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Police officer always provides extra help (Connecticut Post 06/29/08)

Police officer always provides extra help

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Bridgeport Police Department Crime Prevention Officer... (Tracy Deer-Mirek/Staff photographer)

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BRIDGEPORT — City police officer Nick Ortiz got the Liberty Bell Award from the Greater Bridgeport Bar Association for community service in setting up block watches as a crime prevention officer in the Community Services Division.

But it was his extracurricular community service really caught the association's eye.

For Ortiz, outside community service is all in a day's work. His real reward is being able to help people, which he's done all of his life.

Ortiz mentors city students, helps with Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood's taekwondo classes for troubled youth and flips burgers and hot dogs for the annual St. Anthony festival, held at St. Margaret's Shrine.

"I'm willing to help anyone, anywhere, anytime," Ortiz, 48, a 23-year-officer, said as he took a break from serving food at the festival at the Park Avenue shrine on June 13. The shrine used to house a statue of St. Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police officers.

Ortiz was nominated by attorney Douglas Mahoney, who was the president of the Greater Bridgeport Bar Association at the time. Mahoney said he was researching a nominee when he saw Ortiz's volunteer activities.

"Officer Ortiz's name jumped to the top of the list," he said. "I was just so struck by what he was doing."

Then he met Ortiz, whom he'd seen walking near police headquarters almost every day. Mahoney's Lyon Terrace office faces headquarters.

"I recognized him immediately," Mahoney said.

Ortiz, who grew up in the

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city's East Side and visited the shrine on holidays as a child, said he's always wanted to help the community. He was inspired to become an officer after seeing a statue, in the shrine, where a tall St. Michael the Archangel stands over a police officer.

For the St. Anthony procession that follows the festival, he donned his uniform while off-duty and directed traffic, as he's done for the four years he has been with the festival.

Nick Mastroianni, an organizer with the festival since it was started 30 years ago, said he always needs people to pitch in at a moment's notice.

"The help is indescribable," he said. "It relieves you of all the pressure. We're grateful to have a person like him."

Another festival volunteer has also experienced Ortiz's help.

Cliff Roberts, president of the Germania Schwaben Society here, said Ortiz helped gather bicycles for children, which were presented around the holidays last year. Roberts hopes to repeat the program.

Ortiz is also trying to come up with fundraising ideas to replace the St. Michael statue, which went missing years ago.

He joined the department in 1985 after graduating from Warren Harding High School. He became a DARE officer, which got him into Community Services.

Today, with two years to go, he's not sure whether he'll retire.

"If I still see I can help, maybe I'll stick around for a while," he said.

One person who would like to see him stay is Brent DiGiorgio, spokesman for People's United Bank, headquartered downtown.

Ortiz linked DiGiorgio with the community, such as by helping him with the bank's Heroes Honoring Heroes program, which recognizes a police officer and a youth for helping the local community.

"He's been an enormous help to me," DiGiorgio said.

The spokesman credited Ortiz's upbringing with his service ethic.

Ortiz grew up in the notorious Father Panik Village, which had its share of violence and drugs and social problems.

"He has seen others suffer and in his life and, consequently, always wanted to give back to his community. His heart and his head are always in the right place," DiGiorgio said.

Bristol Council OKs Police Pact (Hartford Courant 06/28/08)

Bristol Council OKs Police Union Pact

By ANDREW PORTER | Courant Staff Writer

June 28, 2008

LETTER TO THE CONNECTICUT POST PUBLISHED ON 06/18/08

Finch wants Bridgeport to up its savings (Connecticut Post 06/18/08)

Finch wants Bridgeport to up its savings BILL CUMMINGS Article Last Updated: 06/18/2008 01:24:37 AM EDT BRIDGEPORT — Mayor Bill Finch, concerned about the impact of the city budget's shrinking fund balance on its credit rating, is implementing a new policy designed to shore up the account. Finch on Tuesday announced the fund balance will now be at least 8 percent of the annual budget, which this year is $492 million, requiring about $40 million for the fund. The mayor admitted reaching the goal will be difficult and could cause budget cuts similar to layoffs and spending cuts that drew nearly 1,000 protesters to City Council meetings while the budget was being set this spring. "The city is in a financial crisis and this is another step we are taking. In the recent past we spent down the fund balance, and we spent it down in good times," Finch said. The fund balance is the city's savings account, meaning money in the budget that is not allocated for specific use. The funds are supposed to be reserved for emergencies and unforeseen problems. Credit-rating companies prefer a healthy fund balance or reserve account. If those credit firms reduce the city's bond rating, it will cost more to borrow money, and that can affect taxes. Under the 2008-09 budget, which begins July 1, the city will have $15 million in the fund balance, or about 3 percent of the operating budget. That projection is a best-case estimate that assumes Finch will secure an additional $1.5 million in savings from municipal unions as contracts are negotiated in the coming year. By comparison, Advertisement the city's fund balance in 2000 was more than $50 million. Finch warned there would be more layoffs if unions refuse to give back vacation time and other benefits. Michael Lupkus, the city's deputy finance director, said the policy should allay immediate concerns credit-rating companies are likely to have over the diminished fund balance. The new policy sets a goal of placing $2.5 million a year in the fund balance. During the 2009 fiscal year, about $1 million would be added, officials said. The City Council is now considering a resolution to make Finch's plan the city's official policy. City Council President Thomas McCarthy, along with council members Robert Curwen and Leticia Colon, who jointly chair the council's Budget and Appropriations Committee, said they support the policy designed to bolster the fund balance. "We are willing to take tough medicine. It won't be easy for citizens to take," McCarthy warned. This year's budget battle illustrated how tight city finances have become. The move to privatize the school-based health clinics, for example, saved $1.5 million by taking dozens of nurses and other workers off the city payroll. But $1.5 million, just to use that figure as an example, is $1 million less than the city's goal of placing $2.5 million in the fund balance by the end of 2010. One factor that could ease future pain, and offset the need for more layoffs in coming years, is if the city gains additional revenue from economic development projects, such as Steel Point. Bill Cummings, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6230. Print   Email   Return to Top

Arbitrator-NET staffing improper (Connecticut Post 06/12/08)

Arbitrator: NET staffing improper AARON LEO Staff writer Article Launched: 06/12/2008 01:35:57 PM EDT BRIDGEPORT — A state labor arbitrator has ordered that the police Neighborhood Enforcement Team be staffed in compliance with seniority rules spelled out in the city's contract with the police union. The ruling, however, is being appealed by the city, and pending the exhaustion of that process, the team will continue to function as constituted, according to John Bohannon, the lawyer hired by the city to handle the case. "NET will continue performing its duties," said Bohannon, a former assistant city attorney. The state arbitrator, Joseph M. Celentano, heard arguments May 12 in City Hall and the ruling was issued June 5. The Bridgeport Police Union Local 1159, in its complaint, contended that Chief Bryan T. Norwood violated the contract by personally selecting members of the 11-officer squad without regard to their seniority or promotional status. The team tackles quality-of-life issues in target neighborhoods, such as loitering, illegal drugs and guns, break-ins and underage drinking. The chief should have chosen the NET officers based on seniority, the union complaint states. However, union leaders add they do not want to see the squad disbanded. Officer Frank Cuccaro, the union president, said the ruling called for the department to "rebid the positions and go by seniority." The city must abide by the contract, he has said. Mayor Bill Finch supports the team and the way its members were selected. "The NET team is essential to the public safety Advertisement of this city and we have seen great success with them under the direction" of the chief, he said. "I support the NET team and the chief's method for staffing it one hundred percent and I will fight tirelessly to keep the team intact here in Bridgeport." The team recently arrested a man who had escaped for the third time in six years from the Connecticut Valley Hospital, the state's mental hospital. NET officers were alerted to look for the man, Roy Sastrom, 44, who was considered armed and dangerous for allegedly using a handgun to rob a bank in Chelmsford, Mass., after his escape. Bohannon said that's just one of the team's recent accomplishments. "It's an intelligence-gathering team" that also works on gangs and parole enforcement, he said. The chief picked the team in consultation with two deputy chiefs. The unit hit the streets in February 2007, and is made up of a sergeant and 10 officers. Each officer has different police-work specialties. "It works because the people were hand-picked for their particular abilities," Bohannon said. "This touches on the chief's ability to manage the department effectively," he said of the decision to challenge the arbitrator's ruling. The union filed the grievance on behalf of an officer who applied to be a NET member, but failed to be selected, he said. Sgt. Paul Grech, the head of the team, declined to comment on the ruling. But, he said, Officer Chris Martin was recently added, bringing its membership to 11. Meanwhile, the team was slated to receive an award Thursday from Mothers Against Drunk Driving for its enforcement of laws on underage drinking, Grech said. In several sting operations, the team has nabbed numerous college students using false identification to illegally buy alcohol. The unit has also underscored the enforcement campaign by organizing forums on underage drinking with area college officials, and bar and package store owners. Print   Email   Return to Top