News Analysis
A Narrative: Tax Payer Debt, Funding, Storm Drainage and Sanitary Systems
By Frank and Sharon Chase, 1) Tax Payer Debt Reaches $325M as reported in the NBP 12-23-23: Over time, New Britain mayors have tried to avoid mill rate increases and higher taxes in the belief it would be fatal to their re-election efforts… Meanwhile, they simply “kick the can down the road” disregarding future fiscal […]
There is a large Gap between New Britain municipality employee diversity and the diversity of the City’s Population
According to WalletHub report New Britain has the 30th most diverse population among all cities in the United States. The diversity measure includes ethnic diversity, ethno-racial diversity, linguistic diversity, and birthplace diversity. Within these categories, New Britain stands out as 12th in the nation in language diversity (https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-with-the-most-and-least-ethno-racial-and-linguistic-diversity/10264). According to the census, New Britain’s racial/ethnic […]
Police Blotter Data Appears to Show Many Latinos as White
Police blotter lists published by the city appear show list most Latinos arrested as white, listing ‘race’ but not ethnicity. The police blotter lists published by the city that have this demographic information appear to show that 73% of the people arrested in the periods covered by these reports were white and 27% were Black. […]
Flooding in New Britain – The Role of the Shrinking Permeable Spaces
This year flooding hit New Britain hard. Flooding has been experienced in Roxbury Rd, Newberry Street, Allen Street, Overlook Ave, and McKinley Drive causing residents to speak in front of the common council demanding solutions. But flooding is by no means new in New Britain. The most susceptible area for flooding in New Britain is […]
Housing Insecurity in New Britain a Growing Problem That Needs to be Addressed
In September 2021 the US department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $2.2 million to the city of New Britain for a new grant called HOME-ARP. This grant was part of the $1.9 trillion that congress allocated for the American Rescue Plan to stimulate the economy, especially in poor communities who suffered most from the […]
Would Election Changes Turn Around Record Low Voter Turnout in New Britain?
Voting turnout is key to a healthy democracy. High turnout often means voters are motivated and believe their vote makes a difference. Politicians will tend to be more attuned to their constituents when turnout is high. However, in the US including Connecticut, municipal elections tend to have low voter turnout and as a result local […]
Connecticut Gets a Grade of “Incomplete” on Protecting Health Coverage of Medicaid Eligible Residents
By Dr. Peggy Lampkin, An open letter: Dear Gov. Ned Lamont; l am a resident of this state. I am sending you this message to urge you to act now to end a major health emergency regarding Medicaid Disenrollment. A coalition of Partners from the human rights community have developed state-focused scorecards that grade each […]
Are the Finances of the City of New Britain in Order?
In October 2023 both the New Britain Progressive and the New Britain Herald reported that the City of New Britain has failed to submit its 2022 financial audit report on time and was 10 months late. The city indicated it would submit its report by Halloween, but it has missed that deadline as well and […]
Should there be a New Britain Chief Operations Officer
On the 2022 elections ballot there were three questions for the voters to vote yes or no. One question was put by the state legislator whether to institute early voting. The other two questions were put by the Republican majority based on recommendations by the city charter re-opening committee. One question asked the voters whether […]
Former Mayor Tim Stewart Ethics Dilemma
According to the minutes of the City of New Britain Zoning Board of Appeals, former mayor Tim Stewart has been representing applicants to obtain zoning variances for them since 2020 and continued to do so for at least 7 cases (cases: #4931, #4943, #4955, #4994, #4995, #4976, #4977) since being appointed by his daughter, mayor […]
Excessive Mayor’s power in the city of New Britain
by Aram Ayalon As the new 2-year elected administration in the city of New Britain is beginning, it’s important to examine the mayor’s growing power and the lack of balance between the executive and legislative branches of the city of New Britain. As has evolved in the past 20 year the mayor’s power has become […]
City Claims Late Audit Due to Staffing Shortage, “Projected” Completion on Halloween
The administration of Mayor Erin Stewart (R) claims that the city of New Britain failed to file a required audit more than a year after the close of its 2022 budget year because it was short-staffed in its finance office. Yesterday, the New Britain Progressive broke the news about a stern letter from the state […]
New Britain School Test Scores Remain Low and Behind State
At the October Board of Education meeting, the New Britain school district attempted to paint an upbeat picture of school test scores for New Britain in 2022-23 that appear to remain on a downward long-term trend and far below statewide averages. According to analysis of data from the State Department of Education, between the 2015-16 […]
Household Income of New Britain Residents Less Than Pay of Jobs Located in City
Data in a recent study by DataHaven shows household income in New Britain lags behind the pay of jobs in the city. The data raises the question about how much of the relatively higher income jobs that are located in New Britain are held by workers who reside in other towns. The study, DataHaven’s New […]
NBPD Publishes Arrest Log Online After FOI Controversy
A July controversy over the City’s and New Britain Police’s denying access to arrest logs to the New Britain Herald without formal Freedom of Information requests has led to the New Britain Police Department (NBPD) posting a weekly arrest log online at https://pd.newbritainct.gov/safety-prevention/police-blotter. The link shows arrests made in the city for one week — […]
Republicans’ Council Slate Very Different From Current Council
New Britain Republicans have endorsed a very different slate of candidate from their current Council members, with many incumbents out — and rumors circulating that some incumbents and other Republicans may challenge as independent candidates. Only six of the twelve incumbent Republicans on the City Council were endorsed for re-election, out of a possible ten […]
State School Aid to New Britain Up 56% Since 2012; Grant Will Reach $115.5 Million By 2025
“Flat Funding” Claim By Mayor Stewart Is Contradicted By The Actual Numbers By John McNamara The new state budget adopted last month brought increases in Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funds to the New Britain School District over the next two years. The $11.9 million increase approved by the legislature and Governor will bring the total […]
Your Water Bill: New Britain Pays Highest By Income To Mattabassett District
Census Data Shows Sewer Fees Take A Bigger Chunk Out of NB Residents’ Wallets Staff Reports| News Analysis NEW BRITAIN – The City Council received an annual budget report at its May 24th meeting from the Mattabassett District which shows how much the residents of each member city and town pay to the regional sewer […]
Study Ranks Personal “Wellbeing” of New Britain Residents Low
A regional study about the level of “wellbeing” in Greater Hartford communities identified New Britain residents as having an especially low rate of “personal wellbeing”. New Britain was found to have a far lower Personal Wellbeing Index score in 2021 than the state as a whole or the Greater Hartford region, according to the Greater […]
Mayor’s Proposed Budget Will Bring 12.58% Tax Hike
Public Hearing Is April 24th; Common Council Adoption Due By June 7th Staff Reports NEW BRITAIN – Mayor Erin Stewart’s proposed $265,849,055 city budget would increase property taxes by 12.58% for the fiscal year that begins July 1st, with a 5.92% spending increase over current year expenditures. The Mayor’s General Fund Budget Book 2023-2024 Stewart’s […]