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March 19, 2008
TOPIC: Long Term Planning for the State of Connecticut:  Do It Or Else?

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A recently completed report on long term planning  authored by the Program Review and Investigation Committee found that the state has “no clear vision” for “where it wishes to be in 20 years (or some long-term period) or how it intends to get there” (p. 34). The state lacks a coordinate data collection point where data are collected and analyzed that could be used in long term planning, or in monitoring progress toward achieving established goals (p. 32). 

A number of states have mounted long range planning efforts – from Washington State to Kentucky – that provide executive and legislative leaders with good information for decision making and budget development. If long term and coordinated planning should be a core part of state government operations, not peripheral and subject to the whim of changes in leadership – what should we do in Connecticut to get there and what price will we pay if we do not?

MODERATOR: Professor Paul Petterson, President, CT-ASPA

PANEL:

• Legislator (or staff member) from the Program Review and Investigation Committee(invited)
• Carol Atkinson-Palombo, Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut Department of Geography
• Mark Pellegrini, City of Manchester Director of Neighborhood services and Economic Development; President, CT Chapter, American Planning Association

November 8, 2007
TOPIC: The Impact of Budget Referenda on Municipalities

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MODERATOR: Lyle Wray, Vice President, CT ASPA

PANEL:

• Mr. Brain West, Research Analyst, CTACIR
  (Connecticut Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations)
• Mr. Alan Bergren, Town Manager, Town of East Hampton CT
• Mr. Robert Lee, Town Manager, Town of Plainville CT

October 3, 2007
"Shared Services In Connecticut: Experiences and Outlook"

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Panelists:

• Rep. J. Brendan Sharkey, Esq., D-Hamden (Assistant Deputy Speaker)
• Mr. W. David Levasseur, Esq.,Undersecretary, Intergovernmental Policy Division, CT Office of Policy and Management (OPM)
• Mr. Paul Hutcheon, M. P. H., R.S., Health Director, Central Connecticut Health District

May 9, 2007 – Legislative Update on Transportation Issues

• Senator Donald J. DeFronzo, Chair, Transportation Committee
• Representative David McCluskey, Transportation Committee    
• Mr. Albert Martin, Deputy Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation

March 21, 2007 - Paying for Pension Benefits: Where are We and What is Next?

• James W. Francis, Town Manager, Town of West Hartford
• Saranne P. Murray, Partner, Shipman and Goodwin, LLP
• Rebecca A. (Becky) Sielman, EA Principal, Consulting Actuary, Principal in the Hartford Office of Milliman

November 15, 2006, Connecticut’s First Experience with New Voting Machines – Aye or Nay?

• Rep. Tim O’Brien, Vice Chair, Government Administrations and Elections Committee
• Lucian Pawlak, Municipal Liaison / HAVA Project Manager, Office of the Secretary of the State
• Andrew S. Garfunkel CCTC, Town Clerk, City of Norwalk
• Dr. Paul Petterson, Associate Professor of Political Science, CCSU

October 11, 2006 - Shared Services in Connecticut Towns – Savings and Efficiencies? Past Present and Future

•  Hon. Sonya “Sonny” Googins, 31st District, Assistant Minority Leader
•  W. David LeVasseur, Under Secretary, CT Office of Policy and Management
• Philip K. Schenck, Jr., Avon Town Manager, Past President Connecticut Conference of Municipalities

May 10, 2006 – Pending Issues in Education Finance

• Robert Bifulco, Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut
• Dianne Kaplan de Vries, Ed.D, Project Director, Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education
• Phillip Scheneck, Jr., Avon Town Manager

March 8, 2006 – Recruitment 2006: CEO/Public Safety Recruitment

• Randi Frank, Randi Frank Consulting, LLC – National Recruiting
• Santiago Malave, Director of Personnel, City of Hartford – Minority Recruitment in Public Safety
• Attorneys Ken Weinstock and Pat McHale specializing in public employee labor issues and employment contracts.

November 9, 2005 – Results That Matter.  Improving Communities by Engaging Citizens
Measuring Performance and Getting Things Done.

• Paul D. Epstein, Principal, Epstein and Fass Associates
• Lyle Wray, Executive Director, Capital Regional Coucil of Governments

September 14, 2005 – Hartford 311 – Who Do I Call?

• Lee Erdmann, COO, City of Hartford
• Susan McMullen, Director of Constituent Services, City of Hartford

May 11, 2005 – The Connecticut Convention Center and its Impact on the State

• Dean Pagani, Director of Marketing and Communications, Capital City Economic Development Authority
• Scott Phelps, President, Greater Hartford Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
• Ben Seidel, Executive Director, Connecticut Convention Center

March 10, 2005 – Online not Inline: Wired Public Services in Connecticut

• Jack McCoy, Chief Information Officer, Town of Manchester
• Edward Klonowski, Executive Director, Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium
• Lyle Wray, Executive Director, Capital Regional Council of Governments

November 10, 2004 – The Hard Work Behind the Rising Star.  Organizational Development Efforts within the City of Hartford

• Lee C. Erdmann, Chief Operating Officer, City of Hartford
• Mark Abrahams, President The Abrahams Group
• Sandra Biloon, Adjunct Professor, UCONN MPA Program
• Joseph Colletti, President, The Woodledge Group
• Thomas A. Foard, Director, Center for Professional Development, Rensselaer at Hartford
•  Raymond Grasso, Principal Partner, RAMILI Associates
• Lynn Lachance, Principal Administrative Analyst, City of Hartford
• Lori Wachtelhausen, Management and Budget Director, City of Hartford

September 8, 2004 – Connecticut’s Industry Cluster Economic Development Initiative

• William J. Kaufmann, Senior Advisor, CT Department of Community and Economic Development

May 6, 2004 – Ethics in Government

• Senator Donald J. DeFronzo, Chair Government, Administration & Elections Committee
•  Professor Carol Lewis, University of Connecticut, Department of Political Science

November 12, 2003 - Using Web-Based Technology to Understand Citizen Preferences for Taxes and Service Levels

• Mark Robbins and Bill Simonsen, Institute of Public Affairs and Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut

September 18, 2003 - The Property Tax System and Education Funding

• Jim Finley, Associate Director of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, Public Policy and Advocacy
• Hon. Jonathan Harris, Mayor of West Hartford and an appointee to the State of Connecticut Blue Ribbon Commission on Property Tax Burdens and Smart Growth Incentives
• Rep. Robert Heagney, State Representative and Ranking Member on the Legislature's Education Committee

May 15, 2003 – Homeland Security: A Primer on Protection for Public Agencies and their Employees

•  Detective Michael Grieder, and Detective Eric Dency, Connecticut Department of Public Safety, Division of Homeland Security, Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit
• Mr. Craig Olson, Supervisor, Joint Terrorism Task Force (Connecticut), Federal Bureau of Investigation

March 20, 2003 - Hot Issues in Public Sector Labor Relations

• Stephen F. McEleney, An Attorney Representing Unions, McEleney & McGrail
        "Regionalization, Privatization, Contracting-out and Other Great Union Busting Techniques"
• Catherine Serino, Director and Mediator for the State Board of Arbitration and Mediation
        "Trends in Municipal Binding Arbitration and Lay-Off Based Grievances"
• Anne Noble Walker, An Attorney Representing Municipalities & Employers, Robinson & Cole LLP
        "The Ugly Face of Retaliation Claims in the Unionized Environment" & "Co-worker Harassment"
• Jaye Bailey Zanta, General Counsel, Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations
        "Subcontracting and Failure to Bargain Claims"

November 21, 2002 – Developing a Transportation Strategy for Connecticut – A Public Administrator’s Perspective

• Harry P. Harris, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Public Transportation, CT Dept. of Transportation
• Joyce Wojtas, Director of Governmental Affairs, CT Construction Industries Association
• Jeffrey O’Keefe, Director, Greater Bridgeport Transit Authority

September 24, 2002 - Understanding the Legislative Budget Process

• Spencer Cain, Chief Budget Analyst, Office of Fiscal Analysis, CT General Assembly
• Neil Ayers, Associate Budget Analyst, Office of Fiscal Analysis, CT General Assembly

May 16, 2002 – Distressed Municipalities: Waterbury – A Case Study

• Hon. Marc S. Ryan, Secretary, OPM
• Hon. Michael J. Cicchetti, Undersecretary, Intergovernmental Policy Div., OPM
• Hon. Michael J. Jarjura, Mayor, City of Waterbury
• Richard F. Vitarelli, Esq., General Counsel, Waterbury Financial and Planning Assistance Board

March 7, 2002 – Affordable and Other Housing Issues in the Region

• Hon. Eddie A. Perez, Mayor, City of Hartford
• Mary Ellen Kowalewski, Director of Community Development, Capitol Region Council of Governments

January 15, 2002 - Building Stronger Communities Through Enhanced Citizen Participation

• Drew O'Connor, Deputy Director Community Services, National Civic League, Denver, CO.
• Richard Porth, Executive Director, Capitol Region Council of Governments, Hartford, CT.

October 3, 2001 - Condemnation and Controversy

• Dwight H. Merriam, FAICP, Partner, Robinson and Cole, LLP

May 2, 2001 –Privacy, the Internet and More…

• Dr. Ralph Morelli, Chair, Computer Science Department Trinity College
• Honorable James Fleming, Commissioner, Department of Consumer Protection

March 7, 2001 – Financial Fraud in Government

• Lynn Rodriguez Scully, President, Rodriguez & Associates
• Joe Centofanti, CPA, Kostin, Ruffkess & Co., LLC
• Jim Bergenn, Attorney, Shipman and Goodwin

January 17, 2001 – Labor and Employment Issues in the Workplace

• Helen Kemp, Employment Attorney, Robinson and Cole, LLP

September 21, 2000 - Joint Conference with the Connecticut Society of Governmental Accountants

• Performance Measurement for Governmental Organizations
• The "Big Dig", Boston's Canal/Artery Tunnel Project
• F. Daniel Ahern, Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General and ASPA President-Elect
• Wendy Haynes, Massachusetts  Office of the Inspector General and ASPA District Rep.

May 24, 2000 - Performance Measures in the Public Sector

• Barry Feldman, City Manager, West Hartford
• Ron Schack, Principal Consultant, Interactive Decision Consulting

January 19, 2000 - Public Service Through Electronic Government

• Larry Wilson, Assistant State Treasurer, State of Connecticut
• Ed Klonoski, Distance Learning Coordinator, Charter Oak State College

May 28, 1998 – Successful Chapter Programs, Activities at National 

• Mary Hamilton ASPA National, Executive Director

March  3, 1998 – Government’s Biggest Challenge: Delivering Results

• Michael Meotti, President, Connecticut Policy and Economic Council (CPEC)