Mayor's Proposed Budget 2014-2015

HAMDEN >> Mayor Scott Jackson left a proposed $207 million budget in the hands of members of the Legislative Council Tuesday night.

Jackson presented his 2014-15 fiscal budget — a $7 million increase over the current budget — to the council, citing pension, medical and additional employment needs as having an effect on the proposed tax increase. If approved, the tax rate would increase by 1.25 mills, from 38.94 to 40.19 mills.

“This is an active budget,” Jackson said.

Dedicated funds for the town’s retirement benefit could see an increase from $13.5 to $18.8 million. Incorporated into the $18.8 million is an interest-only payment of $3.4 million for the town’s pension obligation bonds.

The pension crisis is a result of the pension fund never having been properly funded, Curt Leng, chief administrative officer, has said.

“My friends, we have caught the tail of this beast and we will tame it,” Jackson said.

Leng said funding the town’s pension is 81 percent of the budget’s increase.

Medical costs could increase from $33.8 to $34.5 million.

With work left to do, Jackson tipped his hat to the town’s financial accomplishments.

“We’ve turned a $9 million deficit in the medical self-insurance fund into a surplus. We’ve established a plan to repair our broken pension fund over time without massive tax increases to what sometimes feels like an endangered species — the middle class taxpayer,” Jackson said.

Added town jobs could include a blight officer, program specialist and a new Department of Information and Technology.

While not a financial change, Jackson also proposed moving the Board of Education into Government Center at 2750 Dixwell Ave.

“I propose to you that the singular job of the Board’s Central Office is to educate children. Nothing else,” Jackson said.

Leng said the conversation of the school board and the town has been discussed for approximately a decade.

“If the town wasn’t addressing the pension crisis with the comprehensive pension reform plan implemented last year, the mayor’s proposed budget inclusive of important small increases to police and fire could have been increased without raising taxes at all,” Leng said.

Legislative Council President James Pascarella said Jackson’s presentation was “well done.”

“Now we have to do our due diligence and review the budget line by line. Some numbers will mature over the next six weeks. Some projections may change, but we will come up with a fair and balanced budget,” Pascarella said.

Call Ebony Walmsley at 203-789-5734. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.

Hamden Pension Fund Informational Meeting

(Article from NH Register) By Phyllis Swebilius HAMDEN >> An informational meeting on the town's underfunded pension fund Wednesday night drew more than 100 people to Miller Memorial Library, including several in uniform. "The time's come to act," Mayor Scott Jackson told the Legislative Council. The fund is underfunded by $350 million and contains only 14 percent of what is necessary. Town bond counsel David M. Panico echoed the mayor's comment. "There is no more time for delay," he told the council, thogh a decision was not to be made Wednesday night. Details of the plan will be posted on the town's website today. Jackson said the Segal Co., hired to advise the town on its choices, is "comfortable dealing with billions, not millions" of dollars. "This is a 30-year plan," Jackson said. "What I asked for is a plan that will outlive me," he said. "The council will look at the components of the plan and modify it as they see fit. "One way or another the town of Hamden is getting out of this," he said. Chief Administrative Officer Curt Leng said the town's bond counsel has said the most inexpensive, viable option is: o Changing the cost of living adjustment, which this year went from 3 percent to 1.59 percent. o Putting more money into the fund. The town this year increased the contribution from $9.3 million to $12.5 million, the largest one-year increase to date. o Selling pension obligation bonds. Jackson told the council, "A (pension obligation bond) is a potential part of the solution that is in your hands." However, the bond is "not a magic wand," said town financial adviser Barry J. Bernabe. The issue is "black and white," Eric J. Atwater, Segal Co. vice president, said. There are about 500 people in the pension plan, mostly retirees, he said. Inaction now would deplete the fund in five years, according to Atwater. Residents, employees and retirees expressed their own ideas before the advisers spoke. Some were concerned about putting the town into debt and the potential effects on their property values and taxes. "Borrowing is risky," George Levinson said. Of the pension obligation bonding, Anne Sommer said, "I think timing is the key and there are a lot of risks involved. "The experts don't have a crystal ball. Nobody does," Sommer said. "This is a very, very serious decision." Bob Anthony, a Fire Department retiree, asked the council "to bond at the right time." Another resident said the unions have to make concessions. Town workers' pay is better than private employees and the benefits are "extraordinary," he said. Some warned a decision should not be made quickly. "Are we making a decision when we don't have enough information before us?" asked Michael Montgomery. Retired Police Chief John P. Ambrogio pointed out the problem goes back to the 1970s. He told the council, "You can't blame the unions." "The retirees that put in 20, 30, 40 years to the town of Hamden should feel comfortable that they're going to get the check once a month," said retired Police Chief Robert Nolan. The issue has been "kicked down the street for some time," United Public Service Employees Union representative Wayne Gilbert said. Sometimes the town put no money into the fund, he said. "The pension fund is a written contract ... a written promise," he said. Public employees do not earn more than the private sector, he said. "Yes, they get more sick days." At least three sets of concessions have been made by the unions, he said. "Real money was given back to this town by the employees," Gilbert said. "If you do nothing, we all go down." Joseph Cirillo, representing Town Hall workers with Local 2863 AFSCME, said the union has consistently contributed to the pension fund while concessions have been made in 10 years. "We've given up a lot." The union has a contract coming up. "We're nervous and concerned about the future," Cirillo said.

Pension Reform a Hamden Priority - Fund Very Low

By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango HAMDEN — As the days tick down until Mayor Scott Jackson’s budget proposal, a bogeyman looms. The town’s pension fund is at a crisis point. Currently, the pension fund is valued at $56 million. It should be $400 million. If the town did nothing, the fund would be bankrupt in five years, said Curt Leng, who is chief administrative officer. Leng said the town is supposed to pay $28 million into the fund next year. Doing so would require a four mill tax increase. Property owners with a house assessed at $200,000 would pay an additional $800 in taxes next year. Paying as you go annually would lead to tax hikes for the next 30 years, Leng said. Not ideal. So town officials hired The Segal Co., a benefits and human resources consulting company in New York, to develop strategies to address the pension woes. Segal’s plan would still require a four mill increase, but it would be spread over six years. Taxpayers with a $200,000 assessment would pay an additional $150 in taxes annually. Segal presented 15 proposals aimed at addressing the problem. However, only a few would solve the problem within 30 years. The town must accept a cash infusion and reduce the benefits of current municipal employees, according to Segal’s proposal. All options center on the town receiving a $115 million pension obligation bond from the state. This POB will immediately bolster the pension fund. A lot more is needed, including reducing the cost of living increase employees and retirees receive, and exploring the concept of a 401(k) contribution or defined benefit plan. The pension crisis is a result of five past administrations’ failure to pay into the fund the proper amount, Leng said. “The town as far back as we can look, and with certainty to the last two decades, has never put in the actuarial required contribution,” Leng said. Segal in a report said the town has not contributed more than 72 percent of the required annual contributions for any year since 1995. In 2000 and 2001, no pension contributions were made when $12 million was required. From 2002-2004, less than 10 percent of the required contributions were made. The average contribution from 1995-2010 was only about 38 percent of what was needed. A long-time Town Council member said no contributions were made in 2000 and 2001 because the fund was at 70 percent and the stock market was strong, but later bottomed out. Robert Maturo, a retired police officer and president of Hamden Guardian Services Retirees Association, which was established to safeguard retired police and firefighters pensions, said a POB is a good thing. He said the POB will force future administrations into making the required annual contribution. While town officials and employees agree a POB is integral to shoring up the fund, Segal’s report stated reducing benefits is also necessary. Segal suggested the town consider adopting a defined benefit plan. Leng said this plan guarantees the amount of money an employee will retire with after a certain number of years. The defined benefit plan places the investment risk on the town. This plan would lower current and future defined benefit accruals of employees’ pensions to 1.5 percent of their income per year. It would also affect the cost of living adjustment, or COLA, of current and retired employees. Variations of the defined benefit plan were proposed, but only two resulted in solvency. One removed COLA for future and current retirees, and one reduced COLA to 1 percent per year from 3 percent for future and current retirees. The zero percent COLA plan results in a fully funded pension after 2030, with 1 percent COLA reaching 100 percent funding after 2040. Segal proposed the town create a 401(k) plan in which the town matches an employee’s contribution of up to 6 percent of their income per year. This plan is possibly more lucrative for employees, but the amount accrued depends on the markets, placing more risk on workers. If the town adopted a 401(k) plan and reduced the COLA contribution, the pension fund would be in better shape quicker. SEGAL’s final proposal included a hybrid plan. The town would guarantee to fund 1 percent of an employee’s salary into the pension, while also matching up to 3 percent of their salary in a 401(k) plan. This plan spreads risk evenly among town and employee. For the pension fund to reach solvency, the COLA must be reduced to at least 1 percent for current and future retirees. The hybrid plan takes more time to reach solvency by a few more years. But for any of this to work, the unions must accept benefit cuts. While any benefits accrued up until now would remain unchanged, Segal’s proposal ruffled feathers. Police Union President Michael Ambrosino said he knows the town must do something to fix the problem, but it was created by past administrations. “You don’t know what the town really wants to do until the town tells you what they would like,” Ambrosino said. “We’re open to listen, but I don’t know if anybody would drastically change the contract they already have for something that’s really no fault of ours.” Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282.

Hamden Tackles Pension Crisis

By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango HAMDEN — Hundreds showed up at the Miller Library Thursday night for a special meeting of the Legislative Council to hear the fate of Hamden’s pension fund. A presentation was given by SEGAL, a consulting company, detailing its recommendations to help keep the pension fund solvent. According to the presentation, Hamden has roughly $56 million in its pension fund. If it were fully funded, it would have more than $400 million invested for pensioners and current town employees. “If you don’t do anything, in five years or sooner, the pension fund is completely bankrupt and the town goes to pay-as-you-go to pay its benefits. “If we went to a pay-as-you-go, and actually paid it, it means tax increase upon tax increase for every year, for the next 30 years,” said Curt Leng, chief administrative officer. “If we do nothing and just pay our arc, next year we have to pay $28 million. So, essentially, what that equals in cash and mill rate, that would be a four mill increase in one year. The plan that was presented, if all the pieces can be negotiated properly, is a four mill increase over a six year period.” Leng said the town’s goal is to achieve financial stability in a fair way while minimizing the impact on taxpayers. Mayor Scott Jackson said the bottom line of this presentation is that the town, for the first time, has received qualified information on how to resolve the pension crisis. “There needs to be an influx of cash, there needs to be long-term financial discipline, and there needs to be a hard look at the benefits people are earning today and forward,” Jackson said. The long-term financial discipline Jackson refers to could be delivered by the town accepting a pension obligation bond from the state. This would bring $115 million to the town for debt servicing, but would also lock the town into paying the contributions it must pay in future budgets to solve the pension crisis. But this is just one piece of the puzzle. Leng said, “In order to achieve long-term solvency without dramatic tax increases or draconian benefit cuts, we would have to have a combination of an immediate injection of cash in the form of a pension obligation bond; we’d have to have a reduction in benefits negotiated with our unions; and we have to increase the town’s cash contribution.” For this to work, SEGAL’s presentation offered three plans for reducing new benefits for current and future employees: a defined benefit plan, which locks in pensions at 1.5 percent per year, a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k) with returns that depend on market realities, or a hybrid plan, which is a mix of the two. Current retirees’ benefits, according to SEGAL’s plan, will not be affected. What might be affected though, are pensioners’ cost-of-living adjustments. All plans presented by SEGAL that resulted in solvency required some change from the current 3 percent that pensioners have been receiving for decades. Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282. Follow him on Twitter @bandango. “The biggest message that we wanted to get out to retirees, and I think that we did today, was that no one is trying to take anything away from people. “It’s just what percentage of increases moving forward can we all afford, to make sure you have a pension and that we can soundly, financially operate a town,” Leng said. “So we’re going to be looking at everything from 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and probably the quarter ratios in between to find out where’s the sweet spot that you can live with and that we can live with.” Robert Maturo, a retired police officer and president of Hamden Guardian Services Retirees Association, established to safeguard the pensions of retired police and firefighters, said he wasn’t surprised by the options presented by SEGAL. Doing nothing, he said, is an option long gone. He said while any changes to current pensioners’ benefits are a point of contention, bonding and new benefit adjustments are a must. He was especially hopeful about a pension obligation bond forcing future councils to pay into the pension fund. “We’re past the point of pointing fingers and blaming people,” Maturo said. “We need to work together. We need to get a plan that’s viable and that keeps the fund healthy for the next 50 years for all the town employees.” Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282. Follow him on Twitter @bandango.

SnowtoriousBIG 2013

Love that name for the storm - very funny. In serious business, the Town has spent the last two days preparing for this storm on every front - ranging from Public Works, to Guardian Services, to Human Services and more. Communication efforts to get the latest and most comprehensive information on Town snow regulations and safety tips has gone well and the Mayor Declared a State of Emergency for the Town at 3:00 pm. Hoping to get someone to help with snow this time - if it's a foot and a half I really don't want to break my back ... We shall see.

Hamden Implements Spending Freeze

Hamden halts spending on nonessentials By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango HAMDEN — Mayor Scott Jackson and Finance Director Sal DeCola implemented a spending freeze on nonessential items to “ensure a balanced budget” for this fiscal year. “When you have the type of infrastructure that a municipality maintains, you can have good years, you can have bad years, but you always have to project for the bad years. “For example: snow. Two inches of snow will cost us $50,000 to plow. So you always have to maintain reserves that will allow you to seamlessly address those issues,” Jackson said. “We didn’t know before last month that we would be expending overtime on police services to protect schools. Now we are, so we have to adjust course to accommodate that,” he said. Notice was sent to all department heads that even purchases approved by the Town Council for this fiscal year may no longer occur. Jackson said throughout the year, every dollar is watched, but during a spending freeze, all expenditures are subject to another level of review. Announcement of the spending freeze followed a series of recent belt-tightening actions taken by Hamden officials. Earlier this month, the town announced a move to restructure two departments. Curt Leng, chief administrative officer, wrote in a press release the position of “deputy assessor” has been cut, saving the town $70,000. Two positions at the Library Department were eliminated, a librarian and technical assistant. Library Director Marian Amodeo said this was the result of an offer for early retirement packages. “None of our services have had to be curtailed. We’re working with staff to reassign tasks to provide the best customer service we can.” Amodeo said. “We’re moving along.” The position of “business manager” for the Library Department has been changed. The job description has been adjusted and starting salary reduced. The three staff cuts will save the town $110,000. Amodeo said preserving the library business manager position was crucial to the library system. “After all, we are a three building library system,” Amodeo said. “And as such, we have myriad financial tasks on a daily basis.” Leng also said two more departments are being looked at for reorganizations —the mayor’s office and Economic and Community Development. “The word of the day is savings, and wherever we can try, department by department, to either downsize or reorganize with the existing staff in a way that saves money, we’re going to propose it,” Leng said. The town added to its bottom line through the sale of a building to Tri-Star Realty, owner of the restaurant Eli’s on Whitney. The move to sell 2384 Whitney Ave. will bring $200,000 to Hamden. Leng said the building was purchased by the town for the Memorial Town Hall project four years ago. It was used for a staging area and office space during the project, but, with the end of the project near, it is no longer needed. Eli’s Restaurant Group Operations Director Shawn Reilly said the plan is to raze the building and construct an addition to Eli’s. The kitchen will be housed in the new addition, creating room for more seating and, Reilly said, hopefully new jobs, too. Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282. Follow him on Twitter @bandango

Been Away ...

I've been away from the blogging world for a while - focusing instead on the social media - both my own (mostly Town, sports, music news and politics) and the my job. The tools are amazing. I'm glad that Blogger allows for the easy Twitter feed on the side of this page so that whenever I'm not posting often with official blogging the page is still updated with thoughts and ideas. E-mail me at curt.leng@yahoo.com to talk about anything from politics to Van Halen. Happy Saturday.

Hamden Central Fire Station Returns Fully Renovated

Fire units return to old home in Hamden (video) Published: Thursday, June 21, 2012 By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — After 32 months away from the center of town, Squad 1 and Rescue 1 are back in the fire station at Memorial Town Hall. “The goal was to get them back in here as soon as I could,” Fire Chief David A. Berardesca said this week. Firefighters and apparatus that worked out of what is known as Station 4 were transferred to other firehouses in fall 2009, when the Memorial Town Hall renovation began. Town Hall renovations are incomplete; the police station has moved to some Town Hall space, as well as a 40,000-square-foot addition. This summer, Berardesca, Deputy Fire Chief Bob Surprise and their administrative staff will move from Hamden Government Center to space in Town Hall. Berardesca and firefighters say they are happy with the upgrade, which includes a new exhaust system and heaters in the garage bay. The kitchen had been in the formerly dingy basement and now is on the second floor, in an all-purpose room where firefighters can relax in large lounge chairs and watch a large-screen television on off hours. There are also four new bunks, new lockers, a room for the watch commander and new bathrooms and showers. The exercise room is in the basement. The whole station has been painted. “It’s a welcome relief. It’s nice to be back home,” said Firefighter Paul Turner after he backed Squad 1, a fire pumper, into the bay Monday morning. Now that the truck has returned to Station 4 from the Ridge Road fire station, and Rescue 1 has come back from Mount Carmel, response times will improve, Berardesca said. When Station 4 closed, other stations had to expand their territories, meaning firefighters sometimes took a bit longer to arrive at calls. While contractors continue to work on “punch list” items for the fire station, the Town Building Committee is working to be sure the cracked mahogany doors on the garage bay are replaced. The cracking was noticed soon after the doors were installed late last year. “While it was probably not the best choice of materials for a fire station, they were installed and it was realized the wood was faulty,” said Curt Leng, chief administrative officer. The doors are going to be replaced soon with a more traditional metal fire station door that will have a mahogany look. The company that provided the doors will pay for the new ones, Leng said. Other mahogany doors throughout the refurbished Town Hall have faulty wood and discussions are under way to replace them with other wood doors or with mahogany-looking doors, Leng said. It is expected Town Hall will reopen at the end of the year, after the two old police station buildings are remediated, razed and a parking garage built, Leng said.

Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave - Take it Serious!

Municipalities throughout the area have opened cooling centers. Due to the extreme heat forecast, Mayor Scott Jackson has established Town "Cooling Stations" and also wishes to remind residents that all public buildings, including libraries and fire stations, are air-conditioned and open to the public during regular business hours. The cooling station is meant for temporary respite from the heat, especially for the elderly and those with respiratory issues. Hamden cooling stations and hours are: The Keefe Community Cente,r located at the corner of Dixwell Ave. and Pine Street, until 7 p.m. this evening. Thornton Wilder Hall, located in the Miller Library Complex at 2901 Dixwell Avenue, is a cooling station and will have water available to those in need. Thornton Wilder Hall be open to the public until 11 p.m. Hamden fire stations are also available. Information on all Town buildings and hours can be found on the Town website at www.hamden.com or by calling 203-287-7100. For further information, please contact the Fire Chief Berardesca's office at 203-407-5880.

Working to Solve Hamden Pension Crisis

By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — The Legislative Council took initial steps Wednesday night toward finding a solution for the drastically underfunded pension fund, but answers won’t come for another six months. A council committee unanimously agreed to a bid waiver to hire The Segal Co. as a pension plan design consultant for $90,000. The full council will take action Monday. Council members wanting to be sure the information would be available before the 2013-14 budget is final asked how long it would take to get the information. Curt Leng, Mayor Scott D. Jackson’s chief aide, said it would take about six months. In response to another question, Leng said he believes “information will flow” about what the consultant is learning as time goes on. Already, he said, the mayor has had discussions with unions and is looking at working collaboratively with council members. “Without the unions being partners, a comprehensive solution can’t be reached,” Leng said. Leng said the mayor was seeking a bid waiver because Segal, based in Atlanta, already is working for the town on health insurance and pension matters. “They’re very good at this and we want experts with good qualifications to develop a comprehensive solution,” he said.

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.”