I attended a town hall-style meeting Tuesday at St. Jude’s Church in which Mayor Staffieri was the speaker. He indicated many of the positive things going on in Derby, such as the renovations to the Sterling Opera House, Phase III of the Greenway expansion project and the cleanup of O’Sullivan’s Island.
The feel-good moment prompted Mayor Staffieri to say, “You think we’re doing good in the City of Derby? We’re doing awesome.”
Although those are all great things that help beautify our small city, the mayor failed to justifiably answer many of the questions posed to him by those in the audience. The questions that he failed to answer are ones that are at the heart of the city’s purse strings.
For example, during the most recent election, the Democratic Party continuously questioned the amount of money that was in the Fund Balance. The Democrats could not get an answer from those in City Hall and were subsequently told the figure would not be available until January.
When the Democrats pressed the issue, miraculously, the Republican Party suddenly indicated the Fund Balance was a lofty $4.1 million.
When Dan Foley asked Mayor Staffieri how much was in the Fund Balance today, the mysterious number associated with the Fund Balance was still in question on June 15, 2010, nearly 6 months after it was to be made public. Mayor Staffieri’s response was, “I don’t know, maybe $3 million?”
Another positive from Mayor Staffieri’s forum came when he indicated he hopes to have Derby’s transfer station reopened by the end of the month.
When asked who would operate the transfer station, he said it would be left to the Board of Aldermen to decide.
That said, in November 2009, Aldermanic President Ken Hughes indicated that Annex Associates had agreed to operate the transfer station and would not charge the City of Derby for their services.
Instead, Annex would retain 85% of the proceeds from the operation of the transfer station.
(Hughes’ response is posted in the comment section below)
Annex was subsequently hired after the City of Derby illegally fired two Public Works employees.
Hughes also indicated that Annex paid the City of Derby $24,466.93 for the fiscal year 2008 – 2009. By simple deduction, if $24,466.93 represents the 15% the City of Derby retained, then the 85% Annex pocketed was $138,645.92.
These figures should make the decision for the Board of Aldermen a rather simple one: put the Public Works in charge of the transfer station and hold them accountable for the day-to-day operations.
This way, Derby can retain 100% of the profits.
When asked about the tax increase, Mayor Staffieri put the blame on the Board of Education by saying, “Taxes went up because the new middle school went online and the Board of Education is asking for more money.”
It was disappointing to hear that answer because he based his campaign on building a new middle school and fully funding the education budget. The right answer isn’t always the easiest or most popular.
Rob Hyder is the 3rd Ward Chairman of the Derby Democratic Town Committee. He lives in Derby with his wife, Tara and their two children. His views do not necessarily represent the Valley Independent Sentinel.