Fixing Hamden Pension Fund #1 Priority

By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — A new report on the town’s failing pension fund says that the fund will be broke in four years if nothing is done to improve the situation. The financial nightmare can only be avoided if comprehensive solutions are found, Mayor Scott D. Jackson said in a May 1 memorandum to the Legislative Council. Tonight , the council will meet with financial advisers about the pension, pension obligation bonds and current investment returns. The council will vote on the budget Wednesday night. Jackson gave the council the pension cash flow analysis that reviews the scenario with and without pension obligation bonds. The document was created by the Hamden Retirement Board’s new financial adviser, David Lee of Dahab Associates. Solving the pension crisis in a “comprehensive and well-planned manner” is the town’s top priority in the coming fiscal year, according to the mayor. According to the report, the fund now has $62.5 million and pays out about $20 million a year. According to Jackson and the report, the fund will be in deficit by 2016 if only regular contributions from the town and employees are used. The budget would also have to include enough money for a “pay-as-you-go” pension program and the town’s contribution of $20 million. Even with a $90 million infusion of pension obligation bonds, the fund will be in deficit by 2023, without a comprehensive solution, according to Jackson. Under the $90 million pension obligation bond scenario, with no comprehensive solution, the town would have to contribute between $13 and $18 million from the operating budget from now to 2022, on top of a $7.5 million debt service per year for 20 years for the bonds. Curt Leng, Jackson’s chief aide, said a comprehensive program would have to include changes in union contracts, as well as possibly changing the age and years of service someone would need in order to collect. “The town would also have to put in a significant amount of capital outlay and get all of the parties to do their part,” he said. The Legislative Council has been meeting on the mayor’s proposed $192 million budget, and a full discussion on how to handle the pension has yet to be held. As it stands now, the council has added about $1 million to the mayor’s budget, or .29 mills higher than the tax rate of the 36.85 mills proposed by Jackson for 2012-13. Council members want the budget to be lower, but have been having a difficult time making cuts. Last week, on the motion of Republicans Betty Wetmore and Austin Cesare, the council eliminated a part-time position for a traffic director. Jackson proposed the $35,000 position to assist with implementing the town’s traffic calming efforts. Instead, the money would go toward consultants and traffic calming tools. The council voted to cut $200,000 from the Fire Department sub-straight time and $70,000 from police overtime. Councilman Harry Gagliardi, D-2, asked Leng to provide the council with a list of all discretionary funds in an attempt to figure out what else can be cut because he doesn’t want to raise taxes. A motion he made to eliminate two of the three police deputy chiefs and to add two patrol officers instead was rejected. Leng reported to the council that a retirement incentive plan for town employees is still in the works. It doesn’t appear as if council members are willing to touch the $80.3 million the mayor has recommended for the Board of Education. Cesare called the number “very critical” and questioned whether things would move forward if the school budget were to be cut. “I will not vote to reduce it even more. It’s tough times for everybody, but the $80.3 million doesn’t begin to meet the costs” necessary to provide every student an education, said Scott Harris, D-9.

Hamden Finally Has a New Police HQ

Hamden Police Department moves to new home By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — While the Police Department moves into its new digs, the Legislative Council is getting ready to approve another contract for Diggs Construction. Police Chief Thomas J. Wydra told the Legislative Council Monday night that central communications and 911 were moved to the new police station during the day. Detectives also moved in. Wydra later credited Utility Communications and AT&T for “fine work” in Monday’s transition, as well as to the New Haven Police Department for handling the town’s 911 calls. “Ninety percent of the property is moved in from the old buildings. The rest will happen over the next two days,” the chief said later. He said all will be in the new building by Thursday. For the last 2½ years, the old Memorial Town Hall at Dixwell and Whitney avenues has been under construction, with the adjacent Fire Department space being renovated, and the new police station added to the newly renovated 1924 structure. It is expected the Fire Department will move in next month. The council’s Planning and Development Committee Monday night approved an agreement to keep Diggs Construction of Hartford as the town’s construction consultant and owner’s representative for the remainder of the renovation. The company already has been paid about $160,000 and will be paid just under $300,000 through the rest of the project, said Curt Leng, chief administrative officer. The money will come from the $40 million project allocation, which hasn’t exceeded its bonding limit, Leng said. Diggs serves as a liaison between the Town Building Committee, the administration and A.P. Construction of Stamford, which is the construction manager and adviser. “If we didn’t have the assistance of Diggs on this project, there’s no way the Police Department would have moved in this week. Their services have been exemplary,” especially in terms of developing an accurate construction schedule, Leng said. The Police Department received a temporary occupancy permit Friday from the Building Department, Leng said.

Traffic Calming in Hamden

By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — The town, in cooperation with residents, is moving ahead with “traffic calming.” A plan to improve east-west traffic flow in the Spring Glen and Whitneyville neighborhoods has been completed, and other “calming” options are being pursued. Some roads already have been painted with directional lines and symbols, aimed at getting traffic to slow down, said Curt Balzano Leng, the town’s chief administrative officer. “Throughout Spring Glen and Whitneyville, we will do our best to implement paint-only and in-street signage, stop bars and crosswalks,” keeping costs down, Leng said. A steering committee, made up of town officials and civic association representatives, has reviewed the east-west transportation study by Fitzgerald & Halliday Inc. and some recommendations will be implemented, Leng said. For example, a small traffic circle will be installed at Connolly Parkway, Thornton and Elgin streets to help prevent drivers from running stop signs. Traffic calming has been a focus in the administration of Mayor Scott D. Jackson, as requested by residents. The South Central Regional Council of Governments paid $40,000 for the east-west study. It recommends spending more than $1 million over five years on traffic improvements. Plans to begin a traffic study of the Hamden Plains and Wintergreen Avenue area are under way, according to COG Executive Director Carl Amento. Once a company is hired to perform the study, it will run from September 2012 to June 2013, he said. The town will pay $15,000 for a study of the West Woods neighborhood. The east-west study recommends a variety of traffic-calming methods, most of which are inexpensive, Amento said. Some can be temporary, to determine their effectiveness, before proceeding. For instance, rubber humps can be used before pavement humps are installed. All are intended to get drivers to be more attentive and slow down, Amento said. Francisco Gomes of Fitzgerald & Halliday presented the east-west transportation study at Miller Library Senior Hall. Hamden has limited east-west connectivity, the report notes. Traffic is increasing along those routes as drivers try to avoid north-south congestion, it says. Roads studied were Ardmore, Armory, Augur, Elgin, Haverford, Mather, Treadwell, Waite, Putnam and Connolly Parkway. Woodlawn Street residents, irritated that their street wasn’t included, were at the meeting. They said it didn’t make sense to exclude Woodlawn because it connects to Whitney Avenue and has no stop signs. “Speeding is bad. Our stretch is way longer. How could they not see that?” asked Jan Hagens. Officials have said that just because Woodlawn wasn’t included doesn’t mean it won’t get improvements. “It’s important to understand this isn’t the final chapter. It’s the prologue, a jumping off point. It doesn’t mean you’re not eligible for traffic calming,” said Julie Smith, deputy chief administrative officer. Hagens maintained, however, that “an entire neighborhood needs to be looked at in a systematic, wholistic way so ... street is not pitted against street.” Eileen M. O’Neill, a Gordon Street resident affiliated with civic associations and the townwide steering committee, said she will attend a Woodlawn meeting and “get them into the game.” It will be Saturday at the home of Carol Cheney. O’Neill said she doesn’t like the consultant’s proposal for a “T” intersection at Waite and Mather streets. The report says that would simplify the intersection, reduce speeds and provide space for sidewalks. “My dream is to make it a park-recreation setting. I don’t know if my dreams will come true, but it’s a treasure to be able to walk along Lake Whitney.”