Tag Archives: HCROCG

First Restructuring Committee Meeting

City of Hartford COO Darrell Hill convened the first meeting of the Hartford Committee on the Restructuring of City Government on the afternoon of Monday, January 5, 2015.

Nine of the twelve committee members attended at least a portion of the meeting. There appeared to be some membership changes since the initial appointments. The gathering focused on background information and the committee’s overall mission.

Mr. Hill noted that the Committee was originally expected to start in July of 2014 and deliver final recommendations in December 2014. He said that he still envisioned a six month effort, though recognized that major recommendations were unlikely to be approved in time for the City budget cycle that is about to begin.

Preliminary documents distributed to committee members estimated a $40.4 million budget gap for the coming fiscal year. Committee member Albert Ilg stated that he recalled a $25 million goal when the resolution establishing the committee was passed in the spring of 2014. Mr. Hill confirmed that the $25 million number was discussed, and said that his understanding was that the committee should try to reduce the budget gap by $25 million as soon as possible. He said that the larger goal was to make the budget sustainable for the next five years without raising taxes.

The conversation touched on the scope of the challenge; it was observed that the City is a complex organization. The background material distributed filled a four inch binder. Committee members will consider forming sub-committees at the next meeting.

Mr. Hill said that the committee must decide if there are services that the City should stop providing. The administration has asked department heads to list and prioritize the services their organizations currently oversee. Councilman Kennedy raised the possibility of identifying additional services that can be shared between the City and the School Board to achieve cost savings.

One budget item that Mr. Hill indicated was not up for debate was the General Fund allocation to education. He stated that the $284 million allocation that the City has made in recent years is a State mandated figure. He directed the committee to focus on the other $268 million in the $552 million General Fund budget.

The committee’s next meeting is expected to be on either 1/15 or 1/16, depending on committee member schedules.

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2015-01-09, 8:30am, Correction: An earlier version of this article identified Albert Ilg as the Acting Finance Director. Mr. Ilg is no longer in that role, which is currently held by Leigh Ann Ralls.

Hartford Creates Committee on Restructuring City Government

In response to projections of increasing General Fund budget deficits for the foreseeable future, the Court of Common Council authorized a Committee to research ways to restructure the municipal government.

The Committee’s formal name is the “Hartford Committee on the Restructuring of City Government,” and it was created on May 20, 2014 via a non-financial resolution associated with the adopted budget.

The Committee will be comprised of a total of twelve members; three Council members, three members of the Administration, three representatives of City employee unions, and three experts in government reorganization. The resolution stated that all the members would be confirmed by City Council by July 1, 2014.

The resolution empowers the Mayor to appoint the three members of the administration and the three government reorganization experts. Mayor Segarra submitted five names to the Court of Common Council for confirmation in advance of the July 14, 2014 Council meeting. He appointed three members of the Administration and two reorganization experts.

  • Darrell Hill, Chief Operating Officer
  • Jose Colon Rivas, Director of Families, Children, Youth and Recreation
  • Albert Ilg, Acting Finance Director
  • William Cibes
  • Thea Montanez

Allan Taylor, Legislative and Legal Advisor to the City Council, confirmed that the City Council’s three seats on the Committee were filled at the August 11, 2014 meeting.

  • Kenneth Kennedy
  • David MacDonald
  • Larry Deutsch

Mr. Taylor also noted that the union representative positions were filled at the same time.

  • Nazario Figureoa, representing the police union
  • Vince Fusco, representing the fire union
  • Marc Nelson, representing all other unions

The resolution identifies seven specific ideas that the Commission may consider, and leaves the door open to other ideas that are brought to the Commission’s attention by essentially anyone.

An interim report is requested by October 30, 2014, and the final report is to be issued with recommendations by December 30, 2014.