City Council Sets New London Tax Rate For 2014

The City Council unanimously approved the New London tax rate for the 2014 fiscal year in a special meeting on Tuesday, completing the last portion of their budget cycle.

The vote sets the mill rate, or tax per $1,000 in assessed value, at 27.5. This is a 3.38 percent from the 2012 fiscal year mill rate of 26.6.

The City Council approved the 2014 fiscal year budget on May 21 in a 4-3 vote. This established an $81,979,980 budget for the fiscal year to begin July 1, divided between a $41,565,314 budget for municipal services and $40,414,666 for the New London Public Schools.

Councilor Adam Sprecace, who opposed the budget, said he would support the tax rate. Sprecace presented alternate budget proposals at each reading, saying he thought it would be feasible to find internal savings to avoid any layoffs under the same budget and tax rate.

“My concern with the budget is not the amount that is appropriated, but rather how that money was distributed,” he said.

The budget restored several funding to several departments experiencing cuts in Mayor Daryl Finizio’s budget proposal. A total of $500,000 was restored to the New London Police Department budget, but the department remains about $900,000 below its 2013 funding level.

Chief Margaret Ackley has warned that 15 layoffs, or five officers per shift, may be necessary for the department to come in under budget. Finizio said at the second budget reading that the city will continue to look for other sources of revenue and savings and that no layoffs in the department would occur before the end of the fiscal year's second quarter in January.

Chuck Flynn, political director for the New London Police Union, warned in his June update on the union’s website that the budget will lead to delays in police services. He said the fear of layoffs and other issues within the department are leading to low morale and officers looking to leave for other jobs.

“The members of this union are troubled that several city councilors who sought for and received our labor union endorsement and support when they ran for office in 2011 then failed to uphold their pledge to support our concerns when they voted with the mayor and against our police officers supporting a budget that requires layoffs,” Flynn said.

Finizio has said he does not plan to veto the budget.

The tax rate marks the second increase in as many years. In the 2012 budget year, the mill rate increased 5.1 percent from 25.31 to 26.6.

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