The New Britain Common Council held its regular meeting on June 10, 2026, at 7:01 PM. The meeting included public comments on property reimbursement, city corruption, and the Aaron Stewart embezzlement case; several resolutions; and proclamations recognizing Caribbean American Heritage Month and Pride Month. The council also approved contracts for sidewalk repairs, trench repairs, property revaluation, and engineering services.
I want to welcome everybody to the June 10th, 2026 regular meeting of the common council. It's seven oh one PM. And we will begin as always with public participation. Um this is an opportunity for anyone to uh speak on an issue report to them. Please remember to state your name and address for the record. And your speaking time is three minutes. And I have a couple of names on the list, so I'll start with Charles Smith, Mr. Smith. Good evening. Uh this is not my first time here, and I had a uh a recording that was uh left to me by Justin Dorsey, which was a promise to uh refund me my funds, and these then these meetings are recorded, so I'm sure someone can find them in the archives. Now on Saturday, I did go to a meeting and I I did speak to some folks and they says, Oh, don't worry, uh, we'll look into it. And I do see some familiar faces here. And I thought I was gonna play this because when I played it uh when I was here last time, and it was two minutes then, uh someone said, and it wasn't a lot of you folks because you weren't here, I see all new faces, a lot of them. He says, We didn't hear it clearly. But when I went to the back of the room where the chief was, and he says, Well, we heard it, you know, very clearly. So I I'm I'm asking for uh, you know, since we have a different administration now, uh, a promise is a promise. You know, if I owe the taxes and one and one uh uh the democrats are in power, then if I don't pay it, then when the Republicans get in, I owe it to uh, you know, it's like you make a promise to the city of New Britain. I've been here for 40 years living over at Chesley Park, had nothing but damage to my property, and um and I've had Alderman come out and I haven't been reimbursed. And a lot and some of you have said just keep playing the recording. Come back. Every you know, you come back and they wear you down. So I'm really um counting on someone really looking into I'm really counting on someone looking into this. Now, my thing is this uh when you want to really solve a problem, then I would think that like I'm up here now on your agenda, you would say so and so and so came up. Did we address that at all? But that's not the way it happened in the past, and I'm maybe you change that because people come up and they say their problems, and then people go on like it's they ignore it, they don't come up anymore. So if nothing else, you say, Well, we heard you, we're not gonna do anything about it. Well, that's addressing it at least, but not to say anything at all. You know, it's just a circle. You keep going around and around and around. And uh 40 years is a long time to live at the park, have the issues that I've had, and get promises that uh you're gonna pay me and have me go downstairs and fill out the form for reimbursement, swear to tell the truth, whole truth, and then turn around and have me do that five, six, seven times and say, now Sharon turned around and she's not here anymore, and she comes up at the end of the meeting and say, I'm gonna handle this, I'm gonna handle this. And yet didn't I'm not getting anything. You know, and uh, you know, I I know people by names and and I I hate to do that, but I'm not getting my money. I'm on a fixed income. So uh if someone could be assigned to me to help me out, I'd appreciate it. Hey Ms. Smith, you're at two thirty six jubilee Street I am yes all right thank you sir uh the only other the only other name I have on the list is Alberto Duarte Alberto Mr. Duarte all right we'll come back to him if he comes and is anybody on the line no callers on the line uh does anybody wish to speak anybody yes sir evening I was here about a month ago we were talking about the well I was talking about the Aaron's uh stewart situation name and address of Mr. Satalino is it Don Satalino 70 Grove Hill in New Britain and I just wanted just uh touch upon the uh Aaron Stewart and uh City of New Britain the payments and things like that. I don't know if she's gonna come up with the money in a in a couple weeks okay if she didn't come up with the money by now chances are she's not gonna come up with the money. She if she did and she paid I wouldn't be standing here number one. Now I was read some information if someone steals money from the city they can go after their assets like a home yes a city can go after a thief's personal assets including their home vehicles and bank accounts to recover stolen funds when someone steals public money they're typically subject to civil lawsuits court order restitutions and asset forfeiture processes. Now with that being said I know she has a home whether the home is in her name or not I don't know she didn't come up with the funds to pay they could go after her home. If the home is not in her name city's stuck you're gonna get any money from her okay now she's out two hundred she's got to pay two hundred and fifty thousand dollars okay what I say to this okay because there's attorney fees involved like a hundred thousand dollars she can't come up with the money she don't own the home you know what I say have the city cut a check for 100 thousand dollars for the attorney fees and let it be good let it be done or else because it could be more attorney fees added okay city of should just cut their losses before we get into more debt with this and I said this at the last meeting the credit card with the CP PC credit cards it's gotta stop they should re take get all the credit cards from all the all the departments nobody spend anything with any credit cards. They need anything that could go to the purchasing agent like any other agency okay and whoever supposed to be keeping track of this credit cards guess what they're not sorry to say okay so the taxpayers like myself and these other folks we don't want to pay okay as I said she didn't come up with the money she ain't come up with the money. She don't know own the house can't go after the house so what are you gonna do? Or stock just pay the pay the attorney fees a hundred thousand dollars and the city taxpayers could take a loss that's it's alino you're welcome is Alberto Duarte here he's not um all right second time anybody wish to speak to the council uh gentlemen in the second row I think I've seen him before. Good evening. Jim Sanders Jr. 172 Kensington Avenue. Um I stood at this podium for about a year and a half talking about corruption and problems within City Hall, and everyone sitting here did absolutely nothing about it.