How's It Going? Carfora's First 100 Days

EAST HAVEN, CT —Not long after Joe Carfora was sworn in as mayor came his first test. An early winter storm. He passed with flying colors.

“People were reaching out to say, 'Geez, our roads were never pre-treated before.' People said they haven't seen a snow plow come down their street in years. So that was a good sign. A sign that we were headed in the right direction,” Carfora told Patch in a lengthy interview last week.

Carfora said as transparency is "what I ran on,” he is committed to sharing news with the community and doing that via social media has been a plus.

“I was told early on that social media was a big asset. They were spot on. I have kept in touch with people and we are continuing to do that.”

He has a team, dubbed the 'Mayorettes' who help to run social media, send out press releases, take and post photographs on Facebook, field questions and generally keep up with the mayor who is moving at a frenetic pace.

Wearing sneakers is a plus.

The First 100 Days

Carfora said the biggest issues he’s faced in his first 100 days in office “is the budget.”

“Our expenditures were fine but the revenues were misleading. We’re trying really hard to overcome that. And it’s a work in progress.”

Carfora and Assistant Director of Administration and Management Michelle Benivegna, who is overseeing the budget process, have been “looking at each line item and bringing in department heads to get clarity as to why increased funding is being requested."

He and Benivegna spend “three to fours hours a day" working on the budget. Nights and weekends, too. “We want to know this budget inside and out, good and bad and be able to answer any questions that may be asked."

Carfora said that in January he was told there would be around a $1 million deficit. It turned out to be $1.2 million and he said as a result, “our fund balance, or rainy day fund, was hit by it. So it’s discouraging but we’re looking at everything we can to make cuts and be creative with bringing in revenue.”

Carfora said that one of the ways he hopes to cut costs is to when possible combine positions while still providing the same services. He pointed to the departure of longtime finance director Paul Rizzo who “finally retired” and, the mayor said, Jim Keeley, the town’s assistant finance director, will receive an additional stipend and assume the duties of both posts. "He’ll do Paul’s job, too.”

And, Carfora said that following the retirement of longtime Senior Center director Jan Lougal, he decided to combine the town's social services department with senior services.

“Bob Petrucelli, a great guy doing a wonderful job,” will oversee both. Which is effective given many of the residents who rely on social services are the elderly. “They will support each other instead of keeping them apart.”

The First 'Most Disturbing' Problem He Confronted

Carfora said among the most disturbing problems he had to confront was the near half-century-old town pool.

“Closing the pool was unfortunate but it was deplorable. I walked through and it was clear there was a major lack of maintenance, people from the previous administration had really dropped the ball.”

“Residents complained but it was just shoved under the carpet. My moment of ‘that's it, I’m shutting this down’ was when I walked into the mechanical room and looked at circuit boards that were soaking wet. Rusted and wet with what looked like rain: Condensation coming from the ceiling just dripping down. When I walked in there with members of the health department, it blew my mind. I don't want anybody to get hurt or killed. I did what I had to do. The building is compromised.”

Carfora said that a renovation is out of the question: “We should not waste the taxpayer’s money. It's not the solution.”

He said he hoped to educate the public on the situation.

“Many don’t realize that renovating the pool is not only too expensive, it is not of regulation size for high school swimmers," he said.

The pool was built in the 1970s.

“Spend millions to renovate a facility that will only serve a small group of people? No. It’s important that a pool be built at the high school and we have other things we need to take care of. We’re coming across a lot of stuff in town, things that have been neglected for years and years.”

Some Serious Spring Cleaning Ahead

Another of his concerns is the condition of the town and school’s ball fields and parks: “We have to set up a game plan.”

So last Friday, Carfora, Benivegna, Superintendent of Public Works Charlie Coyle, groundskeeper John Longley and school's Athletic Director Anthony Verderame toured fields at East Haven High School and Deer Run.

“Our ball fields are horrendous. I go to other towns that have impeccable fields,” Carfora said.

The goal is to have all “fields up and ready for spring sports.”

“I ran on bringing back our quality of life. I think our residents over the last 18 years have just been completely numb to the fact that they wake up in the morning and this is their hometown. That’s not acceptable.”

Carfora also said that going forward, no more outsourcing for work that can be done by public works employees.

“They want to work. And I want them to work. They will clean up these fields. For years the town has paid contractors to do things like put up fencing. Why? We have employees who can do it all. I’m not going to hire it out. Our guys are capable of doing this work and that’s how we can save money and beautify the town," he said.

The town is filled with community groups that are working hand in hand with the mayor to help beautify East Haven, Benivegna said.

About The 2020 Census

"It's so important," Carfora said. He began promoting the Census last month helped by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.

He and Benivegna said the "few minutes it takes to fill out the form can make a huge difference."

The state and town can lose $2,900 per person if the Census form is not filled. And that critical funding is the reason he's being aggressive in promoting the 2020 Census, he said.

And Benivegna said those dollars "will offset our budget."

The mayor has events planned for the big Census 2020 push in March and has a lot of things on his schedule to educate people about the importance of the census.

Delivering On Campaign Promises

“I'm going to look down every single avenue for continued creative solutions,” Carfora said.

“There's been an outpouring of support from people who are seeing and saying ‘there's a breath of fresh air in town.’ My whole campaign was about reclaiming our quality of life," he said. " Now that we’re in office, we’re going to deliver.”

Carfora said his administration is also working with police on a program that tackles the opioid crisis head-on.

Carfora is out in the community. A cursory look at his Facebook page shows him all over town: at schools and community events, promoting 'East Haven Proud’ with an omnipresent hashtag.

Carfora said residents have been "coming up to me, shaking my hand and saying 'thank you.'"

"A lot of people are feeling good, hopeful. We are too and will work every day to make sure to look out for everyone's best interest."