| December 2nd, 2009 Gatsas pizza party intends to raze 'wall' MANCHESTER – There was only one item of business permitted at yesterday's meeting for newly elected city officials, and that was the transaction between Mayor-elect Ted Gatsas' staff and the pizza delivery man. Gatsas had convened the meeting expecting to talk with incoming aldermen and school board members about some of his plans for the new term in City Hall. Instead, he kept his comments short, with the city solicitor standing nearby to make sure he didn't say anything that would violate the state's public-meeting laws. "Tom Clark is here to protect me," Gatsas told the crowd, "to make sure this is just a general conversation." That, by and large, is what it was, and for some people in the audience, it was enough. Officials who stopped by said it was the first time in memory that an incoming mayor had tried to gather all of the aldermen and school committeemen in the same room, if only so they would get to know each other before the new year. "I've been through four or five different administrations," said school board member Dave Gelinas, "and I don't recall this ever happening before." A majority of incoming board members were there to listen to Gatsas at 20 Market St., just around the corner from City Hall. And though most of the evening was reserved for schmoozing and snacking, Gatsas did take the opportunity to review some key points with them. He reminded them that he wants to put the city budget to bed by March 31, rather than the usual deadline of mid-June. He said he would like the entire school board, not only the board's finance committee, involved from Day 1 in the budget-writing process. He also said he would like to revise the school board's meeting agendas, which he said are "not the easiest to follow." One point that cropped up repeatedly during his half-hour address was that he wants the aldermen and school board to work together. Each board, he said, ought to know exactly what the other is doing during budget season. "I'm attempting to take that wall down between the two boards," Gatsas told the crowd. A few officials raised their hand to ask a question, though Gatsas explained there were limits to what he could say. Many of the people in attendance were sitting board members, and if they weren't careful, he said, the gathering could be construed as an official meeting. "We really shouldn't be discussing city business," the solicitor said after one alderman asked about funding for local non-profit groups. "It wasn't posted as a meeting." School Committeeman At-Large Kathleen Kelley asked whether uncertainty about state aid would make it difficult to hammer out a budget by the end of March. Gatsas said there would be no uncertainty because the state's two-year budget has already been adopted. Asked whether the March deadline would hold in 2011, when a new state budget is in the works, Gatsas said, "We can have that discussion as we go forward." Gatsas told the crowd he would be organizing more informal chats, like yesterday's, on a regular basis. He said the meetings would continue to be "informal," and would be held outside City Hall so that everyone would feel comfortable. Then he wrapped up. "Thank you for coming," he said. "I appreciate it. Have some more pizza." - New Hampshire Union Leader Dec. 2, 2009, by Scott Brooks Back To News |
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Paid for by Ted Gatsas for Mayor. B. Rivard, Fiscal Agent PO Box 6655, Manchester, NH 03108 603.623.0220
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