|
|
| Last worked | Time to OCT08 | Next Prior | Time between shifts | 2 shifts worked |
| 16 APR 08 - 1 shift | 6 Mths | 21 FEB 08 4 hrs. | 2 Mths | 8 Mnths. |
| 23 MAR 08 - 1 shift | 7 Mths | 31 DEC 07 - 1 shift | 3 Mths | 10 Mnths. |
| 19 JUL 08 - 1 shift | 3 Mths | 11 JAN 08 - 1 shift | 6 Mths | 9 Mnths. |
| 22 MAR 08 - 1 shift | 7 Mths | 16 MAR 08 - 1 shift | 6 Days | 7 Mnths. |
| 7 SEP 08 - 1 shift | 1 Mth | 6 MAR 08 - 1 shift | 6 Mths | 7 Mnths. |
| 16 JUN 07 - 1 shift | 16 Mths | 10 JUN 07 - 1 shift | 6 Days | 16 Mnths. |
| 24 JUL 05 - 1 shift | 39 Mths | 23 JUL 05 - 1 shift | 1 Day | 39 Mnths. |
| 07 SEP 08 4 hrs. | 1 Mth | 27 MAY 07 - 1 shift | 16 Mths | 17 Mnths. |
*Someone told
me that the City is giving free gas to the company running the dump.
What's up?
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen and Carolyn
Duhaime, Chair, Charter Revision commission.
The City owns several pieces of large equipment exclusive to the
Transfer Station, mainly a large loader and tub grinder for the brush.
These items are still being used to operate the transfer station and are
still being filled with gas from the City, the same as before. Annex
Associates has a few pieces of their own equipment and vehicles onsite
which are not filled by the City. A DPW employee fills the City owned
machines.
Posted November 18, 2008
*Does the city
have wild animal control?
Answer by Salvatore F. Frosceno, Lieutenant - Administrative
Commander, Derby Police Department
In response to this animal nuisance complaint. Our Animal Control
Officer, Joe Klapcik is not a licensed trapper due to that licensing
being a conflict of his employment here with the City of Derby. That
meaning, Klapcik can not trap or remove the animal from the property in
question. In circumstances like this, Klapcik referrers residents to
contact Greg Gramolina @ 736-9444. He is a local, licensed wildlife
trapper who has the statutory authority to trap, remove and more
importantly relocate nuisance wildlife. I’m told, there is a fee
associated with this service and that would have to be worked out
between the homeowner and Gramolina.
Posted November 17, 2008
*What happened
to the Charter questions. I didn't see them on the
ballot?
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen and Carolyn
Duhaime, Chair, Charter Revision commission.
The Board of Aldermen, and the Charter Revision Commission were
working on the deadline as outlined in Section 9-369a (see below.) The
aldermen held a special meeting on September 15th, and the questions
were prepared for submission on September 16th, still within the 45 days
as outlined below. When we were ready to file the questions on the
16th., we were told by the Secretary of the States office it should have
been 60 days, not the 45. Both volunteer boards adhered to the below
information which is found on the Secretary of the States website.
We didn't wish to spend taxpayers money on an elections attorney to
further investigate the issue.
Below is the information on the States website, along with the actual
Statute.
NOVEMBER 4, 2008 STATE ELECTION CALENDAR
The following is a chronological summary of certain requirements for the
2008 Election Year, applicable in the absence of a Special Act to the
contrary. Section references are to the General Statutes of Connecticut.
ALL ENTRIES AND REFERENCES ARE SUBJECT TO LEGISLATIVE REVISION.
Please see:
SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 (Friday) TOWN CLERK QUESTIONS ON BALLOT: Last day for
town clerk to file with Secretary of the State a statement setting forth
the designation of each question to be voted on as it will appear on the
voting machine, the date upon which the submitting action was taken, and
a reference to the law under which such action was taken. (Sec. 9-369a)
If questions are submitted within the period of forty-five days before
election under specific authority of general statutes, such statement
must be filed forthwith upon taking of such action. (Sec. 9-369a)
Sec. 9-369a. Submission of local questions at election
b) When the clerk of the municipality determines that the necessary
action has been taken for submission of the question, _he shall, at
least forty-five days prior to the election_, file in the office of the
Secretary of the State a statement setting forth the designation of the
question as it is to appear on the voting machine ballot labels at the
election, the date upon which the submitting action was taken and the
reference to the law under which the action was taken.
The three questions approved by the Charter Commission and BOA are still valid and will be used in the future. No money was wasted in this process.
Posted November 9, 2008
*When did the
aldermen raise the mayors salary from 45k to 50k?
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen.
The sliding pay scale for the Mayors position was set by the
previous administration with incremental increases after each
consecutive term served.
Posted November 1, 2008
*Has the city
decided to go back to letting residents pay their property taxes on a
quarterly basis vs 2 times a year if they sign an affidavit and if so,
would it be interest free as in the past?
Answer by Phil Robertson, Administrative Assistant City of
Derby.
State Statutes allow for either a one time payment of taxes system,
a two time payment of taxes, or a four time payment of taxes. In 1992
the City of Derby went from a two time system to a four time system. In
their evaluation of the system, in 1994 they changed back to a two
payment system.
The City of Derby is presently creating an additional system which will
be allowed by state statute. The program will allow citizens below a
certain income to pay their taxes 4 times a year as opposed to the two
time payment.
Posted October 28, 2008
*What are the
future plans for the Derby Dump?
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen.
The Derby Board of Aldermen at the last monthly meeting unanimously
voted to extend the Citys contract with Annex Associates for one year to
run the transfer station. The decision was made based on 2 reports
received, one from Annex Associates, and the other from Action
Consulting/Murphy Road Recycling, which is a consulting firm
specializing in recycling station operations, as well as State
Permitting/Safety and Compliance issues. Both reports outlined basically
the same issues. The long term goal is to have a properly run transfer
station which will be profitable to the taxpayers of Derby, and to
become compliant with all state and federal regulations.
Posted October 25, 2008
*I would like to know if it is to late to register, and if not how would I go about doing so?
Answer by Laura Wabno, City/Town Clerk
All mail in voter registration applications must be postmarked no
later than October 21, 2008.
The deadline to register in person at your town hall is October 28, 2008
by 8:00 PM.
This information is taken directly from vote-ez-ct from the Secretary of
the State web page.
Posted October 24, 2008
*Recently I
read an article in the New Haven Register pertaining to the Katherine
Matthies Foundation. The article went on to say that $8000,000 in grants
were distributed to nonprofit organizations throughout the lower
Naugatuck Valley. I was searching the article for grants given to Derby
organizations and to my surprise there were not any granted, at least
ones that are directly connected to City of Derby organizations. Did
Sheila O'Malley, Director of Community Development /
Grant Writer apply for any grants from this foundation? The one grant
that caught my eye was the grant awarded to the Shelton Economic
Development Corporation ($15,000).
Answer by Sheila O'Malley, Director of Economic Development
I
have attached the eligibility criteria and grant focus for the Katherine
Matthies Foundation. The first line of the grant instructions tells you
that you must be a 501(c)3 to apply. That means you must be a non-profit
organization. No cities or towns are eligible to apply. What I did do
and will continue to do is apply on behalf of a non-profit that is
affiliated with the City of Derby, asks for my help and serves the needs
of the citizens of Derby. This past round, I was approached by the Derby
Cultural Commission who is working in collaboration with the Valley Arts
Council on the Derby Day Festival. I helped write the application and it was successful. The Shelton Economic Development Corporation
is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We do not have an economic
development entity in Derby that is a 501(c)3. I am a government agency
and ineligible to apply.
I am happy to share the application with anyone who wishes. Please don't
hesitate to contact me.
Posted September 28, 2008
*What are the
future plans for the Spooner House
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen.
The
Board of Aldermen, at their September 25 meeting, approved a lease to
the Valley Arts Council. They will be using the building as a gallery
and teaching center. They will also be responsible for all insurances,
utilities, and maintenance on the building.
Posted September 27, 2008
*Tell me who's
job is it to do the grounds @ the Witek Park "soccer fields"? IS it the
city's responsibility or a private landscaping company?
Answer by Ken Hughes, President, Board of Aldermen.
The
fields are maintained, (mowing and fertilization) by a private company,
who, during the soccer seasons (spring for Youth Soccer, and fall for
the schools), mow the fields twice a week. The fields are lined by the
Derby Department of Public Works, every Thursday.
Posted September 20, 2008
*Are we
participating with Ansonia for the yearly Hazardous material collection?
I see it is set for September 13th. If so, are the rules the same as
last year?
Answer by Ron Culmo, Director of Public Works.
Yes,
the rules are the same as the last several years for the Hazardous
Materials collection. Ansonia, Derby, and I think Seymour participate in
the collection. Signs have been posted around Derby to inform the
residents of the collection site. There will be people stationed there
checking registrations of the vehicles going in there. We will pay for
the vehicles that are from Derby only. Any further questions please
write back or call the garage. Thanks!
Posted September 8, 2008
*Where exactly is the Middle school being built? My understanding was it was being built in place of the student parking lot. And please explain why there are .3 miles off trees being taken down.
Answer by Keith McLiverty, Chairman of the School Building Committee.
The
new Middle School will be constructed on the land between Nutmeg Avenue
and Chatfield Street, directly across from the High School front
entrance. Their will be a new field and play area on the current parking
lot, which is on the right side as you enter the property.
The final site plans call for replacing the trees that were removed, in
different locations.
Posted September 1, 2008
*How is the response for the new developer search and when does it end?
Answer by Sheila O'Malley, Director of Community Development
We are encouraged by the strong interest on the part of potential
developers in the downtown piece. I am not suprised at the number of
packages that have been picked up because this is a great location with
high visibility and easy accesibility. Request for Qualifications are
due back to the Derby Office of Economic and Community Development on
November 12, 2008.
Posted August 26, 2008
*What is the expected opening date of the new Loweʼs and are they still building a structure for a restaurant on the property?
Answer by Sheila O'Malley, Director of Community Development
The expected opening for Lowes is sometime in December of 2008. They are
building pads for a Dollar Tree store and one other store. They have
been speaking with interested restaurants, but will only build a pad
when they have an agreement in place. They will keep us updated
throughout the coming months.
Posted August 22, 2008
*What is the status of the City owned blighted buildings in the HALO district?
Answer by Sheila O'Malley, Director of Community Development
The City anticipates putting the RFP for demolition specifications
out this week. We just received the environmental abatement package from
Enviromed. The next step will be to put the entire package out to bid.
Posted August 18, 2008
*I thought the dump was going to be open longer?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
The City received a grievance filed by the Department of Public
Works Union, led by President Ron Luneau. They are claiming they should
be paid overtime for the extra hours the dump was open, even though the
Public Works employees were no longer working there. The City conceded
to revert back to the original hours of operation in order to complete
the 90 trial period in order for Annex Associates to do a full
evaluation of the landfill operations. The hours of operation will be
adressed at the end of the 90 day period.
.
Posted August 13, 2008
*I have noticed that the grass at Ryan Field is looking better than ever. What are you doing different?"
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
The opening of Witek Park for soccer has alleviated some of the
playing pressure off of Ryan field. We are trying to regulate the use on
all City fields in order to keep the surfaces playable and in good
condition. This is not always an easy chore as we try to keep all
playing groups happy. The biggest contributing factor to the
deterioration of a natural grass playing surface is compaction.
.
Posted August 6, 2008
*How much over
time per week has the Derby Police Dept. used since July
2007 when the so-called obsolete system of using part-time officers was
put into effect?
Answer by Gene Mascolo, Chief of Police
I have to give a little background before I answer this question.
The Derby Police Department’s full time patrol division used to work
Monday through Friday. As you all know, police patrol is a 24/7
requirement. We need cops on the weekends and we need to replace full
time cops when they take time off! So, under the old system, we had two
major staffing challenges. Staffing weekends, and finding replacements
for cops between Monday and Friday when they took time off.
Many years ago, weekends and replacements came entirely from our
supernumerary or part-time police force. When a cop took time off during
the week, a super replaced the cop. On the weekends, part-time cops
provided all patrol coverage in the city. For many reasons, the super
program deteriorated from about 35 supers at a high down to about the
current staff of 8. This required more and more full-time cops to staff
weekends and to act as replacements. In the last years of the old
staffing system , the super program was not a viable source of manpower.
Each X below represents a full time patrolman scheduled to work patrol.
MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN
X X X X X Super Super
X X X X X Super Super
X X X X X Super Super
X X X X X Super Super
X X X X X Super Super
The standard public safety schedule is to stagger days off so there is
consistent coverage 7 days per week. This spreads the time off challenge
over 7 days. Weekends are now automatically covered by the staggered
schedule. Under this system, our staffing challenge is reduced to
finding replacements. These replacements are now covered by paying
full-time cops overtime.
There are many ways to stagger days off, we in Derby have a 4 days on 2
off schedule.
MON TUES WED THURS FRI SAT SUN
X X X X OFF OFF X
OFF OFF X X X X OFF
X X OFF OFF X X X
X X X X OFF OFF X
OFF OFF X X X X OFF
X X OFF OFF X X X
Not only was the old system broken, it was expensive. Under the old
system, we had to provide salary for full time cops, money for
supernumeraries, money for full time cops to work weekends, and money
for overtime for full time cops to act as replacements. The total amount
for these accounts in today’s dollars would be $1,802,000.
Currently, we have two budget line items that accomplish the same
requirement, 24/7 patrol coverage. Salary for full time cops, and the
overtime account. The total amount required for these two line items is
$1,561,000, about $241,000 cheaper than the old way of doing business.
Now that you have that background, I can put the weekly overtime figure
in perspective. There are many components to our weekly overtime
liability but the majority of it is for replacements. For comparison
sake, my analysis below includes all overtime paid.
Last year, our transition year from the old system to the new system, we
paid out an average of $8,700 overtime per week. Remember, for a good
amount of time during the transition year, the Derby Police Department
was about 9 short. So, last year’s numbers were artificially high.
This year, we anticipate the overtime figure for patrol staffing to be
around $7,500 per week. That looks like a big number, but when you
consider overtime is now doing the work of three separate budget items,
it’s a pretty good deal!
Posted August 4, 2008
*As a fairly new homeowner to the city of Derby, I am not totally familiar with our city ordinances. Is there a city ordinance that mandates dog owners pick up after their pets? If so, what recourse do property owners have when dog owners routinely, without regard to others, allow their dogs to relieve themselves on the property of others without picking up after them?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
There is currently a pooper scooper ordinance in the City of Derby
Code book where the penalties carry a $200 fine, the maximum allowed by
the State. If you are aware of offenders, I would notify the Derby
Police Department.
Posted August 1, 2008
*How often are the streets swept?
Answer by Ron Culmo, Director of Public Works.
The streets are swept after the winter season is over. Then we go
over all the streets one or more times throughout the rest of the season
depending on the manpower of the department. If there are more
demanding issues that we must take care of, we address them first. If
residents call to complain about a problem area we will address it as
soon as possible. We only have at the present time 11 employees in the
department and during the summertime two or three employees are on
vacation during that period. We try not to allow vacations during the
winter months. With the employees we have, we were committing two men
to the transfer facility, men taking care of the parks, fields, greens,
& City properties, and the men that maintain the roads, (bulk, brush,
leaves, signs, crosswalks, assisting P.D., etc.). Like I said before,
if there are any problem area's, we ask residents to please call the
garage and as soon as people are available we will address the problems.
Posted July 29, 2008
*Are we still building the new Middle School?
Answer by Keith McLiverty, Chairman of the School Building Committee.
The
derby middle school building committee is moving forward in accordance
with the construction schedule.
Design is complete, the state has approved the plans and specifications,
and the construction bids are on the street.
The water main that will be supporting the middle school is being
installed. On july 29th and july 30th bids for the site work and
construction will be submitted to the city.
The plan as of today, is to start site work by the end of august. The
bid prices with dictate the actual date.
*I heard that the State is now running the Derby dump. Is this true?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
At the last Board of Aldermen meeting, we motioned and voted to
approve a private company to run a 90 day trial on the Derby dump. This
trial period will not cost the City a dime. This has several benefits
for the City. First and foremost, it will free up 2 more employees to
work "on the street" in the Public Works Department. Previously, there
were 2 employees stationed at the dump. Secondly, the dump will now have
extended hours, that is 7am to 5pm during the weekday, and 8am to 2pm on
Saturdays. The fee schedule will remain the same, that is no charge for
private Derby resident garbage, but contractors and certain items will
carry a charge, as they always have. Lastly, this company will take care
of all the State reporting duties which were currently lapsing under the
old system. Its a win win for the City with no negative consequences.
Update (08/08/2008) - Due to the concerns of the union membership the dump will now close at 3 during the week and at 12 on Saturdays.
Click here for poll on city dump operations
*I Can't Help but to ask that is $220,000. For a roof job a lot of$$$.. That sound like a real lot of Money for a roof can this be justified?
Answer by Gerald D. Narowski, Deputy Chief of Police
The city hired an engineering firm to evaluate the roof, write the
bid specifications, and perform the project management for the roof
replacement. The firm examined the roof and the only option was an
entire roof replacement, a repair or overlay roof were not viable
options. The roof replacement was estimated to cost nearly $400,000.00.
The project was put out to competitive bid and the city received 6 bids
ranging from $189,000.00 - $385,000.00. These prices do not include the
engineering firm's project fees. The low bidder actually erred in his
calculations and under bid the project. He agreed to complete the
project as bid, saving the city approximately $20,000.00. Although the
cost of materials has risen exponentially, it appears that contractors
are willing to lower their profits to keep their employees working in
this sluggish economy. The project was awarded to the low bidder and is
estimated to start within the next couple of weeks.
*Is it true
that the Officers of the Derby Police Department have not had any
training since Dec. 07 because there was no money in the budget for this
very necessary training?
Answer by Gene Mascolo, Chief of Police
The backbone to DPD's training program is an officer's individual
state certification. This requires 60 hours training per officer or
1,860 total man hours over a 3 year period. Currently, all DPD officers
are certified or are on track to be certified before their certification
expires.
Our training program has many facets in addition to certification training. Among other things, It consists of roll call training, monthly in-house training, and in-service training conducted outside the department.
We significantly reduced our elective training strategy in the 2007-2008 budget year to facilitate the inevitable transition to a typical public safety schedule in patrol. Despite this, in the first half of budget year 2007-2008 (JUL 2007 to DEC 2007) , we conducted 5,380 man hours of in house training, sent 22 officers to training outside the department and conducted 8.75 hours of roll call training. In the last 6 months of budget year 2007-2008, which is from DEC 2007 to JUN 2008, we conducted 240 man hours of in-service training, sent 39 officers to training outside the department and conducted 8.75 hours of roll call training.
Despite the adjustment over our typical training year, our training program remained robust and not one of our officer's certification is in danger because of this! On the contrary, if you do the math, in the adjusted year (2007-2008) we trained around 5,620 man hours in house alone! That is 3,750 man hours more than is required for all 3 years of certification!
The new budget year began on 1 JUL 08 and we anticipate a return to our typical training rhythms. We will be conducting our yearly internal command level training conference in the JUL/AUG timeframe to lay out our training program for the current budget year. We have already sent 2 officers to a 4 day (8 hrs a day) bike patrol class at Bridgeport PD, and we will be conducting the first phase of our yearly firearms training and will be resuming or monthly in house training in SEP.
Additionally, Roll Call training will be conducted routinely throughout the year. Hopefully, you can see, we are already on track to return to our traditional yearly training program.
Few department's train like DPD and despite the adjustments in budget year 2007-2008, DPD police officers are and will remain some of the best trained officers anywhere!
*Does the City
of Derby use the City attorney for the mediation with the developer?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
No, the Board of Aldermen approved the hiring of an outside firm to
handle the legal issues with the Developer.
*What was the
offer the City made at the developer mediation?
Answer by Mayor Anthony Staffieri and Sheila O'Malley, Economic Development Director.
This was a press release that you can read by clicking here.
*The City's
School Board was recently criticized in the newspaper for wasting about
one hundred thousand dollars on insurance expenses. The newspaper story
alleged that a contract negotiated by former Superintendant Robinson was
at least partly to blame. What's the real story here and has anything
been done ?
Answer by Phil Robertson, Administrative Assistant City of
Derby.
When you have reached a group above the number of 200 there are
certain discounts Anthem offers. Those discounts are based upon sharing
of risk, the larger the group, the more sharing of that risk.
The city also wished to save on commissions for the brokers. If the city
and school board were to join under one broker, the negotiated
commissions would be lower.
The Mayor and the new superintendent are talking and hopefully there
will be agreement to the savings of the taxpayers. We will provide an
update once a resolution is reached.
*Is the City
really cutting spending?
Answer by Phil Robertson, Administrative Assistant City of
Derby.
The mayor is always looking for ways to cut costs. For example, our
liability insurance cost less today than it did three years ago due to
negotiating premiums. We have changed the employee health insurance plan
to one which is better but cheaper and we have aggressively sought State
Grants to pay for needed work but not at the taxpayers expense. The
State sponsored Senior Center renovations is an example of this
aggressive grant seeking style which we pursue.
*Is it true
that the City of Derby is "broke?
Answer by Alan Schlesinger, Finance Director City of
Derby.
Absolutely not. The City usually has 4-8 million dollars in its cash
account during the fiscal year depending on the timing of tax receipts,
grants and cash draw downs. The City also has millions in other assets.
It is still early, but I believe that we ended the 2008 fiscal year with
about a $1 million surplus. As you know, we finished last year with a
$1.3 million deficit due to the failure of the preferred developer's
downtown reimbursement. These funds along with previous investments in
the Downtown are anticipated to be reimbursed by the new Preferred
Developer. The fund balance should then be restored to a new high of
over $5 million, a very healthy figure. At the present time the City is
in a strong financial position, with adequate reserves and cash flows.
I estimate that the fund balance at present is about $3 million or approximately 8.5% of the general fund budget, a healthy and respectable figure. A figure that is actually on the high side in comparison with the last 25 years of the City's financial history.
*What is the
process the blight officers follow when given a complaint?
Answer by Joe Moore and Andy Cota, Blight Officers, City of
Derby.
When we receive a complaint about blight we usually go to the area in
question and take a look at the property. If there is an issue we
photograph the property and take notes of what we observe. In most of
the cases we write a courtesy letter to the owner of the property that
points out the issues and we ask for voluntary compliance. The Mayor,
the Building Official and the Facilities Inspectors want to work with
the property owner in an informal manner first if possible. The first
letter is sent regular mail and if there is no response the Inspectors
go to the site about two or three weeks after the first letter and
recheck it. Sometimes the problem is resolved and sometimes it is not.
If no contact is made then the Facilities Inspectors send a second
letter, Registered Mail, to the owner of the property in which the
property owner is advised that he/she has thirty days to rectify the
blight. At this time the property owner also receives a copy of the
Blight Ordinance. If there is no reply,
no contact or no compliance within the thirty days the Facilities
Inspector recheck the property
and if it is still blighted, the inspectors make a recommendation to the
Building Inspector to have the property blighted by the Board of
Aldermen. If during this period the property owner is working toward
compliance and there are circumstances that go beyond the thirty days
the time line is extended. If these time lines are not met within a
reasonable period of time the next step is taken. When the property
owner fails or refuses to comply with the ordinance then the Board of
Aldermen places the property on the blight list. There is an appeal
process that the property owner can request. Once the property is on
the list the penalty of $100 per day is assessed on the property
retroactive to the date the property was officially designated
blighted.
There are times when contact with the property owner/s is very difficult
and consequently the steps are still followed including the blight
designation.
The process is somewhat different for the unregistered/inoperable motor
vehicles on private property. With many of the blight issues there are
also unregistered/inoperable vehicles included so the process takes the
same course. However, if it is vehicles only then a courtesy letter,
followed by a registered letter is sent and then an infraction of $25
per vehicle can be assessed. If no compliance after ten days a second
infraction can be issued and the fine is multiplied times ten for each
vehicle and the vehicle can be towed.
*Will the
elderly housing planned for the 75 acre former Hine property still have
an access road onto Sodom Lane? The previous plan for an industrial park
did and I am wondering if this is still the case.
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
Yes, there will still be an entrance proposed less than 100' into
Sodom Lane, but there also has been a second entrance proposed on
Baldwin Road on the Woodbridge side. The traffic studies produced by
United Methodists similar facilities produced 60 cars per hour during
peak periods, which is a very minimal impact when compared to the
industrial park, especially when these vehicles are now split
between 2 proposed access points/entrances.
*Why is the ONLY "outhouse" unit at the entrance to the soccer fields and not up at the soccer fields?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
Since the opening of the Witek Park fields, the City has been
fighting constant vandalism to the portable toilet (broken doors, being
tipped over, rolled down the hill, etc). The most recent, and most
damaging, was when one was burnt to the ground. In order to stop
consistently wasting the taxpayers money on service calls 3 to 4 times a
week, the toilet was moved closer to the entrance, and within view of
the road, with the hopes the vandalism would cease. This was a decision
made by the Board of Aldermen, Parks and Rec Department and the Derby
Public Works department collectively.
*When will all the new bold large print street signs be erected thru out the city of Derby?
Answer by Ron Culmo, Director of Public Works.
We just got 4 part time employees for a couple of months and
starting next week I am assigning one of my men with a part timer to
install the
rest of the signs. Hopefully it will start next Monday. The East Side
of town is done and this side will start at that time. Hopefully next
week we will be starting on this issue.
*How often do you meet with the City Department heads?
Answer by Tony Staffieri, mayor.
I meet with the 4 department heads, the police chief, superintendent
of schools, director of public works and the fire chief every Monday 11
am.
*How was the Tax Board able to keep increases under 1 mil considering the rise in energy and fuel costs?
Answer by Carolyn Duhaime, Chair Person, Derby Board of Apportionment
and Taxation
Before each department head submitted their budget request, they
received a memo from the tax board stressing that the average city
taxpayer is living in uncertain times regarding employment, and being
able to make ends meet. Therefore it was more essential than ever
before for all departments to limit spending. In addition to a budget
request, each department was required to submit a cut-list of items that
although desired, were not absolutely necessary to the successful
function of that department. The tax board used the information
provided in the cut-lists to help in keeping cost increases minimal
while still having city services provided to the taxpayers. While most
of the departments complied, unfortunately a few departments did
not provide a cut-list, and members of the tax board had to make some
cuts to the best of their ability without the guidance of a
cut-list. Derby operates on a zero-based budget system - each fiscal
year, a department must start a budget request starting at zero
dollars. Derby does not rely on carry-over figures from a previous year
to use as a baseline before any arbitrary increases. The zero-based
budget process is the most transparent process, and is the most
effective in showing if a line-item is underfunded, overfunded, or
sufficiently funded. Accountability is another benefit of the
zero-based budget system.
Once the budget requests and cut-lists were received, the tax board held
numerous workshops during which it reviewed EACH line item of EVERY
department. If the board had any questions or required further
information, workshops included the respective department heads.
While a very time-consuming process, it proved to be beneficial to the
City and the taxpayers. By going through each item so thoroughly, the
tax board was able to discover which items had been overfunded in the
past and in some line-items there were significant amounts of unspent
funds with less than one month left in the fiscal year. Those unspent
funds were taken into consideration when a budget amount was proposed
and approved for the respective departments. Also, the City recently
joined an energy consortium and we are benefitting from lower fuel costs
associated with that.
*What is the City doing to try and save money on rising utility costs?
Answer by Ken Hughes, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
Most recently, City hall was revamped with new energy saving light
fixtures, (as was the Parking Garage and the Police Department). as well
as automatic on/off switches. The Board of Aldermen also signed an
electrical consortium saving the city over 45K per year in electrical
costs alone. GPS systems were installed in Department of Public Works
vehicles in order to realize fuel efficiencies, and a new fuel dispenser
system was installed at the DPW complex to monitor fuel usage for City
owned vehicles
*What value does the office of Economic Development/Grants Administration bring to Derby?
Answer by Sheila O'Malley, Economic Development
Director
Because of the length of this response, we are linking to it.
Click here to see the answer.
*Are all City employees given cell phones?
Answer by Philip Robertson, Administrative Assistant
All City hall employees, no. The City pays for 38 Nextel power source
phones. Phone holders include some of the administration (mayor,
assistant, etc), the Police Department, Public Works, Water Pollution
Control Authority, and several from the Fire Department.
*What
is the employee structure in the Mayors' office?
Answer by Ken Huges, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
The mayors' office currently has an administrative assistant and a
secretary. The Chief of Staff position was eliminated in 2005.
* Concerning the new parking meters on Elizabeth St., I have never seen a city that doesn't put a placard on the meter stating days and hours of operation. What are they? If it is not stated on the parking meter and I get a ticket, can I fight it for that reason? Also what is with the parking spot in front of city hall at the beginning of Elizabeth St, that has both a handicapped only sign and a meter? Does a handicapped person have to display the placard and pay too?
Answer by Derby Municipal Parking Authority.
1. Information plaques are on order for our meters and will read as
follows: "Monday-Friday 9a.m. to 5 p.m." Any violation written before or
after these times will be voided by the authority.
2. Handicap permit holders are required to pay a meter or pay station.
http://www.ct.gov/dmv/cwp/view.asp?a=842&Q=245468&dmvPNavCtr=|#30302
The above is the website for the State of CT.
Update:Meter enforcement hours stickers were added to the meters by the Derby Parking Authority on July 8, 2008. |
*When will the residents be moved from the Spooner House to their new location in Shelton? Also what will this building on Caroline St. be used for?
Answer by Ken Huges, Chairman of the Board of Aldermen.
The City has not been given a concrete timeframe yet when speaking
with those in charge of the project, only to say towards the end of this
year. There has not been any discussions yet on the proposed uses for
the building. We are always open to suggestions.
*Is the Derby Police
Department Understaffed?
Answer by Gene Mascolo, Chief of Police.
There are a few ways to look at staffing at DPD. I will focus on
patrol road strength since that is the focus of most questions. First,
some background. This fiscal year was one of transition for DPD. We
transitioned from an obsolete, inefficient staffing system that relied
on part time policeman to one of primarily full time officers. During
the transition, we ran at the contractual minimum staffing of three
policeman on the road more than we would have liked. Minimum staffing is
adequate by most if not all measures used in our business. However,
after the first of the fiscal year (JUL 1st) , now that we have filled
most vacancies in the department, often, we will be running with 4
officers on the road. This will provide a patrol car on the east side of
town, a patrol car on the west side of town, a working road
supervisor and either a roving patrol car or a walking or bike officer
downtown.
*How many people work in the tax collectors department, and what are their duties?
Answer by
Cinda Buchter the City's Tax
Collector.
There are 2 full time people in the Tax office, myself
as collector, and 1 full time clerk. The full time WPCA employee also
works in our physical office but is not considered a tax office
employee. We do cover for each other when requests are made for
information and work together to make sure the offices are covered for
information requested and payments even if we are out due to sick days
or vacation.
The Clerk in the tax office is responsible for working with the public,
looking up and giving tax information, processing payments both in
person and received thru the mail. She participates in sending out
delinquent statements and demands. She also does some of the file
maintenance, change of addresses, new owners, bank coding, mail return
coding, etc. When I am not here she balances batches of payments taken
and makes deposits.
The Tax Collector does all of the above, plus works individually with
delinquent tax payers, works with the banks for escrow accounts,
processes regular payments, electronic payments, Fireman Abatements,
Overpayments, and Refunds. All batches of payments are balanced and
deposited into the General Fund with reports printed for the Tax Office
and Treasurer. The Tax Collector also runs monthly reports to balance
all deposits, refunds and lawful adjustments made by the assessor's
office for each month as well as year end reports. Rate books are run
before the bills are printed and the file is balanced to the Assessor's
file. When balanced the bills are printed and 10,000 MV bills are gone
thru by the collector and clerk to pull all multiple bills to be mailed
together. Real Estate bills are printed and all escrowed accounts are
sent to the requesting banks. When all bills are printed and reviewed
they are sent to be mailed. All tax bills that are returned are reviewed
for a current address and re-mailed or coded and filed if unable to
locate.
The Tax Collector uses the DMV access file to try and
locate delinquent tax payers with returned mail. After the collection
period reports are run of taxes not paid and delinquent statements are
printed and mailed. Reports of MV delinquents of more than the current
Grand List are run and Demands are mailed out to a portion of the list
monthly. Unanswered Demands are then put into Tax Warrants to be
collected by a State Marshal and are reviewed with him monthly. A list
of Real Estate delinquents are run and reviewed and individual letters
are sent prior to any outside collection. Those that do not respond are
reviewed with the Town Attorney for collection. Personal Property
delinquents are sent statements, if not paid then Demand, and if not
paid then they become Tax Warrants to be collected by the State Marshal.
In December the motor vehicle supplemental list is balanced, 2000 bills
printed and mailed then that file starts the same process of delinquent
collection. Final Posted Rate Books are printed annually for all
activity regarding payments, adjustments and refunds for the prior grand
list year. The Tax Office prepares and mails approximately 17,000 bills
and over 4,000 collection letters per year. Our current collection rate
of the 2006 Grand List is approximately 96.9%.
That's pretty much the basics...as with any job there are always
miscellaneous activities that aren't listed above such as reviewing
State Statues to make sure we are in compliance with all laws governing
the Tax Office. I think that goes without saying!
