Three New Britain City Council committees will hold meetings this week on different parts of the city budget proposed by Republican Mayor Erin Stewart.
Stewart has proposed that the city operating allocation to New Britain schools should receive $0 of new funding in the city budget year that starts July 1, 2020 and ends on June 30, 2021. Meanwhile, she appears to be proposing a $3 million increase in the City Hall budget.
City ordinances (local laws) say that, when the Council receives the mayor’s proposed budget, it, “shall refer, to each council subject matter committee, the portions of said budget pertaining to the boards, commissions, departments, agencies and authorities of the city within the cognizance of such committee.”
Each of these three committees, according to city ordinances, “review its assigned portion of the mayor’s proposed budget and shall report it back to the full council, together with its proposed amendments, within forty-five (45) days.”
The three Council “subject matter committees” include,
- “The committee on administration, finance and law, with cognizance and jurisdiction over all matters related to and the budgets of the mayor’s office, the common council office, the office of the corporation counsel, the office of the assessor, the board of assessment appeals, the office of the finance director, the office of the personnel director, the town and city clerk, the office of the registrars of voters, the office of the tax collector, affirmative action, human rights and opportunities, auditing, bonding, claims against the city and compensation of elected officials.”
- “The committee on public works and infrastructure, education, human services, parks and recreation, health and public safety, with cognizance and jurisdiction over all matters related to and the budgets of the department of public works, capital equipment, the city capital improvement budget, water department, human services, education, the board of education, the public library, veterans’ services, youth services, persons with disabilities and the department of parks and recreation, police department, the fire department (except fire code enforcement), civil preparedness, telecommunications, emergency medical services, emergency dispatch and public health services.” This committee is commonly called the, “Consolidated Committee.”
- “The committee on planning, zoning and housing, with cognizance and jurisdiction over all matters related to and the budgets of the department of municipal development, the office of the city department of property management; the commission on community and neighborhood development, city planning and zoning, the city plan commission, neighborhood quality of life, the municipal economic development authority, economic development, overseeing the purchase, sale and lease of all city owned real estate property; and overseeing the legislation of fire, building and housing zoning code, the city’s anti-blight and environmental health ordinances.
The Planning, Zoning and Housing Committee will meet tonight, May 5, 2020, at 7:00pm.
The Administration, Finance and Law Committee will meet tomorrow, May 6th, at 7:00pm.
The Consolidated Committee will meet Thursday, May 7th, at 7:00pm.
The notices for the meetings do not refer to call-in information to listen to the meeting, but, in past meetings and hearings, information on how to call into the meeting has been posted on the Council’s meetings web page.
An “eComment” web page has also been posted for tonight’s Planning, Zoning and Housing Committee meeting, with buttons inviting people to write their comments on different items on the meeting’s agenda.
That web page has says, “Tell us what’s on your mind. Your comments and information will become part of the official public record. If you do not want your personal information included in the official record, do not complete that field.” It says that it, “Closes for comment May 05, 2020, at 7:00pm.”
