Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com May 29, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 19 EDITORIAL Hartford is a tale of two cities T he strange dichotomy that is the city of Hartford has been on full display recently. In one instance, Mayor Luke Bronin announced that one of the city's largest labor unions rejected a deal that would have saved Hartford $6 million over four years, inching the Capital City one step closer to bankruptcy. The announcement stirred a strong reaction from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who said rejection of the union concessions will make it harder to convince state lawmakers to bail the city out of its financial crisis. In another instance, optimism about the city's future was abound at the annual Big Mo' fundraiser for Riverfront Recapture, which took place this year at UConn's under- construction campus in downtown Hartford. The event was a hit among attendees, including many top business, civic and nonprofit leaders, who gushed over UConn's renovation of the old Hartford Times building and the prospect of 2,500 students and faculty becoming members of the Hartford community. Many people at the event discussed how UConn's pending Hartford move will be a game-changer for the city, bringing a new sense of vibrancy to downtown, which is also benefiting from construction of new apartments and the much-anticipated opening of Dunkin' Donuts Park. For many, it can be difficult to square the two competing images of Hartford. On one hand there is a sense of hope for the future; on the other there are real fears about the threat of bankruptcy and its potential impact on Hartford and the state. Negative headlines, for the most part, have shaped Hartford's image over the last few years. Stories about the fiscal crisis and mismanagement of the Dunkin' Donuts Park con- struction, among other issues, have dominated newspapers and the airwaves, hardening the opinions of many Hartford naysayers who believe the city's best days are long in the past. That's not to say the press is to blame. Hartford has many challenges to overcome that won't be solved even if state lawmakers pony up millions of additional dollars to steer the city away from the bankruptcy abyss. The underlying issues that have contrib- uted to Hartford's financial malaise — high poverty rate, inadequate tax base, rising long-term debt costs, etc. — will still exist and must be dealt with. Such is the state of urban America today. However, the ongoing redevelopment has begun to change the trajectory of Hartford, particularly downtown, bringing more people to live here and explore all the city has to offer. Hartford also remains the commercial epicenter of the region, home to many blue-chip corporations as well as small and midsize businesses crucial to the economy. Hartford's story is a complicated one not easily summed up in the minds of the general public, particularly those whose opinions are only formed by what they see or read in news headlines. Many are turned off by the considerable state aid Hartford continues to receive and demand. It's a fair concern. Many of the redevelopment projects have been backed by state or city subsidies, and now Malloy and other officials are jockeying for $250 mil- lion to renovate the XL Center, at a time when both the city and state governments are broke. The optics aren't great. Taxpayers have the right to demand and see true changes in how the state and city manage their finances before they ante up additional money to rescue them. There is still plenty of work that needs to be done in that respect. But we should also not be cheerleading the prospects of a Hartford bankruptcy, which could thwart recent progress and bring other negative consequences to the city and state. Our elected leaders will be deciding and writing Hartford's next chapter in the weeks ahead. We support a plan that saves Hartford from bankruptcy but also attaches tough strings for more fiscal accountability. At the end of the day, Connecticut needs a strong and vibrant Capital City. n OTHER VOICES 'Best deal we can get'? Only if we're too scared By Chris Powell G overnor Malloy's tentative deal for concessions from the state employee unions identifies the kind of savings state government should pursue. But while it may go as far as any Democratic gover- nor could go, it doesn't go as far as the state should go and, given its financial disaster, as far as the state could go politically. Thus the deal makes an argument that the state's next governor should be a Republi- can, if he or she isn't just another self- funding ignoramus. The deal is said to save state govern- ment more than $1.5 billion over two years, but most of that — foregone wage increas- es — is just slowing the rate of increase of spending, not actual reductions. Other provisions would have the effect of reducing wages slightly. State employees would take three unpaid furlough days in two years, effectively offsetting a few of their six gratuitous paid holidays, like Columbus Day. But the furloughs would end after two years. There would be gradual increases in employee contribu- tions toward medical insurance, but those contributions would remain small relative to the luxuriousness of the benefits. For new hires, defined-benefit pen- sions would be reduced and supplemented with 401(k) pensions. But defined-benefit pensions should be eliminated for new hires so state government eventually can get out of the pension business, which is bankrupting and corrupting the government — corrupt- ing because elected officials can never bring themselves to appropriate adequately for the benefits they promise. Overtime earnings credited to state employee pensions would be reduced to 60 per- cent. This practice also should be eliminated. Worst of all, the deal would extend the con- tract for state employee benefits by five more years, to 2027, when such contracts should not extend much beyond the term of the gov- ernor who executes them. The House Repub- lican minority leader, Rep. Themis Klarides (R-Derby), notes that while Malloy has often complained that decisions made by his prede- cessors have restricted him unfairly, he now proposes to do the same thing to his successor. So the General Assembly should press for an agreement more favorable to the public inter- est. Amid Connecticut's economic decline, the cost of state government employment should be reduced, not merely restrained, and legisla- tors should not accept the assurance of House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin) that what the governor has negotiated "is probably the best deal we can get." For the state employee unions are not the instruments of God sent forth to bedevil democ- racy. No, they are state government's own cre- ations, for their powers — collective bargain- ing and binding arbitration of contracts — are established by statutes that can be repealed. That is, the unions are not a legal, moral, or supernatural problem but a politi- cal problem, and contrary to Aresi- mowicz's suggestion, Connecticut does not need their permis- sion to govern itself. It's just that elected officials are afraid of such a big special interest, the monster they have created. But saving Connecti- cut requires sub- ordinating special interests to the pub- lic interest, starting with this one. • • • Against Trump, anything is fair For years anony- mous sources were falling out of favor in journalism, par- ticularly in regard to defamatory allegations. Increasingly they were considered unfair and of doubtful cred- ibility, since people have a right to face their accusers and allegations can't be judged when their source is hidden. But now that Donald Trump is president, anonymous sources are fashionable again. The New York Times and Washington Post churn them out practically every day to disparage his administration, as if that administration isn't easy enough to disparage fairly. n Chris Powell is the managing editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL Is Gov. Malloy's $1.5B concessions deal with state employee unions a good deal for taxpayers? ● Yes ● No To vote, go online to HartfordBusiness.com. Last week's poll results: Should CT allow a third casino? 67.2% Yes 32.8% No Chris Powell OPINION & COMMENTARY ▶ ▶ For the state employee unions are not the instruments of God sent forth to bedevil democracy. No, they are state government's own creations, for their powers — collective bargaining and binding arbitration of contracts — are established by statutes that can be repealed. Send Us Your Letters The Hartford Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and guest commentaries for our opinion pages. Electronic submissions are preferred and welcome at: editor@HartfordBusiness.com.

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