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Minutes 11/12/2010 Amended
Torrington Blue Ribbon Commission
Minutes of Meeting
Friday, November 12, 2010
Torrington City Hall, 7 AM Office of the Mayor

Members Present: Mike Clark, Ken Traub, Elinor Carbone, Doug O’Connell, Mayor Bingham, Lorel Purcell, Stephen Todd, Ed Cook. Also present: Advisor: Danielle Batchelder

  • Motion to open the meeting by Mr. Cook, seconded by Mayor Bingham.
  • Motion for approval of Minutes of Meeting 10.29.10 by Ms. Purcell seconded by Mayor Bingham and approved by the commission with one abstention by Mr. Cook due to his absence from that meeting.  
  • Mr. Traub was asked to define the desired lines of communication between the BRC and the media concerning BOE matters. Mr. Traub requested that he be the sole contact for all media interviews concerning the BOE; and, additionally, that all inquiries from BRC members concerning the BOE are processed through him first. Mr. Clark stated that the latter was different from earlier direction which suggested direct contact between BRC members and BOE department heads as needed. Mr. Traub stated that filtering inquiries through him could prevent interference with analysis etc. that might be in progress.

  • Mr. Traub was asked to comment on the conceptual office plan for integration of BOE and City Hall personnel. Mr. Traub stated that there appeared to be additional space available on the floor plan, and he would prefer all BOE staff to be relocated to City Hall. Mr. Clark stated that the area noted was not vacant and was planned as part of the City Hall renovation project to provide required adjacency between associated City Hall departments.  Mr. Clark stated that the task group analyzing the integration of BOE into the building had consistently stated that there would not be enough space available to provide a BOE Wing at City Hall; in addition there had been an agreement to provide office space and parking to 11 BOE personnel only. The 11 persons being relocated were to be integrated with City Hall personnel performing similar or same functions, with an end goal of combining compatible tasks into one area responsible for City and BOE requirements at a reduced cost. Mr. Clark stated that the floor plan under discussion had been reviewed by Superintendent Leone and reflected his input and agreement to its feasibility. Mr. Traub informed the Commission that the BOE had received a proposal earlier in the week from a local realtor offering to lease space to the BOE. The offer, which would accommodate all BOE staff, was under review as well as costs relating to the lease and relocation expense. In view of this revelation and in an effort to refocus the BRC on matters other than BOE relocation, Mr. Clark motioned that BRC consideration of the BOE move into City Hall be tabled for a period of four weeks. During that four week period the BOE would able to clearly define its goals and objectives and present a consistent objective for the BRC to pursue.  The motion was seconded by Ms. Carbone and approved by the commission.
  • Agenda item number five was not discussed pending BOE decision on their relocation site.

  • Mayor Bingham was asked for the status on draft concepts previously presented to him regarding City Hall vehicle use, election office operations and single office permitting. The Mayor stated that the City Hall vehicle use draft was under review by the personnel department, and the registrar would be scheduled for a follow-up meeting to the draft proposal as soon as recent elections requirements are completed. He stated that he thought further research was needed regarding the single permitting office. Ms. Carbone suggested that research might be worthwhile among other states since there does not appear to be a model system in any Connecticut City. Mr. Clark suggested that the BRC had received useful information on permitting in Torrington from commissioner Traub, a contractor, and suggested that a survey among area contractors might prove beneficial in improving the City permit processing. Mr. Traub agreed to provide Mr. Clark a list of recommended area contractors to survey. Mr. Clark recommended that the matter be tabled for a period of six months to allow for further research.
  • Other Business:
In view of the unexpected news regarding the alternate relocation site under consideration by the BOE, and the attendant four week tabling of that topic,   Mr. Clark suggested that commissioners begin to analyze other cost savings areas of lower complexity likely to produce timely results.  He suggested cell phone usage, employee break and lunch period policies, personal use of computers, etc. as examples of potential cost savings. Mr. Traub stated that these areas were too unimportant to bother with, and were not worthy of his time. He opined that the commission was moving slowly and needed to analyze large, major departments in the City such as the Fire and Police Departments. Mr. Traub suggested that the commission analyze the cost impact of multiple family rental units in the City, noting as an example that an appreciable cost burden was placed on the City’s education system without a commensurate financial input to the cost of operating the City’s schools. Mayor Bingham disagreed offering that smaller areas adding up to what could be a large savings are less complex to act on, are more likely to be quickly implemented and should be reviewed. Mr. Clark stated that the examples he mentioned had been submitted to the commission by City staff. He added that additional, larger areas would have been prepared for discussion had he been apprised of BOE’s relocation reconsideration before the meeting. Mr. Clark reminded commissioners that the BOE relocation study had been the primary focus of the entire BRC for the first 12 weeks of its existence and that despite the emphasis, there had been no tangible cost savings identified, produced or projected, and now was the time to review areas relevant to the full scope of the commission, prioritized for implementation with the next City budget sessions beginning in January 2011. Mr. Todd stated that he agreed there would be cost savings by improving efficiency in some of the smaller areas, but felt that the obligation to achieve that should be handled by department mangers. Mayor Bingham stated that every department manger is offered that opportunity in preparation for each yearly budget proposal and throughout the year as well. Mr. Clark stated that department managers would be included in task groups analyzing their areas of responsibility and would be afforded the opportunity to engage in the analysis.  

  • A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Clark at 8:45 AM, seconded by Mayor Bingham and approved by those present.