OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Hartford Court of Common Council Hybrid Meeting - March 9, 2026

Council MeetingsMonday, March 9, 2026
BodyHartford, Connecticut
SessionCouncil Meetings
DateMonday, March 9, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
16:43

Yes.

16:44

Good evening.

16:44

Would like to call this Court of Common Council meeting to order.

16:48

Virtual, sorry, hybrid meeting for today, March 9th, 2026.

16:53

Uh we are broadcasting live on HPA TV.org, channel ninety-six on Comcast, Channel Six Zero Three Two on Frontier, and all streaming platforms of Hartford Public Access TV.

17:03

Mr.

17:03

Clerk, can you please call the role?

17:05

Councilwoman Biladu.

17:06

Here.

17:07

Council President Clark.

17:08

Here.

17:09

Councilman Gale.

17:10

Here.

17:10

Councilman Hernandez.

17:11

Councilman Mickdom?

17:12

Here.

17:13

Councilman Rosado.

17:14

Here.

17:15

Councilwoman Rosetti.

17:17

Here.

17:18

Councilwoman Surgeon.

17:20

And Councilman Thomas.

17:21

Here.

17:21

You have a quorum, Mr.

17:22

President.

17:23

Thank you.

17:23

Mr.

17:23

Clerk, let us all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

17:38

Liberty and Justice overall.

17:52

Madam Majority Leader, you have the floor.

17:54

City, Council President, I make a motion to suspend the rules to accept item seven point one.

17:59

Second.

18:00

Motion has been made in property second on suspension of rules for adding item seven point one.

18:06

And discussions.

18:07

Hearing us seeing none, Mr.

18:09

Clerk can please call the role.

18:10

Councilwoman Biladu?

18:11

Yes.

18:12

Council President Clark?

18:13

Yes.

18:13

Councilman Gale.

18:14

Yes.

18:15

Councilman Hernandez.

18:17

Councilman McDonough.

18:18

Yes.

18:18

Councilwoman Rosado.

18:20

Yes.

18:20

Councilman Rosetti?

18:22

Yes.

18:22

Councilwoman Surgeon.

18:24

And Councilman Thomas.

18:26

Yes.

18:26

Yeah, it didn't pass this.

18:27

Thank you, Mr.

18:28

Clerk.

18:28

Madam Majority Leader, you have the floor.

18:36

Second.

18:37

Motion has been made in property second on approval of minutes for February 23rd, 2026.

18:41

Any discussions on approval of the minutes?

18:43

Hearing us saying none, Mr.

18:44

Clerk can please call the roll.

18:45

On the approval of the minutes, Councilwoman Biladu?

18:48

Yes.

18:48

Council President Clark.

18:49

Yes.

18:50

Councilman Gail.

18:51

Yes.

18:51

Councilman Hernandez.

18:53

Councilman McDonald.

18:54

Yes.

18:55

Councilman Rosato.

18:56

Yes.

18:57

Council Councilwoman Rosetti.

18:58

Yes.

18:59

Councilwoman Surgeon.

19:00

And Councilman Thomas.

19:02

Yes.

19:03

Pass.

19:04

Thank you.

19:04

Mr.

19:04

Clerk.

19:05

Madam Majority, do you have the floor?

19:07

Through you, Council President, I make a motion to move the following items to the consent calendar.

19:12

Item five point one, Mayor Avrilam with accompanying resolution authorizing the city to accept grant funds from the state of Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

19:20

Item six point one, Council President Clerk, Councilwoman Rosetti, and Councilwoman Rosato.

19:25

Resolution requesting permission to serve alcohol during a milestone birthday celebration to be held in the City Hall Atrium.

19:32

Item 6.2 Councilwoman Rosetti, Council President Clerk, Majority Leader Billadu.

19:37

Assistant Majority Leader Hernandez, Councilman Rosado, Councilwoman Surgeon.

19:42

Resolution calling for the Hartford Court of Common Council to recognize, celebrate, and hereby proclaim March 2026 as a woman's history month.

19:49

And item 6.3 assistant majority leader Hernandez.

19:53

Councilwoman Rosado, Council President Clerk, Councilwoman Surgeon, Majority Leader Billido, Councilwoman Rosetti resolution, Operation Prom Connecticut.

20:06

Second.

20:07

Motion has been made in the property second on the consent calendar items and discussion on the consent calendar items.

20:12

Hearing of saying none, Mr.

20:14

Clerk can please call the role.

20:15

On the consent calendar items, Councilwoman Billidoo?

20:17

Yes.

20:18

Council President Clark?

20:19

Yes.

20:19

Councilman Gale.

20:20

Yes.

20:21

Councilman Hernandez.

20:22

Councilman Mickdom.

20:24

Yes.

20:24

Councilman Rosado.

20:26

Yes.

20:26

Councilman Rosetti.

20:27

Yes.

20:28

Councilwoman Surgeon.

20:30

And Councilman Thomas.

20:31

Yes.

20:32

Passed.

20:33

Thank you, Mr.

20:33

Clerk.

20:34

Madam Majority, do you have the floor?

20:36

So Council President, I make a motion to receive the following items.

20:40

Item 3.1, Mayor Av Lampalam with accompanying communication to deliver the annual report to the Court of Common Council of the state of the City of Harford.

20:48

Item 4.1 Labor Education Workforce and Youth Development Committee.

20:52

Report discussing resolution authorizing the city to accept grant funds from the state of Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

20:59

And item 4.2 Labor Education Workforce and Youth Development Committee.

21:03

Report discussing postponement.

21:05

Resolution affirming the oversight authority of the Court of Common Council and requesting a statutory informed presentation from the Harford Board of Education regarding science of reading compliance educator training and kindergarten leadership valuations are 2026-003.

21:20

Request for the Board of Education to give the Council an update.

21:27

Second.

21:28

Second.

21:28

Motion has been made to property second and receive items and discussions.

21:32

Hearing the seeing none, Mr.

21:33

Clerk, can you please call the roll?

21:34

On the received items, Councilwoman Billido?

21:37

Yes.

21:37

Council President Clark?

21:39

Yes.

21:39

Councilman Gale.

21:40

Yes.

21:41

Councilman Hernandez.

21:42

Councilman Micktum.

21:43

Yes.

21:44

Councilwoman Rosado.

21:45

Yes.

21:46

Councilwoman Rosetti.

21:47

Yes.

21:47

Councilwoman Surgeon.

21:49

Councilman Thomas.

21:50

Yes.

21:51

The motion carries.

21:52

Thank you, Mr.

21:52

Clerk.

21:53

Madam Majority, do you have the floor?

21:55

Through Council President, I make a motion to refer the following items.

21:59

Item 3.4.

22:01

Mayor Avra Lampelam with accompanying resolution confirming the appointment of Michelle Parada to be a member of the city's Harford City of Harford's pension commission.

22:09

Item 3.5 Treasurer Carmen's here with accompanying resolution appointing Kate M.

22:14

Torres to the Internal Audit Commission.

22:15

And item 7.1 Mayor Avril Lampalam with accompanying resolution authorizing the city of Harford to enter into a lease agreement for the aforementioned equipment and to seek out the appropriate financing terms for the city.

22:27

That item would have a public hearing next Monday, March 16th at 7 p.m.

22:32

All those items are going to the operations management budget and government accountability committee and to the Quality of Life and Public Safety Committee item 3.2 Mayor Avril Lampalam with accompanying resolution approving the acceptance of a donated vehicle from the National Insurance Crime Bureau for use by the auto theft unit and item 3.3 Mayor Avril Lampalam with accompanying resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant from the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office for the FY 2026 Distracted Driving High Visibility Enforcement Grant Campaign.

23:07

Second.

23:08

Second.

23:09

Motion has been made in property second on the referred items.

23:12

Any discussion on the referred items.

23:14

Hearing us saying none, Mr.

23:15

Clerk can please call the roll.

23:16

On the referred items, Councilman Biladu?

23:18

Yes.

23:19

Council President Clark.

23:20

Yes.

23:20

Councilman Gale.

23:21

Yes.

23:22

Councilman Hernandez.

23:23

Councilman Mickdom.

23:25

Yes.

23:25

Councilwoman Rosado.

23:26

Yes.

23:27

Councilwoman Rosetti.

23:28

Yes.

23:29

Councilwoman Surgeon.

23:31

Councilman Thomas.

23:32

Yes.

23:33

The motion carries.

23:35

Thank you, Mr.

23:36

Clerk.

23:36

Madam Majority Leader, do you have the floor?

23:38

Through you, Council President, I make a motion to postpone the following items until March 23rd, 2026 Council meeting.

23:45

Item 5.2, Mayor Avru Lampalam with accompanying ordinance, amendment of section 32-18 of the municipal code to extend the elderly tax relief program.

23:55

Item 5.3 Councilman Micktum and Ordinance Amending Chapter 18, Article IX, Section 18-11 of the Municipal Code of Harford to provide adequate relocation services to displaced tenants.

24:09

Item 5.4 Mayor Avru Lampalam with accompanying resolution authorizing the city to adopt the revised special event fee schedule.

24:17

Item 5.5 Councilwoman Rosado Councilman Gale with accompanying ordinance chapter 6 section 6-15 limitation on the number of dogs and cats.

24:27

Item 5.6 Councilwoman Rosado Council President Clerk Majority Leader Billidew, Councilwoman Surgeon, Councilman Thomas, Councilman Mickdom, Councilwoman Rosetti, and Councilman Gale with accompanying ordinance establishing the Puerto Rican and Hispanic History and Culture Commission.

24:44

Item 5.7 Councilman Hernandez Council Presulwoman Surgeon Councilwoman Rosetti Councilman Rosado Assistant Council President Clerk and Councilman Alex Thomas resolution directing the Department of Public Works to evaluate and reconfigure bike lanes to support small business viability and multimodal safety.

25:09

Second.

25:14

Any discussion on the postponements?

25:16

Any discussions?

25:17

Hearing us saying none.

25:19

Mr.

25:19

Clerk, can you please call the roll?

25:21

On the postponements, Councilman Biladu.

25:23

Yes.

25:24

Council President Clark.

25:25

Yes.

25:25

Councilman Gale.

25:26

Yes.

25:27

Councilman Hernandez.

25:28

Councilman Micktum.

25:30

Yes.

25:30

Councilman Rosotto?

25:32

Yes.

25:32

Councilman Rosetti.

25:33

Yes.

25:34

Yes.

25:35

Councilwoman Surgeon.

25:36

And Councilman Thomas.

25:38

Yes.

25:38

The items are passed past.

25:40

Thank you, Mr.

25:41

Clerk.

25:41

Since we have no other business items to discuss on our council agenda, this council meeting is now adjourned.

25:47

Thank you very much.

25:48

Have a good evening.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████87%
Education Policy███████13%
Summary of Proceedings

Hartford Court of Common Council Hybrid Meeting - March 9, 2026

The Hartford Court of Common Council held its hybrid meeting on March 9, 2026. All council members were present except Councilman Hernandez (absent) and Councilwoman Surgeon (present but not explicitly called on some roll calls; all votes were unanimous). The meeting proceeded with procedural actions including approval of minutes, consent calendar, receipt of reports, referral of items to committees, and postponement of several agenda items to a future meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 5.1: Resolution authorizing the city to accept grant funds from the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Passed.
  • Item 6.1: Resolution permitting alcohol service at a milestone birthday celebration in the City Hall Atrium. Passed.
  • Item 6.2: Resolution proclaiming March 2026 as Women's History Month. Passed.
  • Item 6.3: Resolution supporting Operation Prom Connecticut. Passed.

Received Items

  • Item 3.1: Annual State of the City report from the Mayor. Received.
  • Item 4.1: Labor Education Workforce and Youth Development Committee report on the DCF grant resolution. Received.
  • Item 4.2: Committee report regarding postponement of a resolution on Board of Education oversight (science of reading compliance, educator training, and kindergarten leadership evaluations). Received.

Referred Items

  • Item 3.4: Confirmation of Michelle Parada to the Hartford Pension Commission. Referred to Operations Management, Budget, and Government Accountability Committee and Quality of Life and Public Safety Committee.
  • Item 3.5: Appointment of Kate M. Torres to the Internal Audit Commission. Referred to same committees.
  • Item 7.1: Resolution authorizing a lease agreement for equipment and financing. A public hearing was scheduled for March 16, 2026 at 7:00 PM. Referred to same committees.
  • Item 3.2: Acceptance of a donated vehicle from the National Insurance Crime Bureau for the auto theft unit. Referred.
  • Item 3.3: Acceptance of a grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation Highway Safety Office for the FY 2026 Distracted Driving High Visibility Enforcement Grant Campaign. Referred.

Postponed Items (until March 23, 2026)

  • Item 5.2: Amendment to extend the elderly tax relief program.
  • Item 5.3: Ordinance to provide adequate relocation services to displaced tenants.
  • Item 5.4: Resolution adopting a revised special event fee schedule.
  • Item 5.5: Ordinance limiting the number of dogs and cats.
  • Item 5.6: Ordinance establishing the Puerto Rican and Hispanic History and Culture Commission.
  • Item 5.7: Resolution directing the Department of Public Works to evaluate and reconfigure bike lanes to support small business viability and multimodal safety.

Key Outcomes

  • All procedural motions (consent calendar, received items, referred items, and postponements) passed unanimously. No public comments or substantive discussion occurred. The council will hold a public hearing on Item 7.1 on March 16, 2026, and reconvene on March 23, 2026 to consider the postponed items.

Meeting Transcript

Yes. Good evening. Would like to call this Court of Common Council meeting to order. Virtual, sorry, hybrid meeting for today, March 9th, 2026. Uh we are broadcasting live on HPA TV.org, channel ninety-six on Comcast, Channel Six Zero Three Two on Frontier, and all streaming platforms of Hartford Public Access TV. Mr. Clerk, can you please call the role? Councilwoman Biladu. Here. Council President Clark. Here. Councilman Gale. Here. Councilman Hernandez. Councilman Mickdom? Here. Councilman Rosado. Here. Councilwoman Rosetti. Here. Councilwoman Surgeon. And Councilman Thomas. Here. You have a quorum, Mr. President. Thank you. Mr. Clerk, let us all stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Liberty and Justice overall. Madam Majority Leader, you have the floor. City, Council President, I make a motion to suspend the rules to accept item seven point one. Second. Motion has been made in property second on suspension of rules for adding item seven point one. And discussions. Hearing us seeing none, Mr. Clerk can please call the role. Councilwoman Biladu? Yes. Council President Clark? Yes. Councilman Gale. Yes. Councilman Hernandez. Councilman McDonough. Yes. Councilwoman Rosado. Yes. Councilman Rosetti? Yes. Councilwoman Surgeon.

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