CITY OF NEW HAVEN BOARD OF ALDERMEN - . - December 15 , 1997 C .... - -.. President William Celentano, Board of Fire Commissioners DEC 1 71997 & Commissioners Brooks, Pascale, Kasowitz and Alvarado City of New Haven - "' 'w' "- >:..,/ Dear President Celentano and Fire Commissioners, As Aldermen from the 21st Ward and the 3rd Ward respectively, we were extremely disappointed to learn that of the 54 Fire Department recruits hired recently by the Board of Fire Commissioners, 23 reside outside of the City of New Haven. According to your figures, in this latest round of recruitment, 1,409 people took the initial written and agility tests. Of those, 694 individuals passed, including a large number of individuals who actually live in New Haven, pay taxes here and contribute to the life of this city. We' re appalled and shocked that 23 times you bypassed qualified New Haven residents, many of whom are African-Americans, in favor of applicants who do not live in our community. We strongly feel that the Board of Fire Commissioners should not be so generous in hiring suburbanites to fill positions in the New Haven Fire Department. New Haven residents who seek positions in the city governments of neighboring towns face daunting obstacles and barriers. For instance, why did we hire five new Fire Department recruits who live in East Haven? This comes at a time when the local NAACP is suing East Haven for discriminatory hiring practices. East Haven employs 271 individuals in its city government work force, not counting educational positions. Of that number, East Haven has seen fit to hire only one African-American. We should not be hiring East Haveners or those from other towns, until we have assurances that they are giving equal consideration to applicants who reside in New Haven, and they have actually begun hiring New Haveners. Until then, we feel it' s imperative that New Haven get the most out of each of New Haven's city jobs -­ whenever possible, positions should be filled by qualified New Haven residents. It should be noted that in New Haven, the list of those on the city payroll, including both Special and General Fund Budgets, still does not reflect the racial composition of our city. According to the 1990 Census, 36.1 percent ofNew Haven' s population is African­ American, yet only 29 percent of city payroll jobs are filled by blacks. Persons of Hispanic origin comprise 13.2 percent of New Haven' s total population, yet they fill only 8 percent of city jobs. We can't help but feel that in this last round of Fire Department (over) ,_ -2- \ hiring, the Fire Commissioners missed a golden opportunity to bring more qualified blacks and Hispanics on board, and to give New Haven a city work force which more accurately reflects its composition. The numbers are even more dismal and disproportionate when you consider which firms are awarded contracts by New Haven city government. Excluding the Board of Education, last fiscal year, the city awarded $30 million in contracts to private finns. It's shocking to note that of that total, only $16,325 went to minority-owned businesses. Numbers like that show that when it comes to city jobs and city contracts, blacks are not being given a fair chance. We know that East Haven and surrounding towns have a serious problem in this regard. But it really hurts when you see New Haven itself snubbing and passing over its own pool of minority talent, and perpetuating the policy of minority exclusion. That is why we support the black firefighters of the New Haven Firebirds Society and others who simply ask that the composition of the New Haven Fire Department be more reflective of our city's actual racial mix. We're very discouraged that the Fire Commissioners reinforced the inequity in its last round of hiring. However, we understand that another 75 or so individuals may be taken in the next round of new firefighter hires scheduled for March of 1998. We are very hopeful that you will take our concerns under consideration, and give New Haven residents the edge they so rightly deserve. We would also like to meet with you to talk about this matter at your earliest convenience. Thank you very much for your attention to this issue of much interest to our constituents. Sincerely, ~-~~ ~-fJ~_ RONALD GATTISON ANTHONY B. DAWSON Alderman, 21st Ward Alderman, 3rd Ward cc: Mayor John DeStefano New Haven Board of Aldermen Fire Chief Martin O'Connor East Haven Mayor Joe Maturo State Rep. William Dyson & State Rep. John Martinez Cathy Sutton-Dawson & Gwen Henderson Roger Vann, President, New Haven, NAACP Ben Andrews, Director, Connecticut, NAACP National NAACP / ~ Legislation. Favorable. December 11, 1997 ORDINANCE AMENDMENT REGARDING LITTERING AND' DUMPING 1. Delete Section 16-13. in its entirety. 2. Add a new Section 16-13. as follows: Sec. 16-13. Disposal areas for garbage, waste. No person shall throw, scatter, spill or place or cause to be blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or placed, or otherwise dispose of any litter upon any property owned by that person except: (1) When such property is designated by the state or any political subdivision thereof for the disposal of garbage and refuse, and such person is authorized to use such property for such purpose; (2) into a litter receptacle in a such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon any part of said property. For the purposes of this section, the word "litter" shall be defined as any discarded, used or unconsumed substance or waste material. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00). Citations for violations of this section shall be issued, administered, and enforced in accordance with Sections 32-1. through 32-5. of the New Haven Code of General Ordinances. 3. Add a new Section 16-13.1. as follows: 16-13.1. Littering or dumping upon public property or upon another person's private property prohibited. Penalties. Pursuant to Sections 22a-226d and 22a-250 (a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, no person shall throw, scatter, spill or place or cause to be blown, scattered, spilled, thrown or placed, or otherwise dispose of any litter upon any public property in the state or upon private property in this state not owned by him or in the waters of this state including, but not limited to, any public highway, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, mobile manufactured home park, highway, road, street or alley except: (1) When such property is designated by the state or any political subdivision thereof for the disposal of garbage and refuse, and such person is authorized to use such property for such purpose; (2) into a litter receptacle in such a manner that the litter will be prevented from being carried away or deposited by the elements upon any part of said private or public property or waters. For the purposes of this section, the word "litter" shall be defined as any discarded, used or unconsumed substance or waste material. ., Pursuant to Section 22a-226d (a) of the Connecticut General Statutes, any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Citations for violations of this section shall be issued, administered, and enforced in accordance with Sections 32-1. through 32-5. of the New Haven Code of General Ordinances. Except as herein amended the New Haven Code of General Ordinances remains in full force and effect. -t-t ~ r The 1997 Aldermanic Retreat~ ---- ---- -·--- ---- ---- .......... The purpose of the 1997 Aldermanic Retreat is to engage newly elected and re-elected members of the Board of Aldermen in discussions regarding critical community issues such as poverty, crime, education, employment, and housing; and to explore promising governmental approaches for improving conditions of the citizens of the City of New Haven. The Agenda ---- - - - - - - - - - --- - - - - ........ Friday, November 21st 5:00 - 7 :00 PM - RECEPTION Graduate Club, 155 Elm Street Board of Aldermen reception hosted by Dr. Reginald Mayo, Superintendent of Schools, featuring Mayor John OeStefano, City Clerk Stanley Rogers, and special guest Kurt L. Schmoke, Mayor of the City of Baltimore. Saturday, November 22nd Kline Tower, Yale University, Hillhouse Avenue & Sachem Street 8:30-9:00 CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST 9:00 - 9:15 Opening The Honorable John OeStefano, Mayor of the City of New Haven Agenda Review, Statement of Purpose, Or. Robert Tucker 9:15 - 10:00 Practicum "Role and Function of the Board ofAldermen"-Tomas Reyes 10:00 - 10:30 Lecture 'The City in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities"- Joel Cogen 10:30 - 10:45 BREAK 10:45 - 11 :45 Presentation "New Haven as a Special Case" -Charles H. Allen Ill and Matthew Nemerson 11 :45 - 12:30 Presentation ''lmproving Safety and Security"- Douglas MacDonald 12:30 - 1 :15 LUNCH 1 :15 - 2:15 Brainstorming "Identifying Critical Issues"- Or. Robert Tucker 2:15- 2:30 BREAK 2:30 - 4:00 Panel "Role ofPublic-Private Partnerships in Urban Improvement Efforts" Moderated by Kathleen Reilly and Joyce Poole Panelists - Mike Morand, Matthew Nemerson, Kyle Ballou, John Cox 4:00 - 4:30 Review and Evaluation 4:30 - 5:00 Application - Party Caucus ~ ~ - The Speakers - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - --- - -........ John DeStefano Mayor, City of New Haven Tomas Reyes President, Board of Aldermen Joel Cogen Executive Director, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Charles H. Allen Ill Special Assistant to the Mayor Matthew Nemerson President, The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Douglas MacDonald Assistant Chief of Police, New Haven Michael J.