Mayor Finch – DoingItLocal

Notice from Mayor Finch on Monday commute

City to Shift Its Staff Start Time up One Hour; Mayor Finch Urging Employers to Follow City’s Lead
Water Street Closed Until Further Notice for Bus Staging

BRIDGEPORT, CT (May 19, 2013) – Mayor Bill Finch announced today that the City of Bridgeport is asking its office staff to report to work an hour earlier on Monday in an effort to help alleviate the road congestion that is expected as a result of the train derailment that occurred on May 17.

“The roads in the Bridgeport metro area are some of the most congested in the country. Following Friday night’s train incident, we can expect an even greater number of cars on these roads. We know that Monday morning’s commute is going to be very challenging. The City is making an effort to help alleviate this congestion by asking our staff to report to work one hour earlier,” said Mayor Finch. “I am urging other employers in our area to make similar shifts to help take some cars off of the road during rush hour.”

In addition to shifting the City’s staff start time up one hour, Mayor Finch also encourages commuters to carpool and use secondary roads to avoid the highway system. Mayor Finch also reiterated Governor Malloy’s recommendation, encouraging residents, if possible, to avoid driving all together and work from home.

“There are going to be significant travel delays until the trains get back online, running as normal,” said Mayor Finch. “We are asking for patience and cooperation from residents and employers during this challenging time.”

On Sunday evening the Connecticut Department of Transportation and Metro-North Railroad released their commuter plan for Monday, May 20 and until further notice. That plan, which can be found at http://www.ct.gov/dot/cwp/view.asp?A=1373&Q=524974, includes shuttle bus services in Bridgeport. As a result of the high number of buses coming and going in Bridgeport, Police Chief Joseph Gaudett announced that Water Street between Stratford Avenue and Main Street will be closed to through traffic.

Bridgeport Police Officers will be on site to help facilitate traffic in this area. Mayor Finch encourages drivers to listen to their local radio traffic reports to stay informed. For train schedule information, please refer to the schedules page at www.mta.info or the Connecticut DOT website, www.ct.gov/dot.

The City has requested additional resources from the State for assistance during this time.

Mayor Finch on police union negotiations

Video interview–Mayor Finch took time out to talk about they upcoming negotiations with the Bridgeport Police Union after announcing the final push for funding for the police memorial that will be located outside the police station on Congress Street.

I asked the mayor if we are still looking at concessions and layoffs and he replied that “they are negotiations and arbitration and expects they will have a great result”. I stated that the budget was passed by the city council with assumptions, were the assumption that they will make concessions, they (the union) already made concessions? The mayor responded “every year we are always asking the union for more concessions” The council added another $400,000 in concessions while the mayor added $1.6 million in concessions. I asked if his stance could be considered anti-union since the union keeps giving concessions they mayor said no because these are agreements that are made and that money is short everywhere.

I asked if he fears highly trained officers looking elsewhere for employment like what happened to Fairfield that just lost an officer to Westport while Fairfield was locked in negotiations for a long period of time. All that training and time the town invested in the officer was lost. The mayor said “we are always concerned about that, we want our officers to stay here, we want to have high morale, I think we have that now and we certainly want to be careful as we negotiate that we don’t have your fortune come true”.

Fundraising Effort for Bridgeport Police Memorial

Mayor Bill Finch and the leadership of Bridgeport Police Union Local 1159 announced plans for a July fundraiser with a goal of raising $50,000 toward a Bridgeport Police Memorial outside Police Headquarters on Congress Street. Tens of thousands of private sector dollars already have been raised to match the public investment in the important project.

On Wednesday, National Peace Officer Memorial Day, Mayor Finch honored Bridgeport’s Police Officers for the dangerous work they do every day to keep residents safe.

“On average, one American law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty every 57 hours,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “It is a dangerous and difficult job. Tragically, some don’t make it home at the end of their shift and we need to honor them for their bravery and service.”

Fundraising has been ongoing for the memorial. Construction is expected to begin this summer. An event has been scheduled for July 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Fire Engine Pizza Company, 2914 Fairfield Ave, Bridgeport. Supporters also can purchase commemorative brick pavers that will be incorporated into the memorial. Order forms can be found at the Police Union website at http://www.bridgeportpoliceunion.com/id34.html.

“This is a meaningful week for everyone who works in law enforcement,” said Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett Jr. “This is the one profession that runs toward gunfire. There is a bond, a brotherhood, that is hard to explain. We consider it an honor and duty to attend funerals for brother and sister officers whom we’ve never met.”

In 1962, President Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day and the calendar week in which May 15th falls, as National Police Week. Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others.

“We look forward to working with the mayor, police chief and all supporters of law enforcement to make this memorial a reality,” said police union president Charles Paris.

A dozen Bridgeport police officers have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The most recent officer to die in the line of duty was in 1980.

National Shooting Sports Foundation donating 2,500 gun safety locks today

The Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation is donating 2,500 gun safety locks to Bridgeport, Stratford, Fairfield and Waterbury to be distributed to residents free of charge. “We encourage residents to pick up a Project ChildSafe safety kit so that they can learn about the options they have to properly and securely store their firearms at home,” said Steve Sanetti, the CEO of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “We thank Mayor Finch and Police Chief Gaudett for their leadership in helping to raise awareness about preventing unauthorized access and for distributing these firearm safety kits to gun owners.”

WHAT: Police chiefs and mayors and First Selectmen from Bridgeport and Stratford announce free gun locks from the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 12 at 4 p.m.

WHERE: Mayor’s Conference Room, Margaret E. Morton Government Center, 999 Broad Street.