Election 2007

Hello friends,

Thanks for taking the time and making the click to visit my website. This site is a BLOG that I use to express opinions and/or inform constituents about current Town issues.

While I have not made a formal announcement that I will be seeking re-election to the Council as 6th District representative, I have very much enjoyed representing the District through the last two years and plan to run again this fall. As time goes on this site may adapt into more of a campaign styled website, but there will always be a link to this BLOG because I think it serves as more of a good tool of modern technology that allows us to have a conversation on a regular basis.

I look forward to talking and working with you.
Best,

Curt Leng

Coming Soon

Coming soon will be a new and improved BLOG that will serve as a manner of communication and debate about the important issues of the Town. Looking forward to talking again.

Curt

The End of a Rational Voice

Clear Channel’s the Bad Guy

Clear Channel's decision to end "The Voice" 1300 radio's format of providing Air America's progressive talk appears to be the end of rational radio in the New Haven area for a while.

1300 was a welcome change from the right-wing ranting of Rush and other conservative talking heads. Their programming, while more left in nature, presented a good variety of shows, with both Democratic and Republican listeners. I've enjoyed listening to and learning from over the last year.

Clear Channel, with their dismantling of all things local and anything different, is a perfect example of the corporate bully - more concerned with easy money than quality programming.

What a shame.

Councilman Curt Leng

Hamden, CT

203-887-4599

FIRST MEETS - IDEAS FLOW

Article from Hamden Daily News, Sharon Bass - Editor/Reporter

FIRST focuses on the town's bottom line

By Sharon Bass

A new committee charged with finding non-tax revenue for the town met for the first time last night. Ideas were thrown around. Energy was high. There was lots of talk about the flaws of town government. And ways Hamden could save money as well as bring it in.

But perhaps the most notable part of the two-plus-hour meeting was the reaction of FIRST (Finance, Income & Revenue Search Team) resident member, Peter Tredwell. He is one of two residents on the 10-person committee of otherwise elected and town officials. With the other resident member being town employee Don Werner, who's a regular at Council meetings, Tredwell was the only town-government virgin in the room. He’s always worked for the private sector.

And more than once he’d exclaim he couldn’t believe his ears.

“I didn’t come in here with any expectations,” Tredwell said after the meeting. He works for ESPN. “But I’ve worked in the TV business for 10 years and I would describe TV as a very results-oriented business. Everything is performance based, like holiday bonuses and raises. And to hear that for town employees nothing is based on performance?”

Here’s what else Tredwell heard in Government Center’s third-floor conference room.

“Our job here is rather simple,” began FIRST Chair Curt Leng, also a councilman. He asked each member for five “firm recommendations” to generate non-tax money for the Legislative Council to review during the upcoming budget season.

“I think we should cut the [Elderly Services] bus service to New Haven,” said Werner, an Elderly Services bus driver. “It takes away from people in Hamden.” He said the buses get just 4 miles to the gallon and there are three buses going all day. Riders pay one buck for roundtrip fare.

“I see a red flag right there,” said member Gretchen Callahan, also a councilwoman. “One dollar no matter how far one goes?” She said riders going into New Haven, for instance, should pay more.

“You don’t want to do that,” warned Werner. “The seniors are already overtaxed.”

“Not all of them,” Callahan shot back.

“It may not be a hardship on them paying another $1,” said Werner, “but the public relations …”

FIRST member Dale Kroop, also the town’s economic development director, asked how many people use the bus to go to New Haven. Werner said one woman goes three times a week for dialysis and there are others who go to the VA.

Leng interjected. “Especially since we have the media here, I don’t want to give the impression that we’re here to cut services,” he said.

Committee members nodded their heads in agreement.

Next on Werner’s list was to reinstate the school’s activity fee for sports and other extracurricular programs.

Mike Germano, also a councilman, wholeheartedly agreed. “I don’t care. Let them put advertising all over the sports fields. Put advertising on my forehead,” he said.

Leng said $75,000 was collected in 2005-06 in activity fees, and at least that amount of money could be made through selling ads for the sports fields. Germano said it would make kids feel good seeing those advertisements, just like in the professional leagues.

“We could make a fortune! A fortune every year and the kids would love it,” he said.

And Werner pushed his pet idea to merge all maintenance into one department. “It will instill better accountability,” he said.

“I agree with that. There is absolutely no accountability with town employees,” said Kroop.

Werner suggested having an employee evaluation system “that wouldn’t hurt their pay but maybe hurt their chances for promotion.”

Tredwell said he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Can’t they be fired? I’ve never heard of this,” he said. In the private business world, employees who don’t perform well get fired or demoted. He was told town workers are unionized and protected from being fired and in most cases demoted. No matter what.

Kroop agreed raises should be based on merit instead of according to labor agreements.

“The town should be run like a business. It is a business,” said Germano.

“There is a structure problem in this town,” said Kroop. Having the mayor appoint nearly every department head is a bad idea, he said, because there’s not much job security. A new mayor comes in and can -- and often does -- wipe out many heads. Wresting that power from the mayor would require a charter revision. A group of three councilmembers is currently deciding whether the 1984 charter should be amended.

Kroop said some department heads and rank and file workers take advantage of the system.

“Charter revision is a scary endeavor because you open up a can of worms,” said Leng.

“It’s nothing against religion, but my pet peeve is too many churches and nonprofits don’t pay property taxes,” said Kroop. And he said the town cannot afford to keep the old middle school, the Keefe Center and the Newhall Community Center. One or two of those buildings should be sold, he said.

“Do you know how much money you’re going to pour into the old Michael J. Whalen?” he said.

“And if we sold a building we wouldn’t have to deal with POBs [Pension Obligation Bonds],” said Leng. The mayor wants to borrow $55 million for the town’s rather emaciated retirement account and much of the Council is opposed, saying it’s too risky to invest the taxpayers’ money.

Callahan voiced issues she has with the way Parks & Rec pays local sports groups. She said there’s some inequality in the amounts that are dispensed.

“We give checks to all the sports organizations, whether they need it or not,” said Callahan, who chairs the legislative Recreation & Culture Committee.

“Why do we pay them?” said Germano. “All the sports get a subsidy?”

“If they don’t get that check there’s an incredible [amount of] lobbying that goes on,” said Leng. Some get about 10,000 tax dollars a year from the town, he said.

The original purpose of the subsidy was to help new community sports programs get started, but for some reason the checks keep getting cut years later, said Leng. Also, the organizations use the school fields and concession stands for free, he said.

And Callahan had a few words to say about the ice-rink concession stand, which is run by a private company the town hired. “It’s hardly every open when I’m there,” she said. “There’s no accountability there.” The company is supposed to return a small percentage of sales to the town but Callahan said, “I don’t know if it’s done right.”

“The town of Hamden gives more to its residents than any other town,” she said.

“That’s why our taxes are so high,” said Kroop.

Another Callahan suggestion: department heads should be asked how they could cut 5 percent from their budgets. “I’ve heard from different departments there are places to cut,” she said. Also, she suggested the town actually collect the fines issued for zoning, anti-blight and property maintenance violations. Leng said not one dollar was collected last year.

More city bus shelters are needed in southern Hamden, said Germano, which gave him an another advertising idea. He said he talked to a bigwig at Clear Channel about building Hamden a bus shelter for free in return for Clear Channel ads all over it.

Germano said residents who have e-mail accounts should get all town notices, even their tax bills, via e-mail to save on postage. Leng said postage cost $119,000 last year.

Last it was Tredwell’s turn to suggest. He said he liked Germano’s advertising ideas. “Nothing is sacred anymore,” said the resident committee member from the private side. “Some people are bothered by that but what’s your choice? Do you want to pay more taxes?”

---

Ignorance, Skewed Reality or Both?

Bush Doctrine –

Ignorance, Skewed Reality or Both?

I watched with shock and awe last night as President Bush gave us his “nurtured” month-long developed “new” Iraq strategy.

For publicity purposes, Mr. Bush went on a listening tour with the Department of Defense, military leaders, political leaders and others. He received the Iraq Study Group’s Report – a definitive list of clear changes that this distinguished group of foreign policy leaders, including a former White House chief of Staff and a former Supreme Court Justice.

In the end, the important “change in direction” begged for by the American people, as demonstrated by the election outcome and with the reality that 70% of people oppose increasing the number of troops in Iraq - was just that - an increase in the number of troops in Iraq.

Called a “surge” because they didn’t want to call it an “increase”, though the definition is the same, the Bush Administration will send an additional 20,000+ soldiers right into the middle of Iraq’s bloody Civil War. He’ll do this within the next few weeks to stop any chance Congress might have to stop him with Congressional oversight.

On top of the obvious attempt to mislead the public by calling the plan a “surge”, instead of an “increase”, President Bush also failed to tell the American people that this “surge” is only going to bring American troop totals BACK to approx. 150,000 – the number they were at this time 2 years ago. So, in fact, the “surge” is a return to the failed policy. More Americans have died each month.

If our leaders dared to tell you any remote aspect of the truth – they would tell you this:

1) We have no exit strategy;

2) We are not safer because of this Iraq disaster – Iraq was contained before the invasion , (this is based on military and foreign policy expert after expert who confirm this fact);

3) We will see more people die.

Why won’t the President listen to plans for troop redeployment to secure Iraq’s borders from the terrorists pouring in? Why won’t he listen to military leaders who tell him that Al-Qaeda is taking power back in Afghanistan? Why won’t the President listen? Is it ignorance, a skewed reality, or both?

Curt Leng
6th District Councilman

31 Smith Drive, Hamden, CT 06517

203-288-6258

Iraq Disaster

Haven’t Enough People Died?

Listening to a radio talk show in the car the other day made me stumble upon information that I was embarrassed to not already know. While I was well aware, and sickened by, the loss of over 3,000 American soldiers -- with additional tens of thousands badly wounded -- I hadn’t heard a total for the estimated number of human beings that have been killed in Iraq during this war. For those who don’t know the approximate numbers, brace yourself.

It’s estimated that over 650,000 human beings have been killed so far in this war. Estimates run higher and lower. But what difference does a slight change in the number make? Nothing.

What has been gained from the murder of all of these people? Were they all Hussein loyalists? Were they all terrorists? Were they all, in the beginning, anti-American? Not a chance. I wonder how many of those 650,000 people were women and children or civilians. Is this really America doing this?

Why did all of those people have to die and how many more are we going to put in the same grave?

All I can pray is that the president follows some of the Iraq Study Group ideas and some of the ideas of the incoming Congress for strategies to get out of this conflict. Every day we remain, more die. Every day there is risk that another American life will be taken too soon.

How many have to die for oil, big business and personal power?

Curt Leng
6th District Councilman

School Building Committee

Hello friends:

The Middle School is still struggling with the nagging and expensive problems of lighting - and lots of it - at an unreasonable electric rate to the Town and our taxpayers. The problem is due to what I believe to be a serious design flaw. New code requires "a light" to be on in each classroom after-school hours - our construction team decided to have "ALL" the lights on in each room.

On Thursday, the School Building Committee will be meeting and this will be the first item on the agenda. It has been discussed before, numerous times, but no progress has been demonstrated to-date. I have a very good feeling this will change Thursday.

So, if you'd like to voice your opinion, join us at the New Middle School on Thursday at 7:30.

Best,

Councilman Curt Leng
Chairman, School Building Committee

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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.

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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