Suggestion Box: Patching the Budget Hole

How we got here

The City of Hartford’s economic problems did not just happen. They did not spring up when Mayor Bronin was sworn into office. They did not emerge last year or even the year before that.

Hartford provides many services that surrounding towns have been unable or unwilling to provide at the same level. We have a small tax base, but large demand for services that are largely, if not entirely, funded through property taxes. There has been wasteful spending in some areas, like redundancies and incompetent City employees.

Some of this is on the City. A lot of this is on the City. The last administration struggled with decision-making: either the mayor changed direction at the earliest whisper of discontent, or he dug his heels in when really costly mistakes were being made.

There’s no need to beat a dead horse, or in this case, a former mayor who has been keeping a remarkably low profile since leaving office, or the former Director of Development Services; but, many of those bad decisions — blatant, Times Square neon billboard-sized bad decisions — could have been kept in check, if not by supporting members of the administration, then by the rest of us schmucks.

Some of this is on the residents.

A fair number did show up to speak against or ask very specific questions about how the stadium project would be funded, but many, many could not be bothered. We can take out of the equation those who are working multiple jobs and coming home exhausted with no energy remaining for civic engagement, if they are not outright working through the meetings themselves. But, there are many who opted to not speak lest they dirty their hands, lest they seem political and mouthy and disagreeable and unpopular. Those who don’t want to rock the boat, who don’t want to be perceived as troublemakers. A little bit of troublemaking, it turns out, can save a lot of trouble being made for us down the road.

That is not just about the stadium, but any equally stupid move that was made where some bold speaking out by members of the public would have perhaps tempered some egos and/or heads-in-the-clouds (or elsewhere), resulting in politicians making more moderate decisions that reflect the will of the populace. Speaking out only when your pet project is likely to get the ax is short-sighted.

Here’s the thing: it’s one thing to be upset about, let’s say, the arts budget getting slashed, and another thing to be willing to say what should get chopped in its place. Should we trade in our trained professionals in the classroom for inexperienced teachers who are not likely to make more than a two-year commitment for our kids? No? How about we only have trash pick up every three weeks? That does not sound so good either. But if you spend recklessly for years and are not paying your bills, cuts have to be made. Actions have consequences.

For beginners, how a budget works is that you figure out how much money you need to pay for all the things you want. For a household budget, maybe you are considering rent/mortgage, utilities, food, transportation, clothing, medical/emergency, and entertainment. If you are struggling to get that mortgage in on time every month, along with keeping yourself fed, appropriately attired, and able to get to work, then you need to consider shrinking that entertainment budget. The rent/mortgage might be unchanging, so then you figure out that you can find healthy food at a less expensive store. You can cut clothing costs by shopping at a thrift store instead of at the mall. You plan your routes better so you are not wasting gas. For awhile, you look for inexpensive ways to recreate, like going to the park, taking walks, or riding your bicycle. The other possibility is to find more income so that you do not have to make tough decisions, but that could take time. If that means going back to school for a degree, then you have to take more cuts in the near future. There are other possibilities, but one that would not make sense is running deeply into debt because you are spending more than you are bringing in and you have not reduced expenditures the way that you could. Like, if your place of employment offers free yoga, why are you skipping that and paying for it elsewhere when you don’t exactly have the money to burn?

We can feel powerless quickly when it’s not one or two people managing a household budget, but a considerably larger number making decisions on multi-layered matters. What it comes down to is that to get everything we want, we need to increase the amount of money we have to spend. But with the debt we are carrying, for us to even get to that level, we have to make cuts for awhile. Are there places where our spending is just ridiculous? Is the City of Hartford paying for a service that a non-profit or State agency is already basically providing? How can we get the money?

Suggestions

We do not know how to completely fix this problem. Trust, we’d be running the City if we did. But we have some thoughts on a few things.

• Rethink First Responders: Our model of using firefighters as First Responders could only be less cost effective if we outfitted them with Assault Amphibious Vehicles. Fire engines get something like four miles to the gallon. That’s priceless if your home is on fire, but is a fire engine what is needed for calls that are unlikely to involve extinguishing fires or using ladders? Looking at data for Hartford Fire Incidents in October 2015 and January 2016 (we wanted recent, but not so recent that errors were likely to remain in the database) we saw that there were a total of 2,074 incidents during those two months. That’s an average of 33 per day. Many of those calls do not seem to require fire engines.

One day last year we spotted a man who appeared to be unconscious, or worse, sitting in a vehicle about half a mile from either of the nearest fire stations. The response was quick, but the fire engine sent was overkill. The man’s vehicle was not on fire. The man was not on fire. There was nothing smoking. No chemicals leaking. The most likely scenario was a drug overdose. The responders tapped on the man’s window, asked the dazed individual if he was okay, and sent him on his way. That could’ve been done with a Prius.

Emergency medical service calls (excluding motor vehicle crashes) came to 1,016 for those two months. If easily half of the time the Hartford Fire Department could use a pocket knife instead of a rocket launcher, why doesn’t it? First Responders do need to haul a fair amount of equipment, but a pickup, Jeep, or SUV ought to do the trick. Not as badass as stepping out of a fire engine, no doubt, but badass enough. Paint it red. Throw on a few lights. Add a siren. Done.

Along these lines, there are many emergency calls made for things that residents should be handling themselves: getting a taxi/Uber/friend to drive/bus trip to the walk-in clinic. First Responders do not need to be dealing with your gross ingrown toenail. Maybe there is a way to institute fines for blatant misuses of these services.

• Reduce City-supplied Vehicles: For awhile, it seemed like Oprah was running things. And then there was chaos: former DPW director crashed her take-home Ford Escape into a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. Initially, she was charged with driving while intoxicated. The City vehicle was trashed. That same month, two other City employees were involved in an early morning crash, though in their case they were apparently not at fault; still, the individual driving that night was not the person to whom the vehicle was issued. And who can forget the Jared Kupiec SUV incident? In 2013, there was a considerable reduction in take home vehicles, yet the question remains as to why some positions still require 24-hour access to vehicles. Even with justification, why do we settle for less than fuel efficient vehicles for the top positions? A case could be made for Public Works, where hauling materials and going off-road are possibilities, but even then, we’re not convinced there aren’t other ways.

• Close the Windows: If a public building is running its heating or air conditioning, the windows should be closed.

• Get the HVAC and Plumbing Under Control:  If that public building’s mechanical system is so wild that occupants feel the need to open windows for climate control, then get some reputable technician in there to fix the situation! This is not rocket science. While we are at it, call in a good plumber to deal with decade-old hot water leaks in public buildings. File under: maintain what you have in order to save money in the long run.

• Car Tax Dodgers: There are a shit ton of vehicles in the Putnam Street area with Mississippi license plates. Not many southern accents up in here though. You can see a good number of Texas plates too. And Maine. These are on vehicles that are not just in town for a week or so and then heading out of town. They have been here longer than sixty days. We’re seeing a bumper crop of temp plates too.  Please. Stop playing. If we want our roads plowed so we can drive our cars on them, we should be willing to chip in. That means forking over motor vehicle taxes every year. (On the City’s end, making the collection system more efficient would help) The concern here is not so much when someone misses a payment or two, but that there are many residents intentionally dodging the system by not participating.

Perhaps there is some excellent reason for why non-Mississippi and non-Texas residents are posting those plates, but if the contributions can not be made financially, maybe there could be an amnesty program where residents perform x-number of community service hours in lieu of taxes. There is no shortage of litter and graffiti to be removed, flowers and trees to be planted, and in season, snow to be shoveled from sidewalks.

Just as likely, there is no good reason for this intentional evasion. Some enforcement could bring in more money for the City. It looked like enforcement was stepping up in November, but we’re seeing similar abuses ongoing and even more brazen in recent months.

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  Parking Enforcement:  Along the same lines, better enforcement of parking could bring in revenue. Ticketing motorists who are five minutes late returning to their vehicles lacks soul, but bringing the enforcement out when the vehicles are parked in places they just should not friggin be is welcome. Our Learning Curb series can provide some hints, but we’ll spell it out too. Those who drive or park in bicycle lanes are at the top of the list; they are putting themselves where they ought not be, and this puts cyclists in danger. Motorists who park on sidewalks are doing the same thing– placing cars in areas designated for pedestrian use. Vehicles that are parked blocking curb cuts and crosswalks are also creating interference. Bring out the boot as needed to get collection on those fines. Feel like there’s a lack of staff for this? We can recommend probably a half dozen people who would do this, with pleasure, for free if deputized.

• Quality Control: Whether it’s an infrastructure project or taking constituent calls, there needs to be accountability and the willingness to cut loose those who are not adhering to the plan. Do your job. Look at the conditions of sidewalks on Park Street or on the surface of Pratt Street. Are there non-profits receiving grants and breaks that are not following through on what they need to be doing? Are the services provided redundant to those provided by another organization that is doing it better? If we can not have something done right, is it worth doing at all?

• Substitute Crossing Guards: Right now, when one of our crossing guards is out, it is not uncommon for that individual to be replaced by a member of the Hartford Police Department, whose cruiser idles for longer than necessary (i.e. anything beyond one minute seems excessive) with lights on during the morning and afternoon kiddies’ rush hour. Even if those uniformed officers were volunteering their time, there is no doubt that their expert services could be used better elsewhere, nevermind the fuel that is being wasted as those cars idle. Given the number of people who are unemployed or underemployed, and how many of those have a child or grandchild attending school in the neighborhood, it should not be a struggle for the school to compile a list of a dozen possible fill-in crossing guards each year.

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  Tax Churches: (Masjids, synagogues, and any other currently tax-exempt religious organizations too) This might require some work with the State of Connecticut, but it does not hurt to consider imposing a property tax on such facilities, even if at a much reduced rate. There is at least one church that is letting another property it owns completely crumble into the ground. There are several storefront churches that do not maintain their properties well. Another allows one of its properties to sit, completely covered in graffiti. Not artistic graffiti, but gang tags. Applying a tax could light a fire under the organizations that essentially exist as a write-off. This could incentivize organizations that are just phoning it in to get more involved in the community so that they become attractive to enough people to collect on and pay that tax.

Maybe there are really excellent and complicated reasons for why an institution should have this property tax waived? Okay, then do some service in lieu of. Bring your building and grounds up to standards, and not necessarily neighborhood standards, but what would not get you chased out of town if that town happened to be West Hartford or Newington. Get those members to scrub graffiti, remove litter, paint murals, plant flowers, and whatever else it takes to make this building and grounds attractive.

This might mean that the smaller, fly-by-night places have to close or merge. If we can apply business ethics to our schools, then why not with houses of worship? Let those that are doing it well keep shining, and those that are flailing figure something out. Buildings that are no longer needed but are in fine condition can be reused for shelters, schools, libraries, businesses, you name it.

• Pay Freezes for City Council and Assistants: Until these financials are well under control, there is no reason for wages here to go up. Hold off at least two years before even considering increases.

• Stop Tying Up the Police: While some would argue that we should eliminate the police department entirely, the reality is that many residents rely on the HPD, including for assistance in things that are not police matters. Recently someone tied up 911 because a restaurant screwed up her pizza order. I understand how upsetting food mistakes can be, especially when you are in hangry mode, but anyone over five can probably understand that calling the cops is not the right way to proceed. (The right way would be a hostile rant on Yelp following an indignant discussion with the business manager. Not nice, but reasonable.) There are also calls made to the police by parents and schools for matters that the adults in the room need to learn how to manage themselves. Involving the police, courts, and so forth does nobody any favors. Go back and reread those last lines if you were unaware: people often overreact to angry juveniles who are not wielding weapons or actually out of control, causing the police to get involved in incidents that could be diffused. On the other side of this is the practice of bringing in dozens of police for relatively small and completely peaceful protests. When nothing illegal has occurred and nobody is behaving with hostility, why are the police brought in to observe?

• Winterfest and Envisionfest: Is there a reason that these are free for out-of-town residents? There is a fee for First Night. Sure, not everybody buys the wristband or button, but enough do to help offset the costs. With Winterfest, they already had someone to hand out wristbands to those trying to use the ice rink. That same person could collect a buck from out-of-town residents. Forgot your driver’s license, ID, or Hartford Public Library card proving residence? Pay the dollar. It’s not an amount that’s going to break the bank, but it’s a chance for the City to make back some of what it pays for this to work. Of course, that’s all assuming there is any Winterfest or Envisionfest ever again.

• Movies After Dark: This is another “if this is ever happening again” item, but worth saying. Are sedentary activities for our youth a thing we want to put money into? One or two films per season seems reasonable. Five or six are way more than needed. In any case, some exercise component should be included in the evening. This is one of those areas where it should not be too difficult to form a partnership with a corporation, like one of the insurance companies. Let them sponsor the film. Turn what would have been a passive event into a health screening fair, provide nutrition information, host a farmers’ market, and have active things for families to do before sitting still for the next hour and change.

Again, none of these would solve our City’s budget issues, but that does not mean sitting idly by doing nothing is an option. The City should feel welcome to try one, some, or all of these suggestions, and residents — the rest of us — should feel obligated to speak up against nonsense long before what we hold most precious is at risk.