New Haven Independent

In the hallway before Monday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, a half-dozen trash haulers gathered. They weren’t going to miss this meeting as they did the last public hearing, when neighbors’ lobby prevailed on a trash bill restricting the hours they can pick up trash.

In the week leading up to Monday’s meeting, East Rock Alderman Roland Lemar and sleep-protecting neighbors like Alex Marathas (pictured) were concerned because an unofficial last-minute agreement had been made with trash haulers behind closed doors. They called City Hall, worried the gains they’d made in the public hearing process would be reversed.

Neighbors’ words were heard. The ordinance amendment has been recommitted to the Legislation Committee so that all parties can discuss the bill at a special public hearing on March 21 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

The minority State of the City address, scheduled to be given Monday by the board’s one Republican alderperson, was also postponed. Here’s what did happen.

Phase-In

It’s official: You won’t be hit all at once with that 88 percent hike in residential property value that came with state-mandated property revals. The new value of your property will be phased in over the course of five years, according to an ordinance approved Monday.

The mayor’s other proposal to soften the blow of this year’s budget for homeowners — an elderly tax freeze — has yet to be voted on.

Democracy Fund

As the city prepares to undertake Connecticut’s first publicly funded municipal election in November, a bill was passed to increase the spending cap for municipal candidates. In an amendment to the city’s Democracy Fund Ordinance, aldermen voted 25-2 to increase the cap from $225,000 to $300,000.

Hill Alderwoman Andrea Jackson-Brooks voted nay. “I have a problem with public money going to public candidates whom I may or may not support,” she explained after the vote.

A Break for Vets

In what is expected (but not known) to have minimal fiscal impact on the city, a tax break was approved Monday for veterans. The break, which augments two others for which the state reimburses the city, will give veterans of a low enough income a break on property tax.

“My general feeling is we ought to protect people on fixed incomes” from being driven out of town by rising taxes, said East Rock Alderman Ed Mattison, joining unanimous approval of the bill. The tax crunch is spurred not just by a growing budget, but by recent property revals that shift the tax burden from businesses to those who own homes.

The tax break passed Monday lets veterans under a certain income level knock 10 percent off their assessment, up to $10,000, before calculating taxes. That income level is set at: $39,600 for a single tax filer and $45,600 for a couple filing jointly. The estimated fiscal impact on the city ranges from $50,000 to $500,000, depending on how many people sign up.

The Hand Behind The Public Record
Each time aldermen gather for a public meeting, a tireless public servant rewinds the cassette tapes and turns a web of voices into a transcript for the public record. Who does it? Shirley Dixon (pictured). She was honored in a pre-board aldermanic bash for 20 — yes, 20! — years of public service in the legislative services office.