Council Creates Communications, PR Subcommittee

By John Voket

The routine procedure establishing minor committees to the Legislative Council took on added significance February 6, as Chairman William Rodgers announced the formation of a brand new subcommittee charged with studying communication and public relations between the full council and the public.

In addition, Mr Rodgers charged each new council subcommittee with the responsibility of reviewing their respective department’s area of the budget, and if necessary, meeting with representatives of those corresponding departments to fully vet their budgeting practices and priorities.

Saying there is always “room for improvement” in regard to public relations between elected bodies and the constituents they serve, the council chair said after the meeting he hoped the new communications/PR subcommittee would help strike a balance between enhancing information delivery to all town residents, while being mindful of the various legal boundaries the council faces in the attempt.

“It’s important to reiterate that while everyone is typically in favor of improved communications, good intentions can lead the process astray, and even create the appearance of alienating certain groups,” Mr Rodgers said.

He clarified that while the potential to provide an overwhelming amount of information very quickly through electronic means like computers, websites, and e-mails, there are still many residents in the mix who either have little time to dabble in following electronic paper trails, or who are less savvy with computers and may prefer existing or conventional means of receiving or obtaining their information.

“The idea for this new committee is not patterned after anyone else. In fact, I haven’t heard of any other municipality with such a group,” Mr Rodgers told The Bee following the meeting. He said the group is planning to submit a report to the council sometime following the end of the 2008 budget process, possibly as early as June or July.

“We need to be better at finding the proper forums to hear from more residents about what everyone in this town wants and needs,” he said. “And we have to do that being mindful of both technological and traditional means.”

During the last council meeting, Mr Rodgers distributed committee assignments, pointing out that that those assignments reflected almost all the council members’ requests and preferences. Following a brief recess during which the committees elected their chairmen, the council confirmed the following subcommittee chairs: Ordinance, Francis Pennarola; Finance, Joseph DiCandido; Public Safety, Joseph Hemingway; Administration, Jeff Capeci; Education, Patricia Llodra; and Public Works, John Aurelia.

The Public Communications and Relations Committee will be comprise Gary Davis, Christopher Lyddy, and will be chaired by Ms Llodra.

Mr Rodgers said the minor committees of Public Safety, Administration, Education and Public Works were essentially in limbo after the creation of the Board of Finance. But he suggested that since many Legislative Council members were new to the office, that these committees on a trial basis review the line items on the town side of the budget that fall under their purview.

“This is the way it was done before the Board of Finance existed,” Mr Rodgers said.

He confirmed that the committees would then make a recommendation to the full Legislative Council. Mr Rodgers also suggested that in lieu of First Selectman Joseph Borst holding department head budget reviews following his taking office last December, it would be an ideal way for council members to offset those reviews by fully understanding the aspects and needs of various town departments.

The chair told fellow council members that he felt strongly that reviews should be done after the budget has come to the council from the Board of Finance, and not before because the Board of Finance has a different perspective on the budget in its advisory role than the Legislative Council in its policy making and political capacities.

CIP Regulations

Later in the meeting, finance board chair John Kortze reviewed the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) regulations written after the charter revision created the latest configuration in 2002, and adopted by the Legislative Council on September 18, 2002. He clarified that the CIP is a five-year plan and a working document.

Mr Kortze reiterated that while the Board of Finance figures out how to pay for items, the Legislative Council is typically concerned more with the politics and the constituent concerns. He said that the Boards of Selectmen and Education submit their prioritized requests to the Board of Finance, which then prioritizes all of the items.

He reminded council members of the delay this year in the Board of Finance submitting the CIP to the Legislative Council because of a change in administration and a new Board of Selectmen.

Mr Kortze told council members that the Capital and Non-Recurring Account represents five percent of the budget, and the self-imposed goal of the Board of Finance is to keep the debt service for capital spending under ten percent. He said that these guidelines were affirmed directly from the town’s bankers, bond council, and Moody’s Investors Service, the town’s bonding agency.

He said all parties involved in the bonding processes agree that the guidelines in place represent prudent practices. Finance board vice chairman James Gaston added that the Board of Finance has discussed an eight percent debt cap on borrowing as an ultimate goal, and that the ten percent status currently is getting away from what his board originally planned.

Mr Kortze said that the Board of Finance was proceeding this year with a reduction in the overall capital spending to reflect an anticipated 5.25 percent in growth of the budget, acknowledging the current economic climate. He said this should not be interpreted as the amount the budgets of the combined Boards of Selectmen and Education should go up because the 5.25 percent is a blended rate factoring many aspects.

Following Mr Kortze’s presentation, Mr Rodgers said the council would not take action on the capital plan because there were agencies that still wanted to discuss their requests in the CIP.