While this information is located in numerous different places we are posting it here so that there is a singular place to have it.
Town of Wallingford Contacts 2014 - 2015.
This information includes all the phone numbers, email addresses, and postal mail information for the Mayor’s office, Town Council, and the Board of Education.
As published in the Record Journal Friday July 12, 2013
By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz
WALLINGFORD — Candidates for mayor, Town Council and Board of Education will be endorsed at party caucuses Wednesday night.
At 7 p.m., the Democratic Town Committee will meet on the second floor of 350 Center St, said committee Chairman Vinnie Avallone. The Republican Town Committee will meet at the same time at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School on Pond Hill Road, said Chairman Bob Prentice.
Six Democrats, including two incumbents — Nick Economopoulos and John Sullivan — have announced that they are running for the council next term, Avallone said. Jason Zandri will give up his council seat to run for mayor. Other council candidates include former councilor and mayoral candidate Vinnie Testa, as well as Debbie Reynolds, Dana Camp and Larry Russo. Avallone said the four current Democrats on the Board of Education will seek endorsement, as will newcomer Patricia Mills.
Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., a Republican, has announced he will seek re-election. Prentice said Republicans will end up running seven candidates for Town Council. With the exception of Rosemary Rascati, who has announced she will not seek reelection, all the incumbents will run. In addition, former Councilor Ray Rys and current Board of Education member Christine Mansfield will be seeking council seats, Prentice said. The four Republican Board of Education incumbents, minus Mansfield, will seek re-election, he said, adding that the committee is still looking to add two candidates to the Board of Education ticket.
“It’s not official till the caucus is over,” Prentice said.
On the Republican side, a single ballot is normally cast to endorse the entire slate of candidates during the caucus, Prentice said.
Since only six Democrats are seeking council seats, that can happen, on the Democratic side as well, Avallone said. The alternative would be for a nomination and vote for each candidate, he added.
Candidates must file financial registration with the town clerk’s office by 4 p.m. July 29, said Town Clerk Barbara Thompson. This paperwork includes reports on campaign finances. Candidates must file with the office “even if they’re not going to raise money,” Thompson said. If they don’t file in time, they will be subject to a $100 fine, she said.
As of Thursday, Zandri, Dickinson, Camp and Rys have filed paperwork with the office. Zandri is the only candidate to have raised money for his campaign so far.
Zandri has raised $14,335, with $10,107 still unspent. According to paperwork filed with the town clerk’s office, Zandri has spent his campaign money on office supplies. He also spent $200 on three occasions for the services of What’s Next, a political consulting firm based in Wethersfield. Zandri said the firm is developing walking routes so he can efficiently campaign door-to-door, because “you need to knock on the right door,” he said. Zandri also spent $980 in campaign money for the services of The Vinci Group, a Manchester consulting firm that organizes fundraisers, Zandri said, including the July 24 event at Zandri’s Stillwood Inn on South Colony Road. The event will be hosted by local state Reps. Mary Mushinsky and Mary Fritz. Lt Gov. Nancy Wyman will be a special guest at the event, Zandri said.
“It’s generating a lot of interest at the state level, too,” Avallone said of Zandri’s campaign. “There’s a lot of energy.”
Zandri said he has already begun his door-to-door campaigning. Support so far has been positive, he said, with the only negative being that people are upset he won’t be a town councilor anymore.
Dickinson said he will look to begin fundraising in the coming weeks.
“It’s putting the plans together,” he said. “I can’t do a lot of door-to-door, but I try to do some.”
A lot of the work is behind the scenes putting literature and mailings together.
“That’s what most of the campaign money goes into,” he said, adding that there is a lot of assistance from the Republican Town Committee, as well as non-committee members in town.
Prentice said Dickinson’s run for mayor is “usually a pretty simple campaign.”
“He never takes any credit for anything, he said. “That’s what kills me.”
Both mayoral candidates said they support their parties’ Town Council and Board of Education candidates, and view them as teammates in the race for mayor.
Thompson said Prentice and Avallone must file their certificate of endorsement with her office by July 24. This paperwork officially lists whom each party endorses. Throughout the state, all candidates for election must be endorsed between July 16 and July 23.
As published in the Record Journal Sunday May 5, 2013
EDITORIAL
Kevin Markowski’s above-placed editorial cartoon hits the nail on the head (or, if you prefer, delivers “shattering” news).
Echoing Wednesday’s news story (R-J, 5-1), Wallingford Town Council voted unanimously to increase its annual mayoral salary by $12,000 at a budget workshop, April 30. In Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s $147.94 million budget proposal for the next fiscal year, he perpetuated his salary at a figure that has been static since at least 2002: namely, $73,140.
If this increase comes to full fruition (pending final approval hurdles while surviving potential flaming budgetary veto hoops), Wallingford’s mayor would eventually be paid $85,140 annually. Whether Dickinson wants it or not doesn’t change the fact that he deserves salary improvement. Moreover, the chief administrative post itself is worthy of a salary realignment.
In our editorial of April 8, Dickinson received a nod for reserve through self-denial. His is a disciplined, unselfish response to budgeting during adverse economic fiscal seasons.
Still, compensation of $85,140 (though a distinct betterment) keeps Wallingford in a stubbornly noncompetitive zone among municipal peers. Whether in the fullness of time or more immediately, salary adjustments should be made to keep remuneration commensurate with posts held. Whether city manager, town manager or, say,superintendent of schools, municipal salaries would do well to have reasonable basis of comparison.
Thus, it’s gratifying that councilors would also like to see the mayor’s pay incrementally increased to about $130,000 over time.
Why?
We’ve noted that the overarching consideration extends to a time when this mayor is no longer officeholder, whether by his choice or future election results. To attract top quality candidates, Wallingford may need to up its ante by around $60,000 annually, give or take. An eventual new chief executive must not be “compared” in a pejorative light of requisite salary differential (i.e. what “used to be acceptable” vs. what no longer cuts fiscal mustard).
It’s said that comparisons are odious but inevitable. Here, then, are a sobering few: As of 2011, the following annual salaries were paid — Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback, $149,000; Meriden City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior, $139,000; Michael Milone, Cheshire Town Manager, $131,350.
At this budget-planning juncture, Wallingford seems poised to advance in the right direction, even if by relative baby steps vis-à-vis municipal apples-for-apples salaried counterparts. Paying the piper for a quality tune represents prudent investment in the town’s future.
As published in the Record Journal Friday May 3, 2013
By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz
WALLINGFORD — While town councilors successfully voted to increase the mayor’s salary Tuesday night, some believe the position’s salary still needs to be increased more in coming years.
A unanimous vote cast by the Town Council Tuesday night brought the mayor’s annual pay to $85,140. Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., a Republican, kept his salary at$73,140 in his proposed budget for the next fiscal year — a figure that has not changed in about 12 years.
Councilors voted to increase the mayor’s salary by $12,000. The increase will go into effect after Dickinson’s current term ends because, under the Town Charter, an incumbent mayor’s compensation cannot be changed during his or her term.
Councilors would like to see the mayor’s pay incrementally increased to about $130,000,which they see as more in line with similar positions in similar municipalities. Democrats argue that they need to be able to attract qualified candidates to run against Dickinson, while Republicans want to attract qualified candidates once Dickinson decides to step down.
“I’m content with what occurred if the plan is to continue to do so until it’s brought up to a reasonable number,” Town Councilor Jason Zandri, a Democrat, said Thursday. Zandri is a candidate in the upcoming mayoral race. Dickinson has yet to announce his candidacy.
Zandri said the “smart way to do it” would be to gradually raise the mayor’s salary over the next four or five terms. A term lasts two years. A smart salary range for the position is between $135,000 and $140,000, Zandri said.
As of 2011, Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback was paid $149,000 per year; Meriden City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior was paid $139,000 annually and Cheshire Town Manager Michael Milone earned $131,350 per year.
Zandri said the Town Council is hampered by the fact that past councils haven’t voted to change the mayor’s salary over the previous 12 years.
Town Council Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, a Republican, said he had a brief conversation with Dickinson urging him to accept the raise.
“We’d like to gradually bring it to more-competitive pay,” Cervoni said.
Dickinson has argued that accepting raises sets a bad example. Cervoni said Dickinson acknowledged that the raise wasn’t for him personally, but for the position. Reached by phone on Thursday, Dickinson declined to comment.
With leaders in similar-size towns being paid almost twice as much as Dickinson, Town Councilor Tom Laffin, a Republican, said, “We’ve got to do something to incrementally raise the mayor’s salary.”
Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, a Republican, said that the mayor’s salary needs to be increased incrementally instead of all at once because “we don’t want a shock to the system.”
“The position deserves a raise,” Fishbein said, adding that in 2004 the Town Council attempted to raise the mayor’s pay but Dickinson vetoed the budget, voiding the increase.
PUBLIC HEARING
on the
FY 2013 – 2014 BUDGET
AGENDA
1. Pledge of Allegiance
2. Roll Call
3. PUBLIC HEARING
Ambulance/EMS Transport Fund
Animal Control
Board of Assessment Appeals
Board of Education
Board of Ethics
Board of Selectmen
Building Department
Cafeteria
Capital Appropriations Reserve
Capital and Non-Recurring
Capital and Non-Recurring Fund
Civil Preparedness
Conservation Commission
Contingency Account
Debt Services
Economic Development Commission
Employee Insurance and Other Benefits
Engineering Department
Finance Department
Fire Department
Fire Marshal
Government TV
Health Department
Inland Wetlands
Insurance-Property & Casualty
Law Department
Library
Mayor
Parks and Recreation
Pension Fund
Personnel, Pensions, & Risk Management
Planning & Zoning
Police Department
Probate Court
Program Planning
Public Utilities Commission
Public Works Department
Registrars of Voters
Six-Year Capital
Social Services Contributions
Town Council
Town Clerk
Utilities –Electric, Water & Sewer Divisions
Veterans Service Center
Youth & Social Services Bureau
Zoning Board of Appeals
Editorial as published in the Record Journal Monday April 8, 2013
“I won’t stop saying ‘no’ until I’m the lowest-paid employee in the town.”
Thus quips editorial cartoonist Kevin Markowski in his caption atop this page vis-à-vis Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s decision to (yet again) forgo a salary increase. It’s a practice perpetuated since at least 2002, whereby he’s kept a steady salary of $73,140.
Markowski’s tongue-in cheek humor reflects a concern among some Wallingford residents and town officials that perpetuating a manifestly low chief executive’s salary year after year produces something of a double-edged sword: On the one hand, it gleams when sparkling in the sunlight of Dickinson’s disciplined determination to set, by way of personal example, restraints on municipal spending during what he refers to as “bad times.”
On the other metaphorical hand, it presents a blunted, non-cutting competitive edge among mayoral/manager peers in other Connecticut towns and cities. In our April 4 news story, for examples, we reported that, as of 2011, the following annual salaries were paid: Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback, $149,000; Meriden City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior, $139,000; Michael Milone, Cheshire Town Manager, $131,350.
Though some question Dickinson’s non-progressive salary in relation to other Wallingford top municipal staff (including, say, that of the Superintendent of Schools), the overarching consideration extends to a time when this mayor is no longer office-holder, whether by his choice or future election results. To attract top quality candidates, Wallingford will necessarily have to up the ante by around $60,000 annually, give or take.
When that fullness of time naturally occurs, one hopes that the new chief executive will not be “compared” in a pejorative light of requisite salary differentials but on the merits of his or her leadership abilities.
For his part, Mayor Dickinson deserves a nod for reserve through self-denial. Taxpayers should bear in mind, however, that the above-mentioned two-edged sword will inevitably be held to the standard of competitive daylight.
As published in the Record Journal on Thursday April 4, 2013
Mayor’s aide to earn more in 2013-14 spending plan
By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz
WALLINGFORD - Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. will once again forgo a salary increase and some town councilors are concerned his decision could hurt the town in the long run.
In Dickinson’s proposed $147.94 million budget for the next fiscal year, his salary will remain at the figure he’s taken home since at least 2002 — $73,140. Dickinson, a Republican, has yet to confirm whether he will seek re-election this year.
“I think these are bad times,” Dickinson said, adding that if elected officials take raises, it adds to the argument of bargaining units seeking pay increases. “As a general rule, the private sector has had declining raises while the government is increasing wages. That can be troublesome.”
According to the Town Charter, compensation cannot be changed during the term of the incumbent mayor. Since Dickinson’s term ends after this year, the salary for the next term can be set now.
Democratic Town Councilor Jason Zandri, who is running for mayor, pointed out that under Dickinson’s proposed budget, the mayor’s annual salary will be $300 less than that of Joan Stave, the administrative aide to the mayor. Zandri said the information is in a budget proposal booklet that is not yet available to the public.
Dickinson, when asked if Stave would earn more than him in the next year, said “it’s possible.” He doesn’t see the pay difference as a problem.
“She does excellent work for the town,” Dickinson said, joking that Stave bosses him around most of the time anyway so the pay difference is appropriate.
“She’s a very capable person,” he said. “She’d be embarrassed about this. I certainly feel for her, and don’t want her to be the focus” in any budget discussion.
Town Councilor John LeTourneau, a Republican, said he’s baffled by the fact that the mayor’s aide may make more than the mayor.
“That’s embarrassing,” he said.
Letourneau added that Dickinson doesn’t seek a pay increase because “he feels that’s what the job is worth.” He’s not sure that in the future “more money means a better quality person.”
Zandri said that Dickinson, by not taking any pay increase, is “freezing the pay of the position” and making it unattractive to others.
Town Council Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, a Republican, said that Stave’s earning more than Dickinson “borders on inappropriate,” but not because Stave doesn’t deserve to earn what she does. He said the mayor needs to earn more so the town can “allow for some succession planning.” Cervoni said that if the mayor ever stepped down, the town needs to be able to “attract someone of similar caliber” with compensation on par with other municipal leaders in the area. As of 2011, Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback was paid $149,000 per year; Meriden City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior was paid $139,000 annually; and Michael Milone, Cheshire’s town manager, earned $131,350 per year.
“I would think it’s absolutely unusual” that the mayor’s aide makes more than the mayor, said Quinnipiac University Professor David Cadden, who has worked in the department for entrepreneurship and strategy for 30 years. Cadden said that the ongoing mindset in business is that pay increases and higher salaries at top positions are necessary.
“You need salaries like that in order to attract the best and the brightest,” he said.
That mindset has not necessarily been proven, Cadden said, but a lower than average salary “might be an impediment” to attract other candidates. As the chief executive of Wallingford, just as in any business, Cadden said “a hierarchy must be maintained atoll costs,” and that Dickinson’s making less than his aide destroys that hierarchy.
When Dickinson leaves office, Cervoni said, the town will have to form a plan to incrementally increase the salary of the chief executive.
As published in the Record Journal on Friday February 15, 2013
By Dan Brechlin
Record-Journal staff
dbrechlin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2266
Twitter: @DanBrechlinRJ
“Wallingford spent more than $800,000 on that storm (October 2011), and more than $900,000 on Tropical Storm Irene. Last weekend’s blizzard is expected to be a significant cost, though Wallingford avoided the added expense of hiring numerous private contractors. Just two pieces of equipment were rented, and one operator was hired.”
“Last weekend’s storm drew the quickest disaster declaration (for FEMA reimbursement)”
Municipal leaders will spend the next several days tallying pay, fuel, equipment maintenance, contracting, and other costs related to last weekend’s blizzard. The storm is expected to exact a heavy price.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama declared Connecticut a disaster area, meaning municipalities will be eligible for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for expenses incurred during part of the storm.
The area is used to this. Since the beginning of 2011, it has qualified for FEMA reimbursement for an early 2011 snowstorm, Tropical Storm Irene, the October snowstorm of 2011, and Superstorm Sandy. Last weekend’s storm drew the quickest disaster declaration.
“Even before the beginning of the storm we started calculating our expenses, including pre-treating the roads,” said David Bowen, Meriden’s deputy fire chief and emergency management director.
Typically, FEMA reimburses for 48 hours of the storm and recovery costs, Bowen said. For last weekend’s snowstorm, because of the record-breaking totals, 75 percent of the costs were reimbursed over 72 hours.
The total costs associated with last weekend’s storm have yet to be determined, but they are expected to be significant. Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback typically budgets for about six storms a year, and said last weekend’s blizzard added up to several storms.
“Even with the FEMA reimbursement, this will account for two or three storms worth of expense,” Brumback said. “Without FEMA, this would be devastating.”
Southington’s budget for snow removal this fiscal year is $670,000. Like other municipalities, Southington paid a high fee for maintenance on its equipment because the large amount of snow caused numerous breakdowns and equipment failures. The long time spent on the roads also lead to high fuel costs and a significant overtime cost.
“We wanted to get our town back to normal as quickly as possible,” Brumback said, and that also added costs, including the hiring of additional private contractors.
Though he expects a big bill, Cheshire Town Manager Michael Milone said it will likely not be as high as the tab for the October snowstorm in 2011. That storm left heavy damage and thousands in the area without power.
“This will probably be $150,000 to $200,000,” after FEMA reimbursement, said Milone. “We were better off than most towns and still had four or five days of hard work. Some other communities, it will take a lot longer.”
Dealing with the October 2011 storm, Cheshire spent $530,000 before any reimbursement. In addition to cleanup, paying for town buildings to run on generators was a significant cost.
Wallingford spent more than $800,000 on that storm, and more than $900,000 on Tropical Storm Irene. Last weekend’s blizzard is expected to be a significant cost, though Wallingford avoided the added expense of hiring numerous private contractors. Just two pieces of equipment were rented, and one operator was hired.
Before this past weekend’s snowfall, Meriden had already used half of its $500,000 snow removal budget. In 2011, the city spent nearly $840,000 on the January snowstorm and more than $1 million on the October snowstorm.
“It was done fairly well; there’s no real way to clear aloof the streets in one day,” Bowen said, noting that sometimes events happen and bills have to be paid. “It’s just like if your roof at your house starts to leak and you have to get it fixed. You have to respond and that’s what it costs sometimes.”
Bowen said calculating the total cost is complicated because of the many types of expenses. Though municipal leaders expressed confidence in paying the high bill, Brumback said he is hoping that there are not any more significant storms in the near future.
“If we’re at all fortunate and Mother Nature smiles on us, we will still have the ability to have a budget for one or two more storms going forward,” he said.
As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday January 16, 2013
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
Twitter:@RussellBlairRJ
WALLINGFORD - Democrat Jason Zandri knows the introduction of new technology to Town Hall alone isn’t enough to defeat longtime Republican Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.
In November, the 44-year old town councilor announced his intention to seek his party’s nomination for mayor. In past elections Democrats have tried, and failed, to paint Dickinson as out of touch with modern technology.
“Yes, technology is going to be part of the platform but I am far from laying all of my bets on that; leveraging technology for more ease of access, more open government, more services available will come as part of a calculated effort to streamline work that needs to be done and make our government more efficient,” Zandri wrote recently on his blog.
Zandri’s mayoral campaign held a kickoff meeting last week attended by about 20 supporters, he said.
Dickinson said Tuesday he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run again for the seat he’s held since he won his first election in 1983.
“Right now, especially going into budgets, I’m just swamped,” he said. “It’s a decision I have to make at a point when I’m not quite so overwhelmed. Each thing has it’s time. It’s not time for me to deal with that yet.
Zandri said he wants to tackle many issues with his campaign, including the introduction of more affordable housing and lowering the income requirement for seniors to qualify for a tax credit from the town.
He’s adopted a campaign slogan of “Moving Wallingford Forward,” and is working on developing a strategic plan of where he’d like to see the town in 10 or 15 years, with visions of a proposed Incentive Housing Zone and a new commuter rail line rejuvenating the downtown.
Democratic Town Chairman Vincent Avallone said there are other important issues besides technology.
“The Incentive Housing Zone is a huge issue, the railroad is a huge issue,” Avallone said.
The message of technology has been lost with voters in previous elections, Zandri said. It’s not just about adding email and Internet access, it’s about using technology as a tool to make workers more efficient, and when possible,consolidate jobs or reduce positions through attrition.
But Dickinson said he wasn’t so sure that technology expenditures would result in savings.
“It’s something that has to be closely analyzed,” he said.
Zandri has named 25-year old David Leonardo as his campaign manager. Leonardo, who ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for the Board of Education in 2011, previously interned on John Larson’s congressional campaign and helped with the mayoral campaigns of Dan Drew in Middletown and Vincent F. Testa Jr. in Wallingford.
“I wanted a younger individual tapped into that age group that’s not represented well at election time,” Zandri said.
At the recent Council meeting I asked if we ever did at needs study specific to the parking lot and the need for public parking in Wallingford Center with specific reference to the private property lot at Simpson Court.
While I could not seem to get a straight answer I already knew of an older report that reviewed parking in Wallingford Center that was done in 2004 (with a few updates as of 2007) done by the Planning and Zoning office and staff titled “Parking in Wallingford’s Central Business District” which I have scanned and posted online.
That document can be found via “main document” page at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/main_document.pdf
I am not going to go into my interpretation of the details of the parking needs assessment, I will do that at the Council Meeting on Tuesday September 25th as I do expect an addendum to discuss this matter again.
I will point to the “PARKING NEEDS” assessment as outlined from pages 3 to 10 as well as the results and further details on pages 11 and 12.
There is additional information within the report (details of the parking space turnover study, etc.).
There are also other items broken out in their own documents such as the Downtown Street Parking at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Downtown_street_parking.pdf as well as the “Parking space occupancy and major downtown employers” at http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Parking_space_occupancy_and_major_downtown_employers.pdf which shows the Parking Space Occupancy Rate and then finally there is the Parking Space Occupancy Rate update from May of 2007 available via http://www.zandri.net/PDF/Parking_space_occupancy_rate_May_2007.pdf
I am sure the conversation is going to be plentiful on Tuesday September 25th – be sure to be there or watch it on Government TV Channel 20.
As published in the Record Journal, Monday September 10, 2012
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
Twitter:@RussellBlairRJ
WALLINGFORD - Even William W. Dickinson Jr.’s most ardent supporters agree that the 29-year mayor can’t serve forever, but whether he’ll be succeeded by another elected mayor or a town manager is a matter of some debate.
Former Town Councilors Michael Brodinsky and Stephen Knight penned columns recently in the Record-Journal for and against, respectively, changing the town’s form of government by introducing a town manager.
“Town managers are specialists,” Brodinsky wrote. “They are all around us. They are doing good jobs. The town manager system is also a proven system of government across the country, too.”
Knight countered Brodinsky’s argument by saying many towns are moving from managers to elected chief executives.
“Rather than dilute authority and diffuse responsibility as does a town manager form of government, many municipalities are investing more of both in a single elected individual so that the government will have a chief executive directly answerable to the electorate,” he wrote. While professional municipal managers are the norm locally — with town managers in Cheshire and Southington and a city manager in Meriden — according to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, managers oversee just 28 of the state’s 169 towns and cities. A change in Wallingford’s top executive would require a change in charter, a complicated, drawn-out process that was defeated by voters in 2009. “I’m open to exploring a town manager form of government, but it’s easier said than done,” said Democratic Town Councilor John Sullivan.
Sullivan said if Wallingford ever decided to go the town manager route there would be candidates “with a lot of experience in grant writing and managing small and medium municipalities.”
“That person would have some leverage over a local politician who may not be qualified,” he said. “It’s something we should be open to and look at.”
Democratic Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos said he believes a town manager would help town government run more efficiently.
“Anything that lessens the amount of politics involved in running the town I’m for,” he said.
But other officials disagree. Republican Town Councilor John LeTourneau said the strong mayor form of government has worked well since its introduction in the 1960s.
“If it’s not broken, why do we need to fix it?” he said.
Though town managers may have professional training, Le-Tourneau said he believes the skills necessary to govern the town are “more common sense than anything.”
While he supports the current system of government, Le-Tourneau said he’s not opposed to term limits of four years for the mayor and councilors so more time can be spent working for the town rather than campaigning.
Democratic Councilor Jason Zandri said he likes the idea of electing a mayor every two years, but would like to see the salary increased. Dickinson has not received a raise since at least 2002 and earns $73,140. “With what we are paying people, we’re not getting the candidates because the pay isn’t well enough,” Zandri said.
Zandri said, while he disagrees with Dickinson on some issues, a mayoral form of government “gives people more of a say.”
As published on Monday May 21, 2012
True to personal governing principles, Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. extends his well known brand of fiscal conservatism even to himself — for better or for worse. Over the last decade of his 28-year run in office, he has refused any salary raises. Annually, he earns $73,140, less than $1,000 more than his administrative aide, and half of what many fellow municipal administrators make. At a recent budget hearing, a debate centered on whether Dickinson’s wages represented a bargain, or a long-term detriment.
As mayor, Dickinson is no mere figurehead. His complex responsibilities include those of a town manager: overseeing all municipal departments, both in terms of functions and finances. Thus, an income discrepancy is even more manifest when compared with area civic leaders who perform analogous work. Next year, Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback will take in $149,000. Meriden City Manager Lawrence Kendzior is set at $139,027.
In consideration of his manifold duties, Dickinson is unquestionably underpaid. “The bang that we’re getting for our buck should be envied by everyone in the state of Connecticut,” correctly proffered Republican Councilor Robert Parisi (R-J, 5-2). Wallingford’s mayor is more than an under-compensated workforce supervisor, though. He has kept his town on solid budgetary ground, even as recession-era realities necessitate making complicated, taxing monetary decisions. All the more reason to pay him well.
Logic of operating within contemporary economic constraints is essential to Dickinson’s argument in favor of static salary. “In an elected office . . . you become more of a weathervane for what the times require,” he stated, a thought-provoking observation from a seasoned town CEO who leads by example.
One might wonder, however, whether other local municipal officials — many who earn over $100,000 — may feel that their appropriately high salaries radiate a sense of indulgence in comparison. Furthermore, as reasonably suggested by R-J columnist Mike Brodinsky in his May 6 piece, Dickinson’s “unrealistically low” pay could deter potential mayoral-office-seekers from running. Quality candidates might think twice about pursuit of a position where small wages are discordant with extensive responsibilities.
Dickinson certainly has the right to keep his income down should he choose — he sets a benchmark of shared sacrifice in a difficult economic era. But, as also proposed by Brodinsky, town officials must begin contemplating a suitable salary now, because a time will come when the next mayor likely will expect fair compensation. By estimating what a market-level wage would mean for municipal finances — not much in light of the entire budget — leaders can employ Dickinsonian fiscal foresight in preparing properly for Wallingford’s future.
As published in the Record Journal Tuesday April 11, 2012
By Mary Ellen Godin
Record-Journal staff
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255
WALLINGFORD — They might be from different political parties, but the town councilors who founded the Wallingford Fireworks Fund joined Tuesday in the hopes of getting more say in choosing vendors for the annual Fourth of July display.
Democrat Jason Zandri and Republican Craig Fishbein wouldn’t accept the explanation by Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. that only the Parks and Recreation Department could handle vendor negotiation and the purchasing process.
“Without a formal process it could unravel as quickly as it came together,” Dickinson said. “You can’t have multiple people representing the town.”
Dickinson added that he knew of no other organization that allows event planners to negotiate contracts on behalf of the town. Town Council Chairman Robert Parisi, a Republican, said he understood the liability and logistical reasons behind Dickinson’s stand, but he said he could see Zandri’s and Fishbein’s point. Parisi even agreed with Democrat John Sullivan that the interested parties need to meet in the mayor’s office and settle the matter.
“The fund would like to have some input,” Parisi said. “They want to hear the final negotiation and bless it. When you’re into it, you’re taking ownership. You want to have a little bit of yourself in it. I share their passion.”
Zandri and Fishbein started the Wallingford Fireworks Fund in 2010, the year the town dropped funding for the $30,000 celebration from its budget. The nonprofit organization has raised enough money to pay for the show in each of the last two years.
Until this year, Zandri has negotiated quotes with vendors. He said the arrangement allowed certain flexibility on costs, through discounts from the vendor, and room to accommodate last-minute donations that could improve the show.
This year, the town has been seeking quotes without Zandri, who said the price and the quality of the show could suffer if he can’t be at the negotiating table.
“I’m looking for that flexibility,” Zandri said. “I want to try to figure out how to do that.”
Fishbein disagreed with Dickinson that other groups don’t hire vendors, and he pointed to Celebrate Wallingford. He also asked when the town would ever contribute to a fireworks display that draws 10,000 people versus a symphony concert and other events that bring in fewer people.
Zandri also said he wanted to extend the fundraising deadline to allow more contributions to make a better show, but was told by Dickinson that a range on costs could be written into the contract, and that the need for police and fire service demanded a deadline.
Other councilors, including Republican Thomas Laffin and Sullivan, said the Town Council isn’t the proper place for airing the grievances. They said the parties should meet in the mayor’s office to reach a partnership agreement with the Parks and Recreation Department.
In other business, the Town Council approved several appointments to boards and commissions and set a public hearing for April 24 on a 2012 Small Cities Community Block Grant, an ordinance concerning food service establishments, changes to sewer and drain ordinances, and a restriction on employees contracting with the town.
Dickinson
Zandri
Fishbein
Photos courtesy of the Record Journal
This story was published in the Record Journal on Tuesday April 3, 2012. The Record Journal already has the budget online and I have a link to it in a prior post. As you can see from the expedited way the newspaper was able to get their hands on a printed copy, scan it in, and post it online inside of six hours that it would take the town no time at all to do the same with the digital copies of the segments of the budget book that they already have.
By Mary Ellen Godin
Record-Journal staff
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255
WALLINGFORD — After announcing his $145.1 million 2012-2013 budget proposal, Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. announced that the 150page document will be available online.
The decision is a reversal of Dickinson’s earlier opposition to the idea, when he doubted many residents would view the document and questioned whether it might occupy technical staff’s time.
Dickinson said Monday that making the document available on the town’s website was the least of the town’s concerns. Despite his recognition that more people are gaining access to information online, he still feels it is one more burden on the town.
“We’re dealing with another thing that absorbs staff and time,” Dickinson said. “There are still people without the Internet.”
Dickinson did not say when the document would be posted online. The budget proposal was not online Monday evening.
The longtime debate over the use of Internet technology has heated up in recent years as Town Councilors and former employees have made it public that only two computers in Town Hall have Internet access, putting a strain on some employee functions. Town Council members are split on Dickinson’s hard line against technology in Town Hall.
Democratic Town Councilor Jason Zandri was incensed to learn Monday morning that Dickinson would be announcing the budget Monday afternoon. Zandri, who works in Manhattan, had no way to get to the announcement in time.
“Due to this situation, I will not be able to attend the press conference,” Zandri stated in an email to Dickinson’s office.
In a later phone interview, Zandri said putting the budget online would allow him to review the document from his computer. Instead, he has to send someone to pick it up. An online budget proposal could help bring people to the upcoming public hearings and save money in printing costs.
“If this was posted now, people could open it up and start looking it up,” Zandri said. “Here’s an example of technology in the office that’s a cost savings.”
According to officials in the Finance Department, the town spent $1,500 to print 200 copies of last year’s budget. The office provides copies to the Wallingford Public Library and the town clerk’s office for the general public. It also mails about a half-dozen copies to those who can’t get to Town Hall.
Finance Director James Bowes said he still has to send out the printed budgets and make them available to the public. He hasn’t determined how many he will print. But when it comes to allowing technology, if a department can prove a need, Dickinson will approve it.
“It’s absolutely a good thing,” Zandri said when he heard the mayor was going to upload the spending plan. “It gives the appearance of transparency. Now the public can look that up and ask informed questions at the public hearings.”
As published in the Record Journal Tuesday April 3, 2012
By Mary Ellen Godin
Record-Journal staff
mgodin@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2255
WALLINGFORD — On Monday Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. proposed a $145.1 million budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year that reflects a 2.59-percent increase over current year spending and reductions in state and federal grants.
The budget, if approved, would mean a tax hike of 0.76 mills or 3 percent over the current budget, bringing the tax rate to 25.98 mills. The owner of a home with an assessed value of $191,000 would pay an increase of $145 annually, according to Dickinson and Finance Director James Bowes.
“The realities of high unemployment, less revenue, new unfunded governmental mandates, unrealistic collective bargaining arbitration decisions and serious budgetary difficulties at state and federal government levels, render local budget decision-making extremely difficult,” Dickinson read in a prepared statement.
Growth in the town’s grand list will generate about $900,000 in additional revenue at the current tax rate, but the town had to contend with a $258,000 reduction in state and federal aid. This left only $642,000 in revenue to pay for $5.2 million in departmental requests. In addition to the tax hike, taking $4 million out of the town’s rainy day fund also helped cover spending.
Department heads asked for a 3.7-percent increase in spending. Dickinson said, had he not shaved $1.6 million off department requests, the budget increase would have been 3.7 percent, instead of 2.59. School spending increased 3.20 percent for a total of $89.6 million in spending. Schools lost $1.3 million when a federal grant was eliminated.
Dickinson said the spending plan effectively balances the need to provide a level of service that residents can afford.
In a bold move to possibly generate more revenue and provide greater accountability, the mayor proposes splitting the Fire Department into two divisions: the Fire Rescue Division and the Emergency Medical Service Transport Division.
The EMS or ambulance service, which now has one ambulance running full time, would add another ambulance during peak hours instead of allowing outside vendors such as Hunter’s, AMR or Nelson Ambulance to pick up the added calls and increased revenue.
Fire Department records show an increasing number of medical response calls in the past three years, a trend that’s expected to continue.
The EMS division would be funded by the adoption of a proposed ambulance enterprise fund ordinance. Revenues will come from user and insurance fees to cover the cost of ambulance transports. The town’s contract with an outside billing company is set to expire. But it would also add a collection agency to help it collect delinquent user fees under the proposal. The goal is to make the EMS division as self sufficient as the town’s water and sewer utilities. The mayor’s budget calls for spending $2 million on the EMS division and $5.6 million on the Fire Rescue Division.
Government spending — which includes some education costs — totals $55.5 million, $889,018 million more than last year or 1.53 percent. Increases included $225,000 for health insurance and $70,000 for the next revaluation.
Dickinson criticized the federal government for grant programs that gave municipalities money last year, to protect teacher jobs, but withheld it this year.
“They should make it for capital improvement,” Dickinson said. “Not do it for one year and not do it for another. The feds are out of touch. They’re raising financial havoc at the local level.”
The town’s Water Division budget includes a rate increase of 3.5 percent to increase revenues and help pay the cost of some major projects at crossings of Interstate 91, engineering services and storage and wage agreements.
The sewer division will also increase its revenues 10.3 percent through a rate increase. The department’s expenses have increased 4.1 percent due to wage increases, a siphon project and equipment replacement.
The budget also allows for funding the assistant town planner position in the Planning Department. There had been some concern that the economic downturn had eliminated the need for two people in the office. But after interviewing acting Town Planner Kacie Castello, Dickinson decided to keep the assistant planner spot, while filling the vacant town planner position. The office handles all Planning & Zoning Commission staff work, regulations and meetings, in addition to Zoning Board of Appeals and zoning enforcement matters.
“I do not believe one person can handle the nature and issues that surround ZBA and planning,” Dickinson said. “We will have times when there is no one there.”
Republican Town Councilor John LeTourneau said that, at first glance, he was satisfied with the mayor’s budget.
“I like what I see but I want to dig deeper,” LeTourneau said. “The EMT and having that extra ambulance available is something the Town Council has discussed.
Democratic Town Councilor Jason Zandri said he’s anxious to see what was cut from the education budget and also wants to take a closer look at the spending plan before commenting.
Sarah Nathan / Record-Journal – Photo courtesy of the Record Journal.
Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., center, answers questions about his 2012-13 budget while Finance Director John Le-Tourneau, left, Council Chairman Robert Parisi, second from right, and Comptroller James Bowes, right, skim through the budget overview in a conference room at Town Hall on Monday.
As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday March 14, 2012
By Dan Ivers
Record-Journal staff
divers@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2275
WALLINGFORD — Town councilors sparred with Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. Tuesday night over whether to post information about the town budget and local properties on the town’s website.
Councilors Craig Fishbein, Jason Zandri, John LeTourneau and John Sullivan criticized Dickinson’s resistance to posting his budget proposal, which is due April 1. Dickinson argued that the document would be available on paper, and a lack of demand for it over the years proves there is no justification for the time that employees would need to post an electronic copy on the website.
“I don’t understand where the need is. Who is calling for this?” Dickinson said. “The information is available to people if they want it. Every duty, everything that each department is involved with, takes time. We have less staff — any addition of duties comes with the burden of justification.”
Technology Director Donald Rowe was summoned by the council to explain what posting the budget might require, and he estimated his office would spend about 10 minutes uploading an existing electronic copy.
Last week, Dickinson agreed to post an electronic copy of the current operating budget online, but he repeated his opposition to the posting of his proposal for 2012-13. He said that compiling the documents places additional responsibilities on the town’s finance department and he is concerned about setting a precedent.
The bipartisan group of councilors, however, pushed back, saying the move would show taxpayers that the town is committed to transparency.
“This is an opportunity for people who care about their town, and pay their taxes on time, to get an idea of where their money is going,” said Sullivan, a Democrat.
Dickinson is the town’s executive officer and is not obligated to follow recommendations of the Town Council. He said he intends to weigh the benefits of posting the document against the burdens on town employees, but he reiterated his opposition to furthering technology simply to “keep up with the Joneses.”
“It’s got to meet a useful process. It’s got to meet a useful endeavor for the people,” he said. “I obviously do not march to the step of perhaps the rest of the world on this issue ... We don’t jump just because someone else does it. We take our time and think it through.”
Earlier in the meeting, councilors sparred with Dickinson over his recommendation to endorse an application by the South Central Council of Governments for a grant to help establish a regional property database among its 15 member towns. The database would include information on individual properties in each town, as well as general information on local highways, zoning, demographics and economic development.
Dickinson said the town would not release information on individual properties, mostly out of concern for citizens whose addresses are protected, such as police officers, judges and Department of Correction employees.
Some councilors objected to the limited participation, saying much of the same information is already available through non-government websites, and that spending money to publicize such a limited amount of data is not worthwhile.
“Either the Internet is evil or it is not,” said Fishbein, a Republican. “This seems like something that, at least in its limited form, is of no benefit.” Zandri, a Democrat, criticized Dickinson’s position as a stand against technology, and said the town would be missing out on a rare opportunity.
“I presume that you are probably as resistant to a keyboard as somebody with a bag of peanuts that has a peanut allergy,” he said. “I think to not take the opportunity to expand on and add to a service when it costs us nothing is a shame.”
The council ultimately voted 5-4 not to endorse the grant application, with Nicholas Economopoulos, Robert Parisi, Rosemary Rascati and Vincent Cervoni casting votes in favor.
As published in the Record Journal Saturday March 10, 2012
By Dan Ivers
Record-Journal staff
divers@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2275
WALLINGFORD — Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. is recommending that the town endorse a grant application that would help create a regional property database, but he will not allow the release of the town’s records.
The South Central Regional Council of Governments is applying for the $591,028 grant from the state’s Office of Policy and Management, with the intention of creating a central database for property information in its 15 member towns.
Dickinson has recommended that the Town Council endorse the agency’s proposal, but said Friday he objects to the posting of information on individual properties in town.
“I’m not sure why people in Russia or China should be able to look up what your property looks like. I just don’t see the benefit,” he said.
Town Councilor John Le-Tourneau, who co-chaired the council’s Information Technology Committee, said he wanted to hear more about Dickinson’s reasoning, but doesn’t understand his reluctance to take full advantage of the grant.
“We’re not plowing new ground. Other towns do it and they’ve done it successfully for a number of years,” he said. “On the surface, I don’t see the problem.”
Eight of the regional council’s 15 member towns, including Meriden, already provide online access to property records through technology called Geographic Information Systems. The systems have details on each property, including photos, assessed value, owner information and year of construction. In Wallingford, however, people have to go to the tax assessor’s office to get the same information.
If the grant is awarded, the regional council would create a database for Wallingford, North Haven, New Haven, Madison, Orange, East Haven and Woodbridge, and expand existing programs in the other eight towns to include information on demographics, economic development, environmental features and transportation. All the improvements would come at no cost to the towns.
“Those municipalities without a web-based GIS program will have access to a dynamic regional system, while municipalities with a web-based GIS program will gain access to new data layers,” the grant application reads.
Dickinson said he recommended that the council endorse the grant so the additional information on demographics, transportation and economic development could be included, but he said he will not release any data on individual properties for inclusion.
He cited concern over a recent Supreme Court decision that barred towns from posting information that includes the addresses of public safety officials, such as police officers, judges and correction officers.
“If someone can tell me how we can guarantee there won’t be privacy issues, that’s fine. But no one’s been able to tell me that,” he said.
Last year, Dickinson rejected a recommendation from the Information Technology Committee to make property records available online for an estimated cost of $6,000. He cited many of the same concerns, including the Supreme Court decision, as his reasoning.
Should the grant be approved, it would take about two years for the database to be launched.
As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday February 14, 2012
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
WALLINGFORD — With a large drop-off in federal funding from a year ago, and the rising costs of insurance and supplies, School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo says the education budget needs to increase by 3.05 percent just to keep services at the current level.
The Board of Education is preparing to present its budget to Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. and is asking for a 3.91 increase overall, or $3,393,634, in additional funding. The money consists of a “sustained services” budget — the cost to operate the schools at their current level — and select items from the school board’s strategic plan. But Menzo says the figure is deceiving, because a federal jobs grant worth $1,295,275 won’t be available this year, creating an immediate shortfall.
Menzo said the Board of Education recommended splitting the use of the grant over two years. To stave off an increase in taxes, Dickinson required the district to spend all the money in 2011-12.
“Now the burden is on this year,” Menzo said. Financially, the district is ahead of where Menzo said it would be a year ago, when he argued to split the grant over two budgets and projected a deficit of more than $2 million. Other savings have been found, but still, if the school budget gets no increase, there will be an automatic gap of $1.3 million that must be filled. “If appropriate funding is not provided, there will be significant services that will have to be reduced or eliminated,” Menzo said.
Democratic Board of Education member Michael Votto said the board has scrutinized the budget and that there are no unnecessary costs. A portion of the money has gone to pay for unfunded state mandates, Votto said.
Votto said he realizes that with a small increase in the grand list, there isn’t new money available, and the increase in the education budget could require a tax increase.
“If we have to raise taxes to help education, I think that’s the best place to put it,” he said. “Education is a priority to prepare our kids for the world.”
Votto said that with other costs going up, “I don’t know how people expect taxes won’t go up.”
Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said a lot of hard work went into this year’s budget, and she had confidence in the proposal the board would bring to the mayor. McKay said that some of the items included for maintenance — such as repairing cracked sidewalks and removing asbestos — are essential for safety concerns.
With the jobs grant taken out of the equation, the school board is asking for $2,100,408, or about a 2.42 percent increase in new funds from the town.
Menzo said that some of the increase covers additions to the budget — such as adding lacrosse as a sport at the high schools and introducing world language, math and career and technical education coordinators for all the district’s schools — but a large portion is for employee benefits and non-certified salaries. Teachers and administrators took a pay freeze in the first year of a three-year contract negotiated last fall.
As for the strategic plan, Menzo said that the board and school administrators realize they won’t be able to move forward with every aspect of it. Still, money is being put toward technology and maintenance items that are part of the plan, though it is coming from the district’s unencumbered fund balance, or monies left over from last year’s budget.
“It might take longer to get there, but we are moving forward,” Menzo said. McKay said she felt the board had been good stewards of town money, and that no increase or a smaller increase could mean higher costs down the road. As a taxpayer, she said she weighs the cost to townspeople versus the education benefit to the schoolchildren. “It’s a tough balancing act,” she said.
The school board will meet Feb. 27 to adopt a budget and present it to the mayor on March 1.
High school team proposal in hands of school board, Mayor Dickinson
As published in the Record Journal, Saturday January 28, 2012
By Stephanie O’Connell
Record-Journal staff
WALLINGFORD — The lacrosse community is thrilled that this year’s school budget includes money to add junior varsity lacrosse teams at both Sheehan and Lyman Hall high schools.
School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo’s proposed budget would set aside $81,058 in the first year for two teams and $66,932 in the second year. The budget is still being discussed by the Board of Education and will be passed along to Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. for final approval.
“Right now it’s not a done deal, the mayor still has the final say but being included in the initial budget is a big step for us,” said Tim Taylor, the Wallingford Youth Boys Lacrosse coordinator. “Right now we have about 200 kids between boys and girls that are playing in the youth leagues. It is the right time to be adding the teams.”
At a public budget forum in November, Menzo said that he was approached about adding the sport in his first year as superintendent, but was concerned because there wasn’t a club program for girls on both sides of town. There was a high school-age girls club only on the Sheehan side. This past spring was the first year that the youth league fielded teams for both sexes on both sides of town. The town’s youth program began about six years ago with 20 boys and 20 girls. The program has grown to 55 boys and more than 60 girls in grades 9 through 12.
Taylor has three children who have been playing lacrosse for years. They play in the youth program that travels to play teams in Madison, North Haven, Cheshire, Guilford and Clinton.
Sheehan and Lyman Hall are the last two schools in the Southern Connecticut Conference without lacrosse teams. The school plays in the Housatonic division with Amity, Shelton and Cheshire.
“In our conference we are the only schools who do not provide lacrosse so I think that it’s time we consider it and add it to the budget and to the schools,” said Roxane McKay, chairwoman of the Board of Education. “We are talking about a lot of kids who are interested and when you look at those numbers you can tell it is an up-and-coming sport.”
McKay has been in contact with Taylor, Wallingford Lacrosse President Michelle Milslagle, coaches and players for over a year. They have had open conversations about the pros and cons of adding the sport.
“I have been very upfront with the lacrosse folks as they have with me,” said McKay. “They know that even though we put it in the budget today it doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. We have a very long way to go.”
McKay has been impressed with the support shown by Wallingford Lacrosse parents, coaches and players at meetings. She said that she understood their level of dedication after a group of teenage players showed up at an 8 a.m. meeting on a snowy Saturday morning.
“The board has been on our side since we first brought this up years ago, so we find it necessary to show up at meetings when it is going to be discussed to show our dedication,” Milslagle said.
As published in the Record Journal, Wednesday January 25, 2012
By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
WALLINGFORD — Town Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos made his case Tuesday night for the town to revive its long-dormant Insurance Commission.
The commission was created by a town ordinance in 1986 to assist the town in insurance matters, but has never had any members. A risk management office created in 1987 took over some of the duties that the commission had been tasked with carrying out.
But Economopoulos, a Democrat, said during a public hearing on repealing or amending the ordinance that insuring the town and its employees is a complex issue, and that those types of decisions should not be made by one or two people.
“Insurance is a very intricate and difficult thing to understand,” Economopoulos said. “Our premiums (for health insurance) are $45 million over the next two years. ... I think it’s a wise thing to add some more eyes.”
Health insurance is the second costliest item in the town budget after salaries, Economopoulos said.
The ordinance states, in part: “Due to conditions of instability and dysfunction in the procuring and maintaining of insurance coverage for the Town of Wallingford , the Town Council has determined that a separate and dedicated advisory commission in the area of insurance coverage is warranted and desirable.”
One of the responsibilities of the commission, which would comprise five members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council, is to “investigate alternative sources for insurance coverage and/or evaluate options of self-insurance versus purchased coverage.”
The town became self-insured in 2008 when it faced an 8 percent rate increase by Anthem Blue Cross, a change that saved millions of dollars. But Economopoulos said that a study done 14 years earlier had referenced the potential change, and that the town “missed the boat” on millions of additional savings.
Self-insurance is generally cheaper than full insurance because the town, rather than the insurance company, accepts the risk of covering employees. Under self-insurance, the insurance company simply acts as a third-party claims administrator. Anthem was awarded the third-party administrator contract.
Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said the town analyzed self-insurance options in the 1990s, but there were some concerns about making the switch for “good, solid reasons,” and that it wasn’t in the best interest of the town at the time. The town needed to have sufficient money in reserves before it could make the switch to self-insurance.
“It did not sit well with the finance department at that time,” Dickinson said. “It was touch-and-go as to whether there were sufficient funds.”
Dickinson also said that health insurance is largely a collective bargaining matter, and not something for a group of laypeople to oversee. It’s a matter for paid experts, he said. The commission, Dickinson said, was originally established to handle property/casualty insurance, but not health coverage.
Two residents, Wesley Lubee Jr. and William Comerford, filed an ethics complaint in 2008 against Dickinson for not appointing anyone to the commission, but the complaint was dismissed when no probable cause was found. Both spoke in favor of filling the commission Tuesday night. Public comment at the meeting lasted nearly two hours.
“I think this was a great conversation here tonight,” Democratic Councilor John Sullivan said. “I have to commend Councilor Economopoulos for bringing this documentation and presenting it to the council. There is a lot here to review.”
The council will continue the public hearing at its Feb. 28 meeting.
