was disappointing it was not a surprise,” she wrote.
O’Brien is having none of it. He writes this week auditors gave him an entirely different picture before he left office.
“The Tuesday before my term ended, we had a deficit of $100,000 projected for FY17. The rating agencies even noted our financial improvement under my leadership, what changed? She is using the same auditor, finance director, finance advisor and bond counsel. Were they lying to me or is she lying to the people she was elected to serve?”
Is requiring a $45 million dollar handout from more fiscally responsible and industrious municipalities after having spent 8 years in office something that you are seriously boasting about? You criticized Nancy for considering running as an independent, which is exactly what you did after you lost in the primary. She won, the people have spoken, It’s time to move on.