| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
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| MID-WEEK UPDATE
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
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COUNCIL and the PENSION
May 14th Meeting
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| Hamden Legislative Council members preparing for Monday night's meeting at the Government Center |
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Fourteen HFD retirees attended last night's Legislative Council meeting devoted exclusively to discussing the current pension crisis with three financial advisors.
The financial advisors who were questioned by the Council suggested that remedies to the pension underfunding will be tough and might include Pension Obligation Bonding, full funding and the so-called "pay as you go" method to fulfill the Town's pension obligations.
They warned that the worst case scenario could be one in which the State of Connecticut takes over and mandates a municipal tax increase commensurate with the needs of the pension plan.
Several fire and police department retirees offered comments and observations about the pension crisis. Hamden Police Department retiree Bob Maturo told the Council that the financial health of the Town is at stake, but the Town must keep its promises. He said that it is now the job of the Council to figure a way to fix the pension plan while maintaining the Town's financial health.
Former Local 2687 President Bob Anthony, who was on the Retirement Board for many years, stated that the actuaries who consulted the Hamden's retirement board every two years always recommended full funding of the pension plan, but the Mayor and/or Council usually ignored their recommendations.
Citing Milford specifically, current Local 2687 president Kurt Vogt noted that several area pension plans were currently in very good financial condition, even after the 2008 financial downturn, because they were always properly funded.
Council member Carol Noble, an eighteen-year veteran of the Council, said that she was unaware of the role that actuaries played in the planning and proposing of Hamden's pension funding until the financial crisis of late 2008.
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Council president Judi Kozak said that she would like to see a committee organized, consisting of representatives from the executive and legislative branches, as well as the unions and the retirees, to help formulate a strategy for funding the pension plan properly in the future.
In the end, the Council voted to infuse $9.3 million into the pension plan for fiscal 2012-13, with the intention of formulating a long-term solution to the pension funding crisis during the coming fiscal year.
The Council votes tomorrow night (Wednesday) on the budget. The venue has not been announced as yet. We'll keep everyone posted.
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| CLICK HERE to see details and to print your application |
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| 2012 UPFFA Golf Tournament
Friday, May 18th, starting at 11 a.m.
Laurel View Country Club
Proceeds to benefit the UPFFA Emergency Relief Fund, MDA, The Tommy Fund, Scholarship Fund, Bridgeport Hospital Burn Fund, and the Health & Safety Committee
CLICK on the UPFFA logo at left to read
all the details and to print your application.
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| August 29, 1996 - Batt. Chiefs Tom Doherty and Mike Ambriscoe in the B/Cs' office at Station 3, a few minutes before Tom left the station for the last time after 35 years, 7 months and 19 days on the job. Tom recently returned to Station 3 for a visit and was greeted warmly by today's firefighters. Mike retired in 2005 and is now the fire chief of Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. |
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| CLICK to enlarge for IDs (Shirley Mangler photograph) |
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| Photographer Shirley Mangler used this November 28, 1987 training session to create this unique, previously unpublished photo op. The all-day Saturday training session was part of Fire Fighter I certification for members all four Hamden volunteer fire companies that were active at the time.
The house was donated to the department for training by the property owner, who was preparing to develop the Autumn Ridge subdivision off Paradise Avenue. All interior firefighting evolutions were done, so there was really nothing left to do but to let 'er rip - and that we did.
Shirley, who is the wife of retired Firefighter Harold Mangler, preserved much of our history with hundreds of Hamden Fire Department photos of emergencies and training sessions taken between 1980 and the early 2000s.
Posted 5/11/12
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Any firefighter who ever worked at Station 4 knows the Brown Stone House, where the elite meet to eat here in Hamden. Located since 1949 on the northeast corner of Whitney and Dixwell, the Brown Stone is Hamden's "Times Square," where local politicians, business big shots and regular folks could be seen satisfying their gastronomic needs in a comfortable setting, and at very reasonable prices.
When the Brown Stone recently celebrated their 63rd anniversary with a grand reopening following renovations, Ann DeMatteo covered the occasion for the New Haven Register. Among Ann's several interviewees was our own John O'Hare, who shared some special memories of his own. CLICK on the 1953 advertisement at right to read Ann's article and view the video.
Posted 5/11/12
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| CLICK on this 1953 ad for the Brown Stone House to view Ann DeMatteo's New Haven Register article and video featuring one of our most senior HFRA members, who has been a patron of this famous Hamden eatery since '49. |
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