City Council

JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH APRIL 8, 2013 The first Public Hearing for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was held April 8, 2013 at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Present: Aldermen Desaulniers, Braddock, Hinchey, Noblick, Bettencourt, Jaskiewicz and Mayor Nystrom. City Manager Bergren and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll were also in attendance. Mayor Nystrom read a proclamation on a Days of Remembrance for the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Mayor Nystrom opened the public hearing. Robin Vilchez, 33 Pratt St, a homeowner, educator and parent, hopes the voters will hold you responsible for the promises you made during the election. Concerned when the school library lacks the appropriate funding causing hours to be cut. Stated the children are lacking important services because of budget cuts. The grant money must be used as stated in the proposal to Stanton school and shouldn’t used in any other area. Felt NFA shouldn’t dictate what Norwich has to pay. Stated the Council is the mouth piece, there must be a change made. Joanne Philbrick, 10 Elm St, stated that there must be a change in our school budget, shouldn’t be twice as much as the City budget. Agreed that educators need to make concessions and funding is lacking. Asked how much is enough to give a quality education? Stated she fully supports the fire and police department but asked why the need for this many police officers and an armored vehicle? Opposed to taking $400,000 from the general fund to offset a portion of tax increase stated its poor management and a poor budget. Hoping there will be revisions. Rodney Bowie, 62 Roosevelt Ave, agreed with previous speaker on many points. Stated education begins at home. What you put into education is what you get back. Felt it was important to pay NFA the requested amount they are a quality education. If taxes keep going up everyone is going to be run out of town. Malachi Brown, 7 Donahue Dr, student Veterans Memorial School 5th grader believed that teachers shouldn’t be cut, felt that small classes would give students a better education. Believes that larger class size could lead to more disruptive students distracting other students from learning. Smaller class size would create better teacher/student relationships. Stated teachers pay should be reflected by their students achievements. Concerned about the safety in the schools with larger class. Abby Dolliver, 6 Deepwood Dr, appreciates the support. Stating the primary goal is working on improving student achievement through the district improvement plan and close the achievement gap. This is being done by improving parent and community involvement throughout our schools. Feels the lack of a good education hurts us all. The Board of Education is asking for a 0% increase in the PreK-8 and a 2.5% increase to cover the NFA costs. Asked to revaluate the recommendation for flat funding and continue to work together to find a solution that serves our community. Jennifer Tyler, Sunny Ave, President of Veterans PTO, secretary the of school government council and active in the community, stated education is important so that the next generation will succeed. We must lead by example. Supports education through funding education by giving students the tools they need to succeed. Disagreed with the City Manager trying to use the grant money to soften the blow, the grant money is for a specific purpose. Keep teaching jobs so classrooms can be kept at a 1 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH APRIL 8, 2013 reasonable size. Concerned that money is being taken away from our children for services (books, technology and other services). Asked that if the school budget can’t be increased don’t cut it. Bella Tyler, student Veterans, 4th grade, stated that school is a place to learn and without the proper funding this is not achievable. Upset that the school budget was not increased because there are too many children in each class. Stated more money is needed for new books, music programs and after school activities and new technology. Felt this will help us to be better prepared for the future. Felt that if the budget is reduced learning will suffer. David Crabb, 47 Prospect St stated that the council needs a Plan B for this budget. Stated someone should evaluate procedure in Norwich. Felt this city is going backward. How many directions is the City going at one time? Stated that if the Board of Education savings from the eliminating of the High School was subtracted from last years budget the increase for this year would be about 2.7% that is .6% more than is in the budget. Stated the Superintendent’s raise isn’t justified. The non-department expenses on page 121 are mushrooming and need examination. Ze Hu, landlord of Norwich properties, 306 Salem Tpke # 22, 36 Woods Dr, 3 Whittington Ave average students in a China class is 60 students and China is ahead of US in math and science. Questioned why salaries are increasing while the casinos are having layoffs. Stated his taxes are over his mortgage payments. Felt there should be a sequester. Pete Szydlo, North 3rd Ave, stated that he doesn’t see the need for spending $270,000 for an armored vehicle in Norwich. Spoke on the Norwich Bulletin article about the condition of the City, 60% of the stores and business are shut down and empty. We can’t continue to spend money with no businesses, we should encourage business to come to Norwich. Spoke that the utilities are up 30-40%, taxes are going up, and asked why we have to teach so many languages in our schools. This is difficult on seniors on a fixed income we are struggling, reduce the budget. Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, disagrees with only two opportunities to address the Council. Felt that the Saturday department hearings opened his eyes to a conscientious effort on the part of the City Manager and the Council to ask questions. Stated he was proud that this is being done. Stated there are many ways the public can be informed and be involved: come to the hearing, watch on television, use the City web site and they can send a message on concerns or question to the City Manager and/or Council. Asked that the budget be put on the front page of the web site. John Blackburn, 15 Alice St, works for the Federal Government, stated the economy is not good and he has not received a cost of living increase in 3 years and that he has to take 14 furlough days without pay. Stated the City is exempt from this. Stated the City budget should be decreased and trimmed. Cant fault the Board of Education budget it is flat funding but NFA shouldn’t be able to dictate what they need for tuition. Shiela Hayes, 228 Central Ave, Thinks consolidating services and stop the duplication will save money. The City should stop the duplication of services and equipment if they want to move forward. We elected the council to be our voice and consolidate. Kathleen Murphy, Boswell Ave, Stated the need to make sure our streets are safe and protected with police and fire protection. Stated it’s important for the City to keep people here and encourage 2 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH APRIL 8, 2013 growth. Felt that Norwich has good schools, police and fire services and needs our support. New technology (both hardware and software) is needed to work smarter. Suggested update and use the older armor vehicle $272,000 is too much to spend. Aaron Daniels, 89 Union St, echoed other speakers, telling the council they have a tough job and applauded the council for the job they are doing. Reminded the council that incomes are not going up as much as the cost of living, be tough to see that the City is doing the right thing. “Fight for what is right for Norwich”. There being no further speakers Mayor Nystrom declared the public hearing closed at 8:50 pm. City Clerk 3