Mayor's Office Re-organization Planned to Save Money

By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango Click to enlarge HAMDEN — The mayor’s office will be going through some changes. Chief Administrative Officer Curt Leng said a proposal has been submitted to the Legislative Council to eliminate two positions. Those jobs are the switchboard operator and the grants administrator, saving more than $75,000 if eliminated. The duties of the former grants administrator position would fall on the deputy chief administrative officer. The position would be renamed deputy chief administrator officer/grants and project coordinator. To compensate the current deputy chief administrator for the new duties, the salary would increase to $70,000 from $55,000. Some of the increase would be offset with grant money. No one will be laid off. The switchboard operator position, which handles constituent services and the help desk, would be covered by the confidential secretary. The new position will be called executive assistant to the mayor, with a raise to $50,000 from $45,000.

Blizzard 2013

By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango Click to enlarge HAMDEN -- This frozen Saturday, residents may have woken up to the most snow they've ever seen -- 40 inches of it in some places. Chief Administrative Officer Curt Leng said the town was hit harder than expected, with Public Works employees recalling the Blizzard of 1978, saying this storm may have been even worse. The National Weather Service reports that Hamden received the most snow in Connecticut. “What we ended up getting was sort of the worst case scenario,” Mayor Scott Jackson said. “So it’s actually gotten to the point that the level of snowfall we got exceeds the ability of the plows to move it effectively.” Leng said Public Works has switched to a scoop and dump method, placing snow in dump trucks and then carting it off to be deposited in local parks and other open pieces of land. “People will have to be patient,” Jackson said. “We will not have all the roads cleared today. It does not look like that is a possibility.” Jackson said the town’s emergency management team, consisting of Public Works Director Craig Cesare, Police Chief Thomas Wydra, and Fire Chief David Berardesca, are in constant contact, coordinating the efforts of guardian services and snow removal. Friday night at 10:30 p.m., during the height of the blizzard, Leng said Public Works resources were reallocated to make assisting guardian services its top priority. Saturday, assisting fire and police remains a priority, but Public Works is pulling double duty to get the roads cleared. Jackson said the town is enlisting the help of private contractors, and assistance from the state should be coming as soon as state roads are cleared. He said state resources and the National Guard could show up as early as late Saturday, or Sunday. Friday night, about 1,200 people lost power, according to Leng. Saturday, all but two homes have had power restored. “I’m very thankful to the folks at UI for working very hard on that restoration,” Jackson said. “Our UI representatives are in our emergency operation center, which is extremely helpful. This storm, at least at this point, the wind has been less than it could have been, so unlike prior storms, it’s not turning into a power disaster, but a weather disaster.” Jackson said because of the severity of the snowfall the 24-hour rule on shoveling sidewalks has been lifted. “There’s too much snow out there. People are going to have to take it easy. Don’t run out there and try to shovel, particularly if your road has not been plowed, because the plow is going to come and it's going to dump a couple feet of snow where you just moved a couple feet of snow,” Jackson said. “So take it slow, take it easy, and don't spend too much time outside -- it’s awfully cold out there.” Jackson said the three feet of snow outside people’s doors speaks for itself, though. Jackson said, “We’re hardy New Englanders, and people say, “Hey, you know what, there’s nothing I can do here except spend a little family time.”” Return to Paging Mode NEXT ARTICLE IN NEWS×Live: Papal conclave as it happens» Continue to article...