Happy Holidays to All

I would like to wish you and your family a

Happy Holiday and the very best in the New Year !

Hamden Journal Article Re Old Job & New Ventures

Hamden Journal Article: Leng Discusses Old Job & New Ventures

By: Lissette Rodriguez

Curt Leng this week said he was ready to disclose details about his new company and his resignation as Bridgeport's deputy director of community development, now that a negotiated settlement has taken place.

Leng's resignation came months after he was suspended with pay following a report from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) about six areas of alleged discrepancies in the program he ran. (CURT - Actually, 4 of the problems were managed by a different individual than me. There were grant programs referred to in the report that I did not administer.) Leng faced termination if allegations of "poor performance," were proven. However, after only one hearing, the city dropped its investigation with no final result, according to Leng. Because of ongoing discussions with Bridgeport's Labor Department and the resulting negotiated settlement, he said he decided to wait before disclosing any information. "Beyond this, unfortunately, due to the settlement agreement language, I can only say that I decided to part ways with Bridgeport to explore other opportunities," he said. "While I can't say nearly as much as I would like regarding the Bridgeport situation, I am very pleased that Bridgeport decided to close their investigation without result in May." Leng had been hired in October 2005 as manager of monitoring & evaluation for Bridgeport's Community Development Program. He was promoted to deputy director of community development shortly thereafter. "In that job, I managed a team of about 15 employees and consultants, administered the city's Community Development Block Grant and Emergency Shelter Program Grant and several other smaller programs," he said. Before working in Bridgeport, Leng was community development program director in Hamden from 2001 to 2003. He said he received a "perfect report from HUD" in Hamden. Richard T. Meehan Jr., Bridgeport Supervisors' Union attorney, represented Leng in the hearing process. Meehan also represented former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim in his 2003 corruption trial. (CURT - I had no choice in Legal Representation - Meehan was my union's selected Attorney.) As a result of the ongoing situation, Leng said he decided to resign from his position as deputy director the same time the city dropped the investigation. Attempts to reach Leng's former supervisor, Nancy Hadley, were unsuccessful. Although the situation raised eyebrows, many Hamden officials took the opportunity to come to Leng's defense. Mayor Craig Henrici said Leng would eventually come out on top of the situation. Despite his ordeal, Leng pressed forward and created Curt Leng & Associates LLC., an independent consulting firm, focusing on grant writing, administration, economic & community development and other consulting opportunities. "I am really proud to be starting my own small business and hope that I can use it as a vehicle to work in the diverse areas that I've gained experience with over the last decade," he said. "I'm also pleased to be free to work with the agencies, non-profits and government entities that I think are doing good, quality work - one of the benefits of starting your own business." The business, which he formed last summer, works with local and statewide clients, according to Leng. So far, there are about eight individuals willing to work with Leng as specialized subcontractors. There is no one on the payroll as of today, he said. Highville Mustard Seed Charter School is among one project Leng is working on, he said. His company, which has set up a temporary office at Highville, will provide assistance in the areas of administration, operations, benefits and public procurement (purchasing). The six-month contract follows a recent public request from the school for proposals aimed at improving core areas of operations being developed by Highville, according to Leng. "We're very pleased to be working with a professional with the experience level of Leng to help our school and development corporation as we continue to improve our internal operations, rules and regulations," said Highville Board of Directors Vice-Chairman Fatima Ennis-Grant. "I also know that he will be of great help as we get set to launch our new public procurement policy, which has strict standards and requires focused oversight," she said. Leng said he plans not to work with any Hamden businesses to avoid ethical implications. He is the Sixth District representative on the Town Council and sits on several boards and commissions. (CURT - If anyone has any questions or would like to contact me regarding story, please feel free to contact me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net)

©The Hamden Journal 2006

Happy Thanksgiving !
All the best to you and your families !

Curt Leng

Staying on Top of the Hamden Middle School Project

The School Building Committee has been active the last several weeks attempting to close out some important outstanding issues that need attention from our contractor, Konover Construction. This oversight came to a head this week and I think it had positive results in the form of increased attention from our construction company.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about these issues. There are some articles from the Hamden Daily News and the New Haven Register.

Hamden Daily News (Sharon Bass):

Yikes, It Leaks An anonymous source sent the HDN a memo yesterday written by Councilman and School Building Committee Chair Curt Leng, saying the new middle school's roof is leaking and there are water problems on the athletic fields. The matters are to be taken up by the SBC tomorrow at 7 p.m. in the Board of Education building, 60 Putnam Ave.


My Memo:

November 15, 2006

FROM: Councilman Curt Leng
Finance Committee, Chairman
School Building Committee, Chairman
DATE: November 14, 2006
RE: New Hamden Middle School Issues

CC: Mayor Henrici
Scott Jackson, CAO
School Building Committee Members
Turner Construction
Tai Soo Kim

It has come to my attention that there are several areas of the New Hamden Middle School roof that are leaking.

You can understand my shock in hearing of this problem, which despite some apparent attempts to correct, has still not been fully rectified. This is an absolute disgrace considering that we have had children in this brand new $54 M facility for a full 2-months into our school year.

In an e-mail last week, I asked Konover Construction to present the School Building Committee with a detailed report as to why the roof is leaking and what is being done to ameliorate the situation. To-date I have received no such report and no such e-mail. I decided today to put my formal request in writing via this memo to accentuate the urgency of the matter.

If a full report – including a detailed list of what steps have been taken to-date, as well as plans for fully addressing this issue - are not in the hands of School Building Committee members by Thursday, I will be hesitant to let ANY additional Konover items be addressed at the SBC meeting.

In addition, there have been reports from staff, SBC members and residents about ponding and problematic water conditions in the athletic fields of the New School. I would like to add this matter to items that need to be addressed at the next meeting and will expect an informational report.

If Konover has already addressed the situation(s), then a report will suffice. If the issues are not addressed, I would like a representative from M & M on-hand to discuss the matter in more detail.

By copy of this memo, I ask anyone with photographs of the conditions mentioned – both inside and out - to please bring them to the meeting Thursday for review. I know there are several that have been shared.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail
at councilmancurtlleng@sbcglobal.net.


New Haven Register Article:

Hamden panel wants answers on new school’s leaks

Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor

-HAMDEN — Armed with information that there are leaks in the new Hamden Middle School, the School Building Committee tonight is expecting answers from Konover Construction, which built the $54 million school on Dixwell Avenue.

Councilman Curt Leng, D-6, committee chairman, said he hopes he receives good news from the contractor when the committee meets at 7:30 p.m. in the Board of Education building at 60 Putnam Ave.

On Tuesday, Leng fired off an e-mail to Konover Project Executive James E. Culkin, expressing dismay that he has heard that "several areas of the new Hamden Middle School roof are leaking. You can understand my shock in hearing of this problem, which, despite some apparent attempts to correct, has still not been fully rectified.

"This is an absolute disgrace, considering that we have had children in this brand-new $54 million facility for a full two months into our school year."

"There are no leaks in Hamden Middle School," Culkin said Wednesday, adding that the issue would be discussed tonight. "People get information and they take things out of proportion."

"I have to respectfully disagree," said Leng, who has received reports from parents and school staff that there are problems in the cafeteria and atrium area.

"Maybe he’s fixed them all. That’s wonderful, but I have nothing in writing. I want them to tell us this roof is tight. We’re not getting that answer."

Culkin responded Tuesday, an hour after Leng sent his memo to Culkin, the press and town and school officials, saying Konover has been working with school staff and school board Director of Facilities Mark Albanese.

He wrote that the leaks were addressed as soon as they were reported.

Two of the leaks, Culkin wrote, were caused by windows that were left open by teachers. One window leak was caused by a small hole in the exterior seal and was expected to be repaired. He said he would have an installer check the sporadic leak in the atrium skylight and the leak in the cafeteria has been fixed.

Superintendent of Schools Alida D. Begina on Wednesday said school officials were in a "fact-finding mode" in an effort to find out "exactly what the problem is," and will make a report tonight.

Meanwhile, school officials worked quickly recently when a heavy rainstorm caused roof leaks in a part of the school board offices at 60 Putnam Ave., where the roof is being replaced.

The leak occurred in a special education program for about 40 secondary students called STEPS/REACH. The Quinnipiack Valley Health District went to the building in mid-October, the day after the rain, and found no problems with mold, Executive Director Leslie Balch said.

Students were allowed to go home early when the carpet was being ripped up, Begina said.


Hamden Daily News Article After
Informal School Building Committee Discussion:

November 17, 2006

Leaks, Lights & Fields

SBC has a chat with Konover

By Sharon Bass

Town and school administrators, reps from Konover Construction and Tai Soo Kim Architects, a couple of parents and the media waited inside 60 Putnam Ave. last night for the much-anticipated School Building Committee meeting to begin, on the leaks and other flaws at the new $54M middle school.

Unfortunately, not enough committee members showed. Only five of the 13. So there was no quorum and no official meeting. Instead of entirely chucking the session, Chair Curt Leng allowed an informal conference -- no decisions, no votes, just talk.

He and others on the SBC rigorously questioned Konover project executive Richard Culkin about the middle school’s leaks, flooded athletic fields and interior lights that never go off.

Leng rattled off some specifics: two 10-foot-by-2-foot puddles of water on the floor in the atrium after it rained; the floor along windowed walls wet after rain; a leak in the mechanical room; water-stained ceiling tiles in the cafeteria, classrooms, gym, media center conference room, second-floor hallway; etc.

“As you can see, we have a host of issues,” he said. “I hope most have been addressed.” From late October through Nov. 8, Leng and others sent e-mails to Konover as each problem was discovered. “The response I was given is, ‘There are no problems,’” Leng said. However, Culkin acknowledged flaws when he later said, “Anything that was wet was replaced.”

The chair was also peeved that the construction company did not submit a written report, which he requested, about the leaks and such. “We have no report,” said Leng.

Konover Fires Back

“My response was written,” Culkin said of an e-mail he sent to committee members. Leng said an e-mail is not a written report.

“Why weren’t you able to produce a written report?” he asked.

“You asked about roof leaks and there aren’t any,” Culkin said.

Leng told Culkin he was using semantics; he asked about water leaks, regardless of their origin.

“What do you want in the report,” said Culkin.

“Every spot that had water and how it was fixed,” Leng responded.

Discussion turned to the gutters over the cafeteria. They were filled with leaves and other tree debris and could not contain all the water from the recent rains. Middle School Principal Frank Pepe said the leaking has stopped since the gutters were cleaned out.

“Are these gutters going to have this problem” with every rain, asked SBC member Al Gorman. He was told yes unless they’re cleaned out. Gorman said that should be put on the maintenance schedule.

Culkin said three leaks were found in the main atrium and remedied with wet seal, which holds up better than the rubber sealing it replaced. He said some of the ceiling tiles were stained by condensation from the HVAC system. That, too, he said has been fixed.

“There’s no water damage from roof leaks?” asked Leng.

“No,” said Culkin.

Time to Turn Off the Lights

Shocked by the new school’s $43,000 electric bill for its first month, as reported last week in the New Haven Register, Gorman asked how the lights could be shut off. The emergency lights, which are in every classroom, hallway and staircase, are on 24/7. Turns out, a $25,000 relay box (of which the town is only responsible for one-third, with the state picking up the rest of the tab) would do the trick.

That got Gorman and Leng going. Why was the SBC not informed of that? In far less than one month, that device would have paid for itself.

“We did not get that option,” said Gorman. He pointed out that the new North Haven High, which Konover completed in 2005, had the same emergency light problem and astronomical electric bill. It was baffling how the same company neglected to inform Hamden.

“I don’t understand why that option was not brought up in committee,” said Leng.

“Why was this never brought before us?” said Superintendent Alida Begina. “We were never told.”

Culkin disagreed. He said relay boxes were “mentioned in a narrative” he gave at a SBC meeting. But, he said, they were never included in the design.

“If you could show us one [time] where you presented that [that device] would save money and we turned it down, my hat’s off to you,” said Leng. He then asked why it wasn’t in the design plan.

“I don’t know,” said Ryszard Szczpek of Tai Soo Kim.

Culkin jumped in. “I could say the same thing. When the town saw the drawings why didn’t they pick it up?” he said.

“That doesn’t make sense for the town,” said Leng. “That doesn’t make sense on any level.”

Culkin argued the relays weren’t included because of “budgetary restraints. It was batted around but not approved.”

“But this saves money in the first month,” Leng insisted.

Szczpek came in from Switzerland. “It clearly can’t continue the way it is,” the architect said. “It has to be changed. It should have been presented early in the design stages. Yes, it should have been presented to this committee. Yes.” It’s unclear who will pay for the relay switches and the water-damage repairs -- the town or Konover.

Another problem is noisy hood fans in the science rooms. Begina said teachers are having trouble teaching.

“We can’t have a noise impact on the educational system,” said Gorman. “If we know the solution, are you going to fix it?”

Szczpek said he would look into it. “A school building has never been built like this,” he said. “It’s impossible to predict every nuance.”

And there are the flooded athletic fields. “There are ponds I could swim in,” said Leng. “There are 50 geese” out there. He asked if the pools of water are the result of a design flaw. Culkin said he didn’t know and would have it inspected.

Despite the leaks, the lights and the fields, SBC resident elector Chris Daur said it’s really business as usual. “It’s very typical,” he said after the meeting. “We’re having a hard time in the end because we were trying to stay within the $54 million budget.”

The school got a temporary certificate of occupancy in August, when Konover turned the building over to the BOE. Daur said it’s not unusual to wait even years to get a permanent certificate.

During the meeting, Culkin said many of the water-stained tiles had not been replaced because they are now dry.

“I never heard of someone leaving up a wet, stained ceiling tile for two months,” said Leng, who intends to ask the Quinnipiack Valley Health District to inspect the insulation around the tiles for mold.

(Side-note: I am awaiting response from the Health Department - CL)

He’s also waiting for that final report from Konover.

Needless to say we are working to ensure that this large investment by the Town is completed in the proper manner. The school was opened on-time and is still "on-budget" and we on the School Building Committee intend to keep it that way - with the proper improvements owed to us by our vendors !

E-mail with questions and thoughts - councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

All the Best,

Curt

Checks & Balances

Checks and Balances have been returned to our Government this election day. It's a good day for America !

This is Sad ......

It's a sad day for our Country when we get this low ... GOP to Air Ad Warning of Terror Attacks Oct 19 9:10 PM US/Eastern
By JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON

The Republican Party will begin airing a hard-hitting ad this weekend that warns of more cataclysmic terror attacks against the U.S. homeland.

The ad portrays Osama bin Laden and quotes his threats against America dating to February 1998. "These are the stakes," the ad concludes. "Vote November 7."

Brian Jones, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said the ad would run on national cable beginning Sunday, but he declined to discuss specifics of the buy.

The commercial tracks with Republican Party strategy to make the war on terrorism a central theme of this election. It will air as recent polls show Republicans losing ground as the party best able to combat terrorism.

Last month, President Bush made the war against terrorism a recurrent topic in public appearances. But his message was drowned out by the e- mail sex scandal involving former Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida and by increasing fatalities in Iraq.

The ad displays an array of quotes from bin Laden and his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, that include bin Laden's Dec. 26, 2001 vow that "what is yet to come will be even greater."

The ad also cites al-Zawahri's claim to have obtained "some suitcase bombs," followed by a scene that appears to show a nuclear explosion.

Despite al-Zawahri's claim, portable nuclear devices are believed to be particularly difficult to produce and elusive to rogue regimes and terror groups.

The ad is also featured on the RNC's Web site. The party said the ad, called "The Stakes," will be e-mailed to millions of GOP supporters, activists and the state parties.

Democrats denounced the ad as scaremongering.

"This is a pathetic move by an increasingly desperate GOP," said Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney. "Clearly Republicans are so afraid of their abysmal record they can't offer one example of what they've done to keep America safe."

Former U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Joe Sestak, a Democratic congressional candidate running against incumbent Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said the war in Iraq has made Americans less safe. "It's disturbing that the Republicans in Washington are trying to reinvent history with this latest message of fear," he said.

FIRST Committee Update

F.I.R.S.T. Committee Looking for Resident Participants

Hamden – Councilman Curt Leng, Chairman of the Finance, Investment & Revenue Search Team (FIRST), is seeking interested Hamden residents to volunteer as resident committee members on the FIRST Committee. Three (3) residents will be selected to serve.

Interested residents should send a letter of interest and a copy of their resume to the Hamden Government Center, Hamden Legislative Council Office, Attn: Curt Leng, 2750 Dixwell Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517. Residents can also e-mail this information directly to Leng at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net .

The FIRST Committee will work for the next 6 months attempting to research and develop recommendations for bringing additional non-tax revenue into the Town’s budget, therefore lowering the residential tax burden. A formal recommendation will be presented to the full Legislative Council prior to the 2007-2008 budget sessions in April of 2007.

###

Progress in our Town

Progress in our Town

I hope that everyone is enjoying the first few nice, cool days of fall. In today's E-Gov Newsletter I wanted to give a few updates on positive projects happening in Town. If anyone has any questions about these or any other project, please feel free to drop me an e-mail.

On to the show:

The Hamden Middle School

As promised, our new Hamden Middle School opened on-time and on-budget. The School Building Committee is continuing to work with the various contractors and vendors to finish “punch-list” items and put on finishing touches.

The Town has taken over the landfill/tornado materials removal aspect of the project and is expected to move the materials to our Town’s Transfer Station where it will be properly capped via Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) standards.

It’s been a great feeling to get e-mails and a few phone calls from parents and students who are enjoying their first weeks in this modern new facility. And, the best part, the State of Connecticut is paying for 2/3 of the school cost through our education cost sharing grant – leaving only 1/3 of the cost on Hamden taxpayer wallets.

Town Finances

Hamden, while still in murky fiscal waters, has taken strides to move from crisis to a manageably problem. Independent municipal bonding agencies complemented the Town recently on its non-deficit budgets prepared by the last two Legislative Council sessions, for its increase in the pension funding and stabilizing of the undesignated fund balance.

In addition, they noted that Hamden appeared to be moving in the right direction with the new Financial Team and strategies being implemented.

A major Town computer overhaul and upgrade is taking place. It is updating a 20-year old computer program so archaic that it wouldn’t allow the Town to implement some of the creative tax strategies that we wanted to consider this year to help with the too high residential property tax. Once finished, we will have the chance to implement such progressive programs during next year’s budget process in the spring of 2007.

Hamden Police Department

The Hamden Police Department, under the leadership of new Police Chief Wydra is making excellent strides. A recently implemented “Selective Enforcement Team” (SET) has been formed to introduce an improved Police presence in several neighborhoods. The team has had the success of not only getting to know many of our Town’s residents better, but they’ve also made an impressive number of arrests.

Revaluation of Property Taxes

Many of us were hit hard in the pocketbook this year because of a flawed Revaluation process. Over the last several months a citizen organization, the Town and the Legislative Council have been discussing and debating potential Revaluation Phase-In options and how the options would impact our Town and our residents. Most important, we were exploring what was feasible with our current computer system and tax collection process.

The most recent update was a letter that I sent to State Senator Martin Looney and Joseph Crisco asking for additional information that the Hamden Homeowners for Tax Relief had asked about. I await the information and will report it here when received.

Hamden Town Green Update

The Hamden Town Green Committee, headed by Councilman Matt Fitch, in conjunction with the Town, is finalizing its selection of consultants for the Town Green Project. Some of the initial ideas the Committee is recommending include a walking trail connected to the Farmington Canal, winter ice skating and other passive recreation uses.

It will be wonderful for Hamden to finally have on official Town Green. In addition to the very popular concert series, which we hope to expand, we’ve been exploring the idea of showing some movies on the Green in the way that New Haven does in the summer.

The naming of the land at the former Meadowbrook golf course is undecided at this time – my vote goes to calling it the Hamden Town Green or the Meadowbrook Town Green.

Keefe Community Center

The Keefe Community Center, the Town’s main community center where many human services are offered, is getting some much needed improvements this month, including boiler repairs for heat.

Hamden High School

Quick update – the air conditioning project is in the final stages – for the entire building - and will finally be ready for the 2007 spring and summer seasons. Staff and students will have the long awaited relief they deserve and the more comfortable environment to cultivate learning.

As you can see, along with some of the not so perfect things happening in Hamden, there’s progress and achievement to point to. Sometimes a person can become so consumed with looking for faults that he/she loses perspective on the good occurring.

Often, people with this mindset also forget to work to solve problems since they spend so much time just attacking political opponents. Attacking is easy – finding a solution is hard. A wise piece of advice was given to me a long time ago … if you oppose a project or idea, then you should be ready to propose an alternative. Some of the critics don’t take this advice.

Sure there are bumps in the road – but I think we’re back on the right track.

Council Committee Meetings

There will be the regular Legislative Council Committee Meetings at historic Town Hall starting at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, September 24th. Please attend.

New Information on Reval Phase In

I responded to a letter sent to me by Mr. Sanders of the Hamden Homeowners for Tax Relief with this posted letter.

The Town and I are working to get the additional information requested so that the residents and the Council have all the available information about these processes.

I will try to keep you updated here as new information comes in.

Best,

Curt

September 18, 2006

Dear Mark and the Hamden Homeowners for Tax Relief:

Thank you for your letter and the new information it provides. I really applaud you and the Hamden Homeowners for Tax Relief's efforts to help Hamden residents with this flawed reval process. Your organization's research raises some important questions.

As you know, I have been a supporter of the concept of the Phase-In and the 2-Tier tax system since day one. I was even forced to vote against the Town budget and the Tax Rate because of the inability to offer some level of relief.

At our last Council meeting, I voted against the matter of Phase-In in response to our Tax Department and Finance Department's professional recommendation that there could be serious ramifications to this year's budget - perhaps putting us in deficit. .

In addition to PILOT totals, our tax collection rate was also of very serious concern to me and the slightest of problems could explode into a million dollar deficit of worse.

As you can understand, knowingly putting the Town's budget in risk of deficit would be a dereliction of our Council's sworn duties and was the reason that most voted, with frustration, against the Phase-In.

On initial review, I do not necessarily agree with the overall "5-Year" savings number, because I think it is much more complicated to evaluate the future effects of budgets that we have no specifics for (i.e. undetermined total budget expenditures, undetermined grant revenue levels, undetermined new tax incentive laws, etc.).

That being said, the new "retro-activity" aspect of the law is intriguing. I believe that we need to give additional analysis to the potential effects of the law's changes and the effect that the changes would have on our PILOT grants and our Tax Department Collection Rate.

To this end, I have sent a memo to Chief Assessor Jim Clynes with a request for a list of all PILOT producing property, their value and what the Town receives in cash from the State for each. I also asked for him to comment on your new information.

I have also sent a memo addressed to the Finance Director asking for his comments on the new information. In addition, I am asking that the Finance Director request a written formal opinion from the State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management regarding the PILOT issue and any other related Phase-In information they can provide.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, I have sent a memo to the Administration asking if the "retro-activity" aspect of this law would allow for the Town to implement some type of Phase-In when the Town computer system upgrade is complete. This would, among other things, answer the very important tax collection rate issue. I will also ask for the Administration to respond to the new information.

If the Town can bring additional funds in to our budget from the State from increased PILOT grant funds, this would be a tremendous development. Any non-tax revenue that we bring in means tax relief for all residents - every year.

The "retro-activity" issue has opened some new questions that deserve answers. I pledge to research the information, including the questions that I pose in this letter and additional questions that are sure to develop over the coming weeks fully and report back to the Hamden Homeowners for Tax Relief on my discoveries.

Depending on the answers received, I will give serious consideration to adding the new Phase-In regulations to the Finance Committee for questions and answers, additional debate and perhaps another vote. As you are probably aware, bringing a matter back to a Committee that has already been defeated by the full Legislative Council would not be allowed with our Standing Rules (I am going to double check this aspect).

However, if new information provides for a potential vote on a new proposal, it is my belief that I could add the item to an agenda.

My decision will be based solely on firm information - how much money will be increase/decrease in grant funds, what are the new ramifications to Tax Collection, does the Town's new computer finance system give us capabilities thought impossible under the 20-year old system we were working with and other questions that come along with the additional research.

My desire to help our residents, especially our seniors and lower income families, is very strong. If we can responsibly implement some type of relief, I will support the effort. I will share information that I receive with you and the HHTR over the coming weeks.

Again, I thank you for your efforts and for providing the new information to me. I will share you letter with the members of my Committee this week

Best Regards,

Councilman Curt Leng
Finance Committee Chairman

HAMDEN HOMEOWNERS FOR TAX RELIEF LETTER COMING

Blog Improvements - Under Construction !!

Reval Phase-In Follow-up

Hello -

Just a quick last minute reminder that the follow-up discussion on the much debated Revaluation Phase-In concepts will be next week.

The item was omitted from the Agenda this week due to an error in communication.

I will schedule a Special Finance Committee Agenda for next Tuesday, before the September Council meeting, where we will have a full discussion and likely vote.

Sorry for the confusion. We will make up for it next week.

Please feel free to e-mail me with your thoughts on this and any other item at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

Best,

Curt

Please Vote - Primary August 8th

Hello friends,

This is not a pitch to vote for a particular candidate or even an endorsement message. I've just been thinking about the great privilege that we have in this country to elect our leaders and think its so important for people to exercise that right and vote.

We have a primary election coming in one week. Many voters don't even know the primary is happening. When I talk to friends and neighbors, people have been asking why the Primary isn't in September.

This is an important primary - both for United States Senate and Connecticut Governor.

The endorsed candidate for Governor is Dan Malloy, Mayor of Stamford.

The challenger is John DeStefano, Mayor of New Haven.

For Senate, Joseph Lieberman is the endorsed candidate, facing challenger Ned Lamont.

(Note: Regardless of who wins this primary, we are likely to see Lieberman's name on the final November election ballot because he has stated that if he loses the primary, he will run as an independent this fall.)

In all honesty, while I have made a clear decision on whom I support for Governor (see my front lawn), the Senate race is more complicated. I am still researching information and trying to make a decision.

I hope that everyone that's on this mailing list - many of whom already know all about the primary - will take an opportunity to tell one or two friends that might not know that they have a chance to freely choose their candidates in a week. Democratic participation is the best thing for our Country - and we sure need all the help we can get.

Thanks for listening and I'll see you at the polls.

Best,

Curt Leng
Councilman, 6th District

Phase-In Problems ....

Phase In – The Facts

Someone once said, “Why let little ol’ facts get in the way of good political talking points”. This is what you experienced with recently with a 2nd Opinion Column by Ron Gambardella regarding the Reval Phase-In.

As many of you know, I have been a strong supporter of several progressive tax strategies aimed at lowering the tax burden on Hamden homeowners during this very difficult tax burden year. I worked hard with my fellow Councilmembers to lower the budget presented to us by the Town by some $6 million dollars +. During that process I was a vocal advocate of a 2-tier tax approach, one that would have lowered all of our residential mill rates by another mill and a half by keeping the motor vehicle tax at last year’s rate. This strategy would have helped so many Hamden homeowners and would have been good policy, assisting those who need the help most – especially seniors.

Unfortunately, this plan was not put to a vote because the Administration told the Council that the Town’s financial computer system could not handle the 2-tier tax rate. I argued that the Town should speed up their planned financial system upgrade in order to implement this plan, but we were told it would not be done.

The plan was not allowed, and because of this, along with a number of other reasons relating to taxes being too high for our residents to handle, I voted against the budget and the too high tax rate.

Last week, the Town Administration gave a presentation on the much discussed Revaluation Phase-In proposal. The concept, along with a few other progressive tax proposals, was discussed informally during the budget process and more recently by Mark Sanders, who gave an impressive presentation to the Legislative Council on the concept.

The Administration’s presentation demonstrated, unfortunately, that the type of Phase-In the Town can offer with its current financial system would need to be accomplished under a very specific statute, which leads to a more complex formula for Reval and less help to Hamden homeowners. The presentation showed, with hard numbers on homes ranging from $150,000 - $600,000 in value, the exact savings a person could expect, including the important vehicle tax cost, which does not “Phase-In” per State law. The Administration gave these numbers for both the 3-year and 4-year Phase-In concept.

To my great disappointment, the Phase-In did little to help our struggling taxpayers. The savings for any homeowner with a residential property under approximately $350,000 was about $100 after taking into account the change (increase) in motor vehicle tax that would also come from a Phase-In. As residents have seen recently from getting their tax bill, while their property tax has increased, motor vehicles have decreased, in some instances softening the blow.

With this not being an option that will do real justice in helping Hamden taxpayers, I asked the Administration to calculate what a 2-Year Phase-In would mean, what savings would result, etc., using the same legal formula. I still wanted to believe that we could help Hamden residents with some type of Phase-In legislation.

To my repeat disappointment, the savings were just a touch better – but again the average savings for any home under $350,000 was about $100. For all the promise of tax savings from a Reval, it would be a slap in the face to the taxpayers to give a savings of $80 and less to $300,000 and below.

The bottom line is that these Reval Phase-In proposals currently being discussed will not provide the real savings that we should be providing to help our tax burdened residents. If it were, I would initiate and vote for it in a heartbeat.

I’m not ready to give up on helping our residents following this flawed Revaluation. I want to continue to look at creative ways of reducing Hamden’s tax burden to help people as soon as possible.

But right now, the Reval Phase-In does not seem to be an option that will help our residents when we look at the facts.

Special Finance Committee Meeting Regarding Reval Phase In Proposal

I will be out of Town for my wedding anniversary early next week, so I've rescheduled the Finance Committee that I Chair to Thursday, June 29th, so that I can take part in the presentation and discussion of the ReVal Phase In Presentation from the Town's CAO, Scott Jackson.

I look forward to publicly hearing the Administration's review of this important topic and to publicly discussing it in the Council Chambers.

All residents are welcome to attend and hear the presentation.

Questions? Please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net

Phase-In of the Taxes

The flawed Revaluation that was implemented this year has left Hamden taxpayers with an extraordinary tax burden for one year. It isn't fair and, in my opinion, shouldn't have been allowed to burden our residents, making seniors and working families choose between paying their average $1,000 tax increase or paying for their medication or paying for their severely increasing fuel bills.

We had an opportunity this year to implement progressive plans to assist our residents in the forms of the two-tiered tax system (one mill rate for motor vehicles and one mill rate for residences) or a phase-in of the Revaluation. The phase in would have allowed for better planning and less sticker shock from the severe tax increase.

I must make clear that I think the Town and its Administration are working in the right direction to correct serious financial problems that our Town is facing, including:

1) an underfunded pension system;
2) health insurance account deficits and rising costs;
3) other deficit accounts created by the financial mismanagement of previous Administrations.

The only problem that I have is that we should have been looking for ways to make this tax hike more palatable for our residents, even in the face of such serious need.

More to come ....

Not Hamden's Best Day ....

Not Hamden’s Best Day - Reflections on the Budget 2006/2007

By: Curt Leng, Finance Chairman

Last week, I voted against the 2006-2007 budget. I was one of three Council members to vote against the budget. While there are many reasons that I made the choice to oppose this budget, the main reason is because I think it burdens Hamden residents with a tax rate that they don’t deserve following a flawed Reval.

We worked hard as a Council to cut the Mayor’s initial budget proposal. This became even more difficult once we were informed that there was a $500,000 typographical error in the Finance Department’s budget, followed by the almost impossible exercise of cutting an additional $3,000,000 in revenue as a result of the failed State car tax proposal that was in our original budget proposal and lastly a $600,000 error caught one day before the budget vote. With over $4,000,000 to make up before the tax rate went down a penny – this year was nearly impossible.

After this year’s flawed revaluation of property, where property was overvalued by the tail end of the housing bubble, while most commercial property wasn’t increased to the proper level because the Reval was statistical instead of hands on, we leave our residential property owners to pay for the vast majority of our increase in the Town budget. We could have done better.

I want to make it clear that I am accusing anyone of not trying to improve this year’s situation – the Administration and my fellow Councilmembers - worked very hard and made many tough choices. This was the most difficult budget that I have seen in my decade of service to the Town. We faced incalculable fiscal “messes” that needed to be cleaned in numerous areas of Town government in order to put the Town back on the road to financial recovery. The Administration took the lead on this and the Council backed the plan 100%. All items that our independent auditors recommended for improved financial health were implemented.

Still, I feel we could have done more to help our residents.

Some Council members were exploring the idea of giving residents true relief in this difficult Reval year. Two ideas that I supported were;

1) A phasing in of the Revaluation over a 2-year period. This would have lessened the immediate sticker shock of massively increased taxes in one year and allowed families, especially our seniors and working class families to plan for the increases over a two-year period;

2) The other plan that I strongly advocated for right up until the day we voted on the budget was a progressive plan that would have provided all Town residents with a reduced mill rate. This plan would be implemented with a new and interesting taxation approach of approving two mill rates – one for motor vehicles and one for residential property. This split mill rate would have kept our car taxes the same as they are now – as they do not increase in a Reval year, and would have reduced the residential mill rate by over another mill.

This plan, along with the Council’s hard work, would have resulted in a 2+ mill reduction for all residential property. This is a plan that I would have proudly voted for – been proud to be part of. Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to enact it.

We were told on the day that we needed to vote on the budget that the Town was unable, I believe unwilling, to implement the improvements to our financial system for the two-tiered progressive tax – even though improvements to the system were already planned for this summer. There were 4 and ½ months to make the improvements.

Instead we only cut the mill rate by one mill. Because we didn’t implement progressive “outside of the box” plans, because we didn’t make deeper cuts to certain areas of the budget, such as overtime, new positions and some purchases, I voted against this budget.

In my opinion, we failed. We failed despite hard work and effort given by all. But in the end, we failed.

If you have ideas or comments about the budget, please contact me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

(In the coming weeks I will try to elaborate on where I believe we need to go from here. To be continued ….)

Budget Work 2006 ....

The following is a series of budget articles that I've written for the Hamden Daily News that I share with you today on my BLOG. I hope the information is helpful.
Please contact me at any time with questions of ideas, councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

Some Inside Information on the 2006-2007
Budget Work by the Legislative Council

By: Curt Leng
Chairman, Finance Committee

April 22, 2006

Council Budget Deliberations -- No Status Quo Here

This week my Republican friend on the Legislative Council, Ron Gambardella, wrote a "Guest Column" regarding the Town Council budget process that begs a response.

He first wrote about an account that supplies clean spring water for the employees of our town, and then compared it to an overall lack of interest in cost savings that the Council is working on for the budget.

I respect Councilman Gambardella's opinion, and in fact agree with him on some of the ways that we should be working to reduce this too-high town budget. However, taking spring water away from the town's employees and citizens that come into departments -- only to save $4,000 in a $160-plus million annual operation -- is not a fair or effective way to balance the budget.The water coolers did become a union issue -- due to the town's ignorance. OSHA violations were filed because the water coming out of many of our older plumbing systems was deemed either contaminated or at the very least quite unpleasant to taste. With the conditions that we make some of our employees work in -- old buildings, mold- and dirt-filled work areas -- the least we can do is offer clean, fresh water.Many times that Mr. Gambardella makes motions to reduce the budget; I carefully listen and sometimes support the ideas. I am one of the budget hawks who try to reduce whatever line item I possibly can from each department's budget. This is why I take exception to Councilman Gambardella's statement that there is a "lack of serious commitment to reduce the budget in any meaningful way."This is simply not true.


The status quo is something that this Council and the council before it have tossed out the window. Here are just a few examples of how we are budgeting in a much more fiscally conservative manner:

1) We have moved the majority of the town's overtime accounts in all of the departments into the Legislative Council's overtime budget so that every request for overtime spending can be carefully reviewed and approved by the 15-member Council. This has resulted in reduced overtime costs.

2) We have instituted new systems of consolidating common purchases that used to be spread throughout every department into a central account in the Purchasing Office, where the purchase of items in bulk has saved the town significant dollars. In past budget cycles, we centralized all printing, office and computer supplies, and this year we intend to do so with the purchasing of replacement or additional office equipment. We have learned that this centralization of purchasing has saved Hamden taxpayers approximately 20 percent in each category.

3) The Council has taken on key matters that have plagued the town's financial status, such as the pension, medical self-insurance and workers' comp funds -- all of which were in trouble -- and have made progress in each area. I'm proud to report that we've gotten on to a real payment plan for the pension fund that will save Hamden millions over the years, and have brought the workers' comp account from the red into the black. Even the medical self-insurance fund is improving!

4) We've also taken difficult steps to leave dozens of positions over the last several years empty that became vacant through retirement and/or other means. These unfilled positions have made departments do more with less, and have saved well over a half-million annually. These are pressing issues facing the town and they have been effectively worked on by the Legislative Council.

I still look forward to working with Mr. Gambardella on this year's budget -- the most difficult budget I have seen over the last decade of my involvement with the town. A more accurate picture of the work that the Council accomplishes needs to be reported to our citizens so that they know we are looking very carefully for any way to save taxpayer dollars and make the hurt of this year's revaluation less painful. This includes considering a phasing in of our revaluation -- which we are awaiting information on. Such a bold move would be looked at favorably by a number of councilmembers, myself included, and would be the kind of bold policy change that would help our residents.

Please feel free to contact me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net to talk about the budget or offer ideas you might have that we should look at in any attempt to reduce the tax burden.

(Democratic Councilman Curt Leng is serving his third term on the Legislative Council, and chairs the Finance and School Building committees.)


April 25, 2006

Word of the Budget Season: Consolidate

This week we will begin to deliberate the larger town departments like Public Works and guardian services -- fire and police. These departments total close to $30 million of the annual operating budget and have hundreds of individual "accounts" to research and make decisions about.

It is in areas such as these where we can find the largest annual increases and also the largest possible savings depending on the changes we consider. I see a few potential areas where we should seriously consider making cuts, such as some new positions, and other areas where we might want to return a position or product the mayor eliminated because the department head has made a good argument for it.

In what I promise will be my last word on spring water, I would like to point out that 10 of the 16 coolers that we supply are located in the following locations: the landfill, Public Works, fire/police training center, the daycare room at the Keefe Center, police headquarters and annex (two coolers in each building), community police, fire headquarters. That means that 10 are not in Government Center with its newer plumbing, but mainly in older buildings or construction trailers.

While it's clear Councilman Gambardella and I will did not see eye to eye on this issue, I am fairly confident that we may be on the same page with other ideas. The word of the week, in my opinion, should be consolidation.

It's a dirty word in some government circles. People think it will cut the service level that we provide our residents or hurt our already short-staffed departments. I disagree. I think there are several ways the town can explore consolidation that could result in significant savings for our taxpayers and the potential for increased services.

The first and potentially most effective effort at consolidating some duplication of service is between the town government and the Board of Education. Discussion started even before the purchase of Government Center that the Board of Education management, finance and personnel staff would share the building. Mayor Henrici has endorsed this idea and I believe that the Board of Education is open to the idea as well.

Not only would it be a good symbolic effort, bringing the town and Board together in the same building, but it would also cause immediate staffing and operating efficiencies.
Speaking of Public Works and Parks & Recreation, I think a comprehensive study should be initiated this year -- and I plan to recommend that it be put into this year's budget -- to see if town services would be more cost- and service-effective if we consolidated those two departments.

Parks & Recreation and Public Works overlap in numerous areas and sometimes even need to buy similar equipment twice -- one for each department -- which is simply crazy. I would like to see Parks & Recreation and Public Works consolidate manpower, equipment, manning for vacations and sick-time and provide the goal of even more efficient services.

In these two areas, Hamden has the opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of dollars over a relatively short time. I also think it would create a team spirit between the departments and between the town and Board of Education that cannot be measured in dollars -- but would be incredibly valuable to our government and our citizens.

In my next piece, I plan to write about the idea of implementing a "phase-in" over a two- or three-year period of the revaluation hit homeowners took this year. From what I have heard so far, and this is unfortunately without hard data, phasing in would ease the burden of the substantial tax increases.

If you have any comments on my thoughts or on any aspect of the budget, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.


April 27, 2006

Progress Made With a Big 4

During the fourth night of our budget deliberations on Monday, we made some progress when working on the first of the Big 4 budgets: Public Works. The other Big 4 are Fire, Police and the Board of Education.

Carefully and with good friendly debate, we went through each of the Public Works' 70-odd individual accounts or "line-items" and cut over $125,000 from the budget. We did this by carefully reviewing what was asked for in each account, looking at multi-year trends and seeing what the department's current year-to-date budget status was three-quarters of the way through the current fiscal year.

It should be noted that we have not yet looked at any department's personnel. We are saving personnel for the next round of deliberations when we will see where salary cuts can be made. This is the area of our annual deliberations where the most savings can usually be found, with the average salary of one employee being roughly $45,000 plus benefits.

I plan to make the same motion that I did last year with regards to personnel -- a motion to eliminate funding for all current positions that have been made vacant due to a retirement, employees who have left Hamden employment or positions made vacant due to a promotion. This is not to say that I will not support funding some positions -- specifically those in the understaffed Finance Department, which has experienced numerous vacancies.

If this motion passes, it will force us to individually debate each position before it gets funding in the Council budget. Last year this proved to be a very good cost-saving experiment. It isn't easy to vote to put positions in the budget when we know that each position will increase the overall budget by over $50,000. (Traditionally, Police and Fire are not made part of this potion due to public safety and minimum-manning contractual requirements.)

While the overall night was a success, the discussion regarding the Hamden library and the subsequent vote to eliminate Sunday hours from Miller Library was, in my opinion, very unfortunate. Along with four of my fellow councilmembers, I voted against closing our library on Sunday. Sunday hours are very popular and a wonderful service for Hamden students, especially those without computers at home.

I hope we can reconsider this at a later date in the budget process. Sunday hours only cost the town approximately $30,000, plus some additional utilities, and I would have liked to see us remove funding from other accounts to save this $30,000 than to cut Sunday hours. Hopefully, together, we can come up with an alternative.

As always, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

Mayor's Budget Address

Hello friends,

I am working on a more comprehensive report on the 2006-2007 Annual Municipal Operating Budget that I'll publish early next week.

My initial reaction after listening to the Mayor's budget address and reading the budget over for the first time, is that while the direction the Administration is heading in is a vast improvement from some past budgets, the Legislative Council still has a lot of work to do to ensure that our residents are not hit with such a massive tax increase in one single budget year.

Every effort needs to be made to reduce the budget recommendation of a 9% increase in spending, while at the same time saving as many of our Town's quality services as possible.

I look forward to interacting with you and getting your ideas on the budget and other areas of the Town government. Please e-mail at anytime - councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net

More to come !

Curt

Snow in March

Just a quick post to thank the crews of the Public Works Department for what I think was a pretty good effort with the last snow storm. I went out and toured about two dozen streets in all areas of the 6th District in the evening hours and found most to be cleared well. I would like to see a little more sand and salt, but we can work on that.

If any member of the 6th District had trouble with the snow plowing for this past storm, please give me a call at 288-6258 or e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@sbcglobal.net.

Best,

Curt

March Legislative Council Agenda

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING -

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

MARCH 6, 2006, 7:00. P.M.

1. CALL OF THE MEETING & TAKING OF THE ROLL

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MOMENT OF SILENCE

3. PUBLIC INPUT SESSION

4. CORRESPONDENCE

5. CONSENT CALENDAR

6. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

7. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

8. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND DEPARTMENTS

9. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

10. REPORTS OF COUNCIL LIAISONS

11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

12. NEW BUSINESS:CONSENT CALENDAR:

The following items have been addressed in Committee and will be considered in toto by unanimous consent:

1. REFUND OF OVERPAYMENT OF PROPERTY TAXES PAID PRIOR TO 7/1/05(1) totaling $25.0

2. REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES COLLECTED AFTER 7/1/05 (4)totaling $2,709.98

3. REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES FOR CERTIFICATES OF CORRECTIONISSUED after 7/1/05 (30) totaling $7,276.63

4. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TAX OFFICE - $35.OO (Overtime)INTERNAL TRANSFER

5. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TAX OFFICE -$300. (Pay Differential)INTERNAL TRANSFER

6. TRANSFER OF FUNDS- FINANCE DEPT.- $15,000.(Prof/Tech Svcs)INTERNAL TRANSFER

7. TRANSFER OF FUNDS- PURCHASING Dept. -$565.(Overtime)INTERNAL TRANSFER

8. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PUBLIC WORKS DEPT.-$150,000.(Various Accounts)($100,000. FROM E & C)($50,000. FROM L/C OVERTIME)

9. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - ASSESSOR'S OFFICE - $1,500.(Overtime)INTERNAL TRANSFER

10. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE- $800.(Advertising)FROM E & C ACCOUNT

11. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE - $2,500. (ElectionSupplies) FROM E & C ACCOUNT

12. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE - $150. (Dues)INTERNAL TRANSFER

13. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - POLICE DEPT. - $4,000.(Armory GeneralSupplies) INTERNAL TRANSFER

14. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - POLICE DEPT.- $24,000.(Gasoline)INTERNAL TRANSFER

15. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - FIRE DEPT. - $15,000.(Overtime)INTERNAL TRANSFER

16. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TRAFFIC DEPT. - $3,000. (Overtime)INTERNAL TRANSFER

17. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TRAFFIC DEPT. - $10,000.(Electricity)INTERNAL TRANSFER

18. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - LIBRARY- $150.(Clothing Allowance)INTERNAL TRANSFER19. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - LIBRARY - $2,500. (Shift Differential)INTERNAL TRANSFER

20. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - LIBRARY- $5,500. (Temporary Wages)INTERNAL TRANSFER

21. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PARKS/RECREATIOON - $2,000. (Water)INTERNAL TRANSFER

22. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - ENGINEERING DEPT. -$1,600.(Equipment Repairs) INTERNAL TRANSFER

23. APPOINTMENTS TO THE RETIREMENT BOARD (James Doherty)(Irving Saslow) for terms ending June 30, 2008

24. RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE RETIREMENT BOARD (Stuart Pearl)for a term ending June 30, 200825. APPOINTMENT OF HAMDEN'S REPRESENTATIVE TO THE CITIZENSTELEVISION (Amy Golda) for term ending November 25, 2007

26. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMISSION (Terre Daniels)(Michael Brooks)for terms ending March 31, 2009

27. APPOINTMENT TO THE INLAND WETLANDS COMMISSION (RobertGnida)to fill a vacancy expiring Aprill 30, 2006and for an additional term ending April 30, 2009

28. APPOINTMENT TO THE CLEAN & GREEN COMMISSION (Jean-PaulCardichon)for a term ending Nov. 1, 2008

29. APPOINTMENT TO THE ARTS COMMISSION (Rachael Pepper)for a term ending May 31, 2007

30. APPOINTMENT TO THE VETERAN'S COMMISSION (Joseph DeLuca)for a term ending October 26, 2008

31. APPOINTMENT TO THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION (Chris R.Nelson) for a term ending July 1, 2007

32. APPOINTMENT TO THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION (Steven Sohcot)for a term ending July 1, 2008

33. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION (BarryHermann)(Johanna Gurr)(Mary Ann Thomas) for terms endingMarch 1, 2009

34. APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITY (MichaelVena)(Mary Margaret Mandel) for terms ending Oct. 31, 2007

35. APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF AN RFP FOR RENOVATIONSTO THE CHILDREN'S LIBRARY ROOM

36. APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF RFQ FOR ON-CALLSTRUCTURAL BRIDGE ENGINEERING SERVICES

37. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE WAIVER OF ICE RINK FEES FORTHE BENEFIT OF AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY'S RELAY FOR LIFEON MARCH 31, 2006

38. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE WAIVER OF ICE RINK FEES FORTHE BENEFIT OF MADD'S ANNUAL SKATE FOR LEAH ON MARCH18, 2006

39. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ARTS COMMISSION TO ACCEPT &EXPEND A GRANT OF $10,910. FROM THE CT.COMMISSION ONCULTURE AND TOURISM

40. RESOLUTION AMENDING THE 2005-2006 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET(FINANCE DEPARTMENT)

41. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AND SIGN AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF CT. DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTALPROTECTION BUREAU OF WATER MANAGEMENT AND AUTHORIZING THEACCEPTANCE OF GRANT FUNDS TO UPDATE/DEVELOP A HAZARDOUSMITIGATION PLAN FOR THE TOWN OF HAMDEN

42. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZNG THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN OPENSPACE & WATERSHED LAND ACQUISITION GRANT AGREEMENT ANDCONSERVATION AND PUBLIC RECREATION EASEMENT AND AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE STATE OF CT. AND THE TOWN OF HAMDEN

43. APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT #2 TO BL COMPANIES CONTRACT/HAMDENHIGH SCHOOL (Architectural services)

AGENDA:

44. APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF RFQ FOR ON-CALLSTRUCTURAL BRIDGE ENGINEERING SERVICES

45. APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER FOR ACTUARIAL SERVICES FOR MEDICAREPART D46. APPROVAL OF PURCHASE OF 277 THORNTON ST. (JOHNSON'S POND)

47. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTIONS AND TEMPORARY RIGHTS AGREEMENTSAUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF HAMDEN TO ACQUIRE CERTAINPROPERTIES BY SALE OR EMINENT DOMAIN IN CONJUNCTION WITHTHE MIDDLE SCHOOL ROAD WIDENING PROJECT

48. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF IMPROVEMENTS TO HOGAN ROAD(SCENIC ROAD)PER SECTION 98.04 OF HAMDEN TOWN CODEOF ORDINANCES

49. REQUEST FOR MUNINCIPAL IMPROVEMENTS UNDER SEC. 8-24FOR 5 LOT SUBDIVISION PROJECT IN NORTH HAVEN WHICH WOULDENTAIL CHANGING THE GRADE AND WIDTH OF A PORTION OF HOGANROAD WITHIN HAMDEN AND REMOVAL OF TWO OR THREE TREESLOCATED WITHIN THE RIGHT OF WAY(Rejected by Planning Section of Planning & ZoningCommission)

ADDITIONAL NEW BUSINESS:

1. RESOLUTION AMENDING THE 2005-2006 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET(LIBRARY DEPT.)

2. APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF TYLER EQUIPMENTCORPORATION - $24,000. (Purchase of a Volvo Motor)TABLED ITEM

3. APPROVAL OF ABATEMENT OF TAXES FOR DAVENPORT/DUNBARRESIDENCES IN THE AMOUNT OF $104,598.71

Hamden Middle School Update Article from HDN

Middle School Check-In

By Sharon Bass

At last night's School Building Committee meeting, members Chris Daur, Austin Cesare and Gretchen Callahan gave the new middle school consultants a run for their money. Or rather the taxpayers' money.

Reps from Konover, the project's construction company, Turner, the company that oversees Konover, and other contractors gave somewhat less than definitive answers to how much the security system would cost and how the special ed classrooms -- originally designated to windowless rooms -- would be handled. And Daur, Cesare and Callahan were not satisfied.

On the other hand, member John Keegan defended the contractors and school administrators -- who appear to be on the same page -- saying the professionals know best.
There's been ongoing debate about how many security cameras are needed for the new school on Meadowbrook. Originally, Hamden police deemed 100 were needed, although the current middle school has just six, the high school seven. At the Jan. 26 SBC meeting, members talked about paring that number down to 75 or 50.

The rep from Konover told the committee last night that it turns out "only 71" are needed. He said the 75 figure was "based on a very quick meeting with police and the school administration." Upon further study, it was found four could be knocked off.
But that didn't please Cesare any more this time than last. He said he teaches in a high school that has 23 cameras.

"You're putting all those cameras in there and nobody's watching them," he said.
Plans call for two camera monitors -- one in principal Frank Pepe's quarters and the other in the clerical area of the main office. Pepe agreed that most of the time the monitors would not be watched. Cesare suggested having a security guard stationed in a booth with a monitor at the entrance of the school.

"I only have two security guards," the principal said. "They work with the kids, help out in the cafeteria and help with the buses. I don't have a person to be stationary."
"Cameras are not meant to be monitored these days," said Keegan.
Callahan asked Pepe how often children have behavior problems. "How often are nickel bags of pot found? Is there a lot of vandalism?"

He said vandalism occurs on the outside of the building. As discussed at previous meetings, the cameras' main purpose is to supply evidence after the fact rather than catch a crime or other problem in action.

"I'm not getting enough information to approve the $200,000" bill, said Daur clearly annoyed. "I've been asking for six weeks."

Another unknown is the actual cost of the system. The last time the SBC met, Konover gave "loose" estimates: 100 cameras for $290,000; 75 for $236,438; and 50 for $177,698. Those figures don't include the design and wiring of the cameras, the door sensors and other security measures deemed necessary for the 1,100 seventh- and eighth-graders.

"This is no different than any other budget item," said member Michael D'Agostino. "Here's $150,000, $200,000. How many cameras can we have?" $100,000 was originally budgeted for security.

Committee Chair Curt Leng made a motion to approve 48 cameras and 23 door sensors for the "loose" figure of $187,698.

The measure passed with five votes. Callahan voted against it and Leng abstained.

The "infamous special ed rooms," as Leng called them, were also on the agenda. The conversation was lengthy and repetitive.

Since parent Cathy Coughlin, who was at last night's meeting, discovered last year that windowless classrooms were earmarked for special ed children, the plans have been revised. Rooms with windows are being outfitted for special education. Four are to be learning centers, with two having full kitchens. There will also be six resource rooms, said special ed director Bill McGraw.

Callahan said she recently toured the new middle school to see the learning centers. She said the centers, where some children spend the bulk of their day, looked smaller than the windowless ones. "I'm afraid there won't be enough space," she said.

McGraw said 17 special ed seventh-graders are expected next school year, who will spend anywhere from 62 percent to 75 percent of their time in the learning centers and the rest in mainstream classes.

"I understand that," said Callahan. "But I think it's still very tight, very tight."

"We try to limit special ed classrooms to six to seven children," said McGraw. Although, he added, even with six to seven, "it may be tough at times."
Pepe said he's never seen a special education class with more than 10 children.

"What happens when new children come in next year and that number goes from 17 to 22?" said Leng.

Callahan said it would save money and space to just install one kitchen. "To me it makes so much sense than building two complete kitchens. They won't even be cooking every day," she said.

Keegan said two are needed. "I trust the experts."

Parent Coughlin interjected. "You don't need two kitchens."

"I think this has been aired considerably," said Meg Nowacki, a member of the public who regularly attends town meetings. "I hope the committee tonight will not delay in making a decision."

The committee voted 4-3 for two kitchens, not to exceed $32,670. Callahan, Leng and Cesare voted against the item.

The school is now 60 percent completed, according to Konover.

Legislative Council Feb. Regular Council Agenda

AGENDA

REGULAR MEETING - LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

FEBRUARY 6, 2006

7:00. P.M.

1. CALL OF THE MEETING & TAKING OF THE ROLL

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND MOMENT OF SILENCE

3. PUBLIC INPUT SESSION

4. CORRESPONDENCE

5. CONSENT CALENDAR

6. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

7. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

8. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND DEPARTMENTS

9. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES

10. REPORTS OF COUNCIL LIAISONS

11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

12. NEW BUSINESS:

CONSENT CALENDAR:

The following items have been addressed in Committee and will be considered in toto by unanimous consent:

1. REFUND OF OVERPAYMENT OF PROPERTY TAXES PAID PRIOR TO 7/1/05
(2) totaling $2,757.02

2.REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES COLLECTED AFTER 7/1/05 (2)
totaling $2,309.26

3.REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES FOR CERTIFICATES OF CORRECTION
ISSUED after 7/1/05 (47) totaling $17,669.07

4.REFUND OF PROPERTY TAXES FOR COURT JUDGMENTS (1) totaling
$12,842.87

5. APPROVAL OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS - $28,941.54 (Joe Velardi)
(Public Works Dept.)

6. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - FROM E & C ACCOUNT to ACCRUED BENEFITS/
RETIREMENT - L/C BUDGET - $29,000.

7. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PLANNING & ZONING - $16,000. (Overtime)
FROM L/C OVERTIME ACCOUNT

8. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICE -$5000.
(Professional Services) INTERNAL TRANSFER

9. TRANSFER OF FUNDS- FINANCE DEPT.- $15,000.(Insurance Mgmt)
INTERNAL TRANSFER

10. TRANSFER OF FUNDS- L/C OFFICE-$10,000.(Prof/Tech Svcs)
FROM E & C ACCOUNT

11. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PUBLIC WORKS DEPT.-$90,000.(Various
Accounts) INTERNAL TRANSFER

12. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PUBLIC WORKS DEPT.- $20,000.(Overtime)
FROM L/C OVERTIME ACCOUNT

13. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE- $13,944.84
(Salaries) FROM RESERVE FOR NEGOTIATIONS

14. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - POLICE DEPT. - $1,500.(Computer
Maintenance) INTERNAL TRANSFER

15. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - POLICE DEPT.- $50,000.(Overtime)
INTERNAL TRANSFER

16. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - POLICE DEPT. - $1,500.(Uniform
Cleaning) INTERNAL TRANSFER

17. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - BUILDING DEPT. - $250. (Temp.Wages)
INTERNAL TRANSFER

18. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - PERSONNEL DEPT. - $5,000. (Physical
Exams) FROM E & C ACCOUNT

19. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - FIRE DEPT.- $100,000.(Sub/Straight
Time) INTERNAL TRANSFER

20. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - LIBRARY - $2,500. (Shift Differential)
INTERNAL TRANSFER

21. TRANSFER OF FUNDS - FINANCE DEPT.- $8,600. (Pay
Differential) INTERNAL TRANSFER

22. APPOINTMENTS TO THE PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION (Peter
Reynolds)(Edward Grant) for terms ending Jan. 31, 2009

23. RE-APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE PLANNING &
ZONING COMMISSION (Leonard Grabowski) for a term ending
January 31, 2009

24. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE PLANNING & ZONING
COMMISSION ( Elizabeth Youngerman) for term ending
January 31, 2007

25. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS AS A FULL
MEMBER (Jeffrey Vita) and ALTERNATE MEMBER (Kevin Bohan)
for terms ending January 31, 2011

26. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS (Elaine Dove) for a term ending Jan. 31, 2008

27. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS (William Reynold) for a term ending Jan. 31, 2007

28. APPOINTMENT TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITIZENS
ADVISORY COMMISSION ( Kurt Bauknecht) for a term ending
March 31, 2007

29. APPOINTMENT TO THE BUILDING BOARD OF APPEALS (Kristin
Larson) for a term ending December 31, 2010

30. APPOINTMENT TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
(Richard Baltimore) for a term ending Jan. 31, 2009

31. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
(Steven Rolnick)(Robert Zambrano) for terms ending
January 31, 2011

32. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE FARMINGTON CANAL COMMISSION
(Johanna Becker)(Peter Haller)(Campbell Stubbs) for
terms ending Dec. 31, 2008

33. APPOINTMENT TO THE FARMINGTON CANAL COMMISSION (Steve
Humes) for a term ending Dec. 31, 2008

34. APPOINTMENT TO THE FARMINGTON CANAL COMMISSION (Barbara
Gigliotti) for a term ending December 31, 2006

35. APPOINTMENT TO THE ENERGY USE & CLIMATE CHANGE COMMISSION
(Christopher Marchand) for a term ending July 31, 2007

36. APPOINTMENT TO THE INLAND WETLANDS COMMISSION (William
J. Tito) to fill a vacancy expiring April 30, 2006, and
for an additional term ending April 30, 2009

37. APPOINTMENT TO THE INLAND WETLANDS COMMISSION (Debra
Sharkey) to fill a vacancy expiring April 30, 2005 and
for an additional term ending April 30, 2008

38. APPOINTMENT TO THE NATURAL RESOURCES & OPEN SPACE
COMMISSION (Edward Kennedy) for a term ending Feb. 1, 2008

39. APPOINTMENTS TO THE NATURAL RESOURCES & OPEN SPACE
COMMISSION (Peter DeLeonardo) for term ending Feb. l, 2009

40. RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE NATURAL RESOURCES & OPEN SPACE
COMMISSION (Gwen Emery)(William Doheny)(Aris Stalis)
for terms ending Feb. 1, 2009

41. RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE CLEAN & GREEN COMMISSION (Connie
Vereen) for term ending November 1, 2008

42. APPOINTMENT TO THE CLEAN & GREEN COMMISSION (Sandra Brown)
for term ending Nov. 1, 2007

43. APPOINTMENT TO THE CLEAN & GREEN COMMISSION ( Justin Pawluk)
for a term ending Nov. 1, 2006

44. APPOINTMENT TO THE CLEAN & GREEN COMMISSION (Marietta Mattei)
for a term ending Nov. 1, 2008

45. APPOINTMENT TO THE ETHICS BOARD (Wayne Thomas Spies) for
a term ending Jan. 31, 2011

46. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE ETHICS BOARD
(Albert May) for a term ending Jan. 31, 2011

47. RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE RETIREMENT BOARD (Louise Pilon)
for a term ending June 30, 2008

48. APPOINTMENT TO THE PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD (Andrea Lobo-
Wadle) for a term ending Jan. 31, 2010

49.APPOINTMENT TO THE ARTS COMMISSION (Sarah Heath) to fill
a vacancy in a term ending May 31, 2006 and for an
additional term ending May 31, 2009

50.RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE HISTORIC PROPERTIES COMMISSION
(Ellen Highkin) for a term ending Sept. 30, 2010

51.RE-APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE HISTORIC
PROPERTIES COMMISSION (Daniel Ioime) for a term ending
September 30, 2008

52.RE-APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATE MEMBER OF THE HISTORIC
PROPERTIES COMMISSION (Martha Becker) for a term
ending September 30, 2008

53.APPOINTMENT TO THE PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION
(Richard Leonardo) for a term ending January 31, 2011

54.RE-APPOINTMENT TO THE VETERANS COMMISSION (Pasquale
Corso) for a term ending Oct. 26, 2008

55.RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE COMMISSION ON DISABILITY RIGHTS
& OPPORTUNITIES (Joseph Petrini)(Alycia Clune)(Eileen
Denny) for terms ending October 31, 2008

56.APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF MUHAMMED ISLAMIC
CENTER FOR PURCHASE OF PROPERTY AT 16 EASTON ST.

57.APPROVAL OF BID WAIVER IN FAVOR OF RFP FOR ON-CALL TRAFFIC
ENGINEERING & ON-CALL TECHNICAL ASSISTANT SERVICES

58.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO APPLY FOR, ACCEPT
& EXPEND A GRANT FROM THE STATE OF CT. CITIZEN CORPS
COUNCIL ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN THE AMOUNT OF $3,125. FOR
CERT TRAINING.

59.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN TO ACCEPT A DONATION OF
TWO POLICE DEPARTMENT BICYCLES.

60.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACCEPT & EXPEND A
GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,500. FROM THE STATE OF CT.
OFFICE OF POLICY & MANAGEMENT

61.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOT TO APPLY FOR, ACCEPT &
EXPEND FUNDING UP TO $15,000. IN STATE OF CT. LOCIP FUNDS
FOR FINAL DESIGN AND MAPPING COSTS RELATIVE TO PHASE III
OF THE FARMINGTON CANAL GREENWAY PROJECT

62.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACCEPT & EXPEND A
GRANT TO HIRE AN URBAN FORESTRY CONSULTANT TO INVENTORY
TREES & DEVELOP A MAINTENANCE AND COMPREHENSIVE FOREST
MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE TOWN GREEN DISTRICT

63.RESOLUTION AMENDING THE 2005-2006 FISCAL YEAR BUDGET
(TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE)

64.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE WAIVER OF ICE RINK FEES FOR
THE HAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY ALUMNI BENEFIT GAME FOR
PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH

65.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TOWN TO ACCEPT & EXPEND FUNDS
IN THE AMOUNT OF $18,594. FROM FEMA TO MEET THE SHELTER
NEEDS OF HAMDEN RESIDENTS IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

66.RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ACCEPT $2,000. IN GIFT
CARDS FROM HOME DEPOT FOR USE BY THE COMMUNITY SERVICES
DEPARTMENT

REGULAR AGENDA:

1.APPOINTMENT OF JOHN BUSCA AS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS

2.APPOINTMENT TO THE NATURAL RESOURCES & OPEN SPACE
COMMISSION (Mary Grace Larke) for a term ending
February 1, 2009

3. APPROVAL OF 3 YEAR CONTRACT RENEWAL FOR DEDICATED CENTRAL
OFFICE SWITCHED SERVICES(DCOSS)

4. APPROVAL OF RENEWAL OF ANTHEM 2005 ADMINISTRATIVE
SERVICES ONLY AGREEMENT

ADDITIONAL NEW BUSINESS:

1.TRANSFER OF FUNDS - COMMUNITY SERVICES - $14,000.(Family
Relocations) FROM E & C ACCOUNT