(Updated) Tapping into taxpayer outrage, 11 aldermen issued a letter Friday announcing they have “no confidence” in Tax Assessor Bill O’Brien, and urging the mayor to fire him.
“We respectfully urge you to remove William O’Brien from his post as City Assessor at the earliest possible time, so that city government can make a fresh start in re-establishing a relationship of trust and credibility with taxpayers and putting aside an orientation that encourages a culture of contempt and harassment of our city’s taxpayers,” reads the letter, addressed to Mayor John DeStefano.
Click here to read the letter. It’s signed by Aldermen Mike Smart, Gina Calder, Jackie Evans-James, Andrea Jackson-Brooks, Dolores Colon, Gerald Antunes, Migdalia Castro, Charles Blango, Greg Morehead, Sergio Rodriguez, Claudette Robinson-Thorpe, and Darnell Goldson.
The letter comes amid a flood of taxpayer complaints about botched tax bills, ”>unfair assessments and rude treatment of the public. The assessor returned to work in New Haven in 2008, after a stint in Bridgeport, where he faced some similar complaints.
The letter complains of “hostile” and “arrogant” customer service; “arbitrary” personal property assessments in the amount of $5,000; glitches in senior tax freeze bills; and car taxes that went up.
In a meeting this week, O’Brien defended his office. He made a vow to return phone calls, and announced he has shaken up his staff. Click the play arrow at the top of the story to hear him talk about his job in a June interview.
In an interview late Friday afternoon, DeStefano said he had reviewed the letter, and does not see any reason to fire O’Brien.
He noted that the standard for car taxes is set by the state, and is not under the assessor’s discretion. The glitches in senior tax freeze bills were due to an error that predated O’Brien. DeStefano said based on some complaints, he did talk to O’Brien about his customer service skills. He said O’Brien offered to put cameras in his office to document how he treats the public.
The mayor said the other issues deserve thorough review, but do not rise to the threshhold of termination.
“The charter establishes a standard for cause” for firing someone, DeStefano said, “and that should not be political.” He said there are no allegations that O’Brien has acted illegally or for his own personal gain.
“There’s not a basis here for removal from office,” the mayor said.
Instead, he recommended aldermen and city officials set up a working group to fully examine the issues they raised.
Its no surprise that DeStefano shrugs this one off too. He certainly wasn't upset with what appears to be Peter Criscuolo shaking down citizens, manufacuring documents to suit his own pocket book. The mayor surrounds himself with bullies -- like Brian McGrath dragging a disabled person to the polls, and the BZA woman telling people to shut up. There is a consistent pattern here that all points to Mayor DeStefano. If you agree, please stop using euphemisms such as "city hall" and the "administration". That doesn't help anyone. We can be like a family in denial with an alcoholic and blame obscure things instead of alcohol. If DeStefano is the connecting thread in all these problems, start naming him as the problem or we will all continue in the land of denial. See <a href="http://www.johndestefanojr.com">www.johndestefanojr.com</a>for a compilation of his abuses and tolerance of abuses on the citizens of New Haven. Not until we start naming the problem squarely, will we be able to address is clearly.