People prefer problems that are familiar to solutions that are not.
I attended a Norwich City Council meeting last night that was, despite some comments of neighbors who feel otherwise, heartening for showing how far we are willing to go (I think) in rethinking how we do business as a city.
This Council chose to bond slightly less than 800K (that's a magic number in Norwich-a penny over 800K and the bond proposal must go to referendum where 'we' fear voters will shoot it down. Except my memory is this past November, those who live here bonded a major rehabilitation of one of our middle schools (major=about 40 Million dollars). And the previous November saw us approve millions in bonding to repave streets. So much for 'the voters reject bonding requests' when, perhaps, what we mean is voters reject poorly-thought out and presented requests. Semantics, it's a wonderful thing!).
Last night's bond money is to support a variety of programs associated with volunteer fire fighting and our aldermen were effusive in their praise of the fire fighters, as well they should be. While you or I might run from a burning building, volunteer fire fighters run towards it and into it. What disquieted more than one alderman wasn't the 'why' so much as the 'how'. We are buying some items, like a nearly half-a million dollar heavy rescue vehicle to replace one 22 years old and well-past its useful life. And that's where this gets a little sticky. There is a plan of replacement for maintaining equipment among the volunteer units and the paid fire department, in light of shifting workloads (ever escalating, too) and mutual aid agreements, but one alderman last night fretted it may possibly NOT be a strategic plan so much as a schedule of 'who gets the next truck?'
And because of the immense cost of fire fighting equipment, and the desires we have as residents to NOT pay more in taxes, regardless of how much more the City must pay for goods and services, we all countenance a sleight of hand where we don't put big ticket items in the budget for anyone, well, almost anyone, but, instead, use bonding throughout the year to buy these items.
In the course of the discussion last night an alderman asked an almost excellent question of the City's Comptroller, which was 'how many fire trucks are we paying for with bonding?' The answer, three, is deceptively reassuring. The real question should have been....how many pieces of fire equipment do we have above a particular dollar value.....how many did did we purchase through budget appropriation and how many did we buy through bonding. As one citizen pointed out last night, we tend to use a special means of purchase, bonding, to finance a recurring requirement, capital equipment.
More than one aldermen last night opined that he 'hopes things will change' which is encouraging, except hope is not a plan. If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always gotten. As the City Manager and Department Heads working with the Mayor and the City Council begin the process of formulating our next budget, this is the year and the time to mean what you say and say what you mean. The City Council, Mayor and Manager should promise one another, and all of us who live in Norwich and fund our city, to develop an honest budget, no blue smoke and no mirrors. Eyes wide open, tell us what it will cost us in taxes to do those things we tell you we want you to do. When I elected a new City Council in November it wasn't because I was tired of looking at the faces in the front of the room-I (and I wasn't alone) felt we needed to go in another direction and we needed new people with new ideas to get us there.
I did NOT choose new brooms to sweep old dust. Aldermen of the City Council: you're still learning your way and walking the path. You know more now than you did the night you were elected and will know still more tomorrow and the day after that. You're starting to get a feel for where we tend to drop our voices when speaking about our challenges, where we prefer talking around a 'situation' rather than facing it head on. You are the change I wanted to see in how my city is governed. I elected you to make the hard choices, even when I disagree with you. As you gain greater insight into where our problems are, it'll become more apparent where solutions are needed. Don't worry about credit or blame, those tend to be parcelled out in a mostly capricious, callous and unfair manner. Fix the problem.
Be the change you want to be in our city.
-bill kenny
PS: Proving the Lord has an exquisite sense of humor, there's a WFSB report this morning on CT's favorite Hot Tub King, the former Governor and Federal Prison inmate, John Rowland, becoming Waterbury's economic development director thanks to an offer by the Mayor, Michael Jajura, whose idea of a drug plan differs significantly from what my medical insurance covers. With homies like these two and Philip Giordano it's a testimonial to the patience of the residents of Waterbury.
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