With major reductions built into the proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year, the Finance Committee is starting their work by learning from department heads what the impact of such reductions would be.
The committee typically meets with department heads and proposes budget cuts or increases. Councilor Donald Macrino, chairman of the Finance Committee, said the city faces urban challenges with a limited amount of taxable area and revenue. He said the committee first needs to find out what services would be affected and then determine its priorities, saying he considers public safety and education to be among the most important areas.
“Our formula just doesn’t work, and it’s a very tough answer that we’re trying to do,” he said.
The committee met with the heads of the New London Fire Department, Public Library of New London, New London Public Schools, Recreation Department, and City Clerk’s Office on Wednesday. In the committee’s first meeting on Monday, Police Chief Margaret Ackley said there could be 20 layoffs in the New London Police Department under the proposed budget. Public Works Director Tim Hanser said privatizing solid waste pickup currently done by the Department of Public Works could save money, but that layoffs would be necessary if it is not approved.
Mayor Daryl Finizio has proposed a 2014 fiscal year budget of $81,016,213, divided between a $40,201,547 municipal budget and $40,814,666 school budget. The municipal proposal represents a 2.6 percent decrease in expenditures, while the school proposal would be a 2.5 percent increase.
Finizio has said the reduced spending is needed to counter a decline in revenues. Under the proposal, the mill rate—or tax per $1,000 of assessed value—would increase 3.09 percent from 26.2 to 27.42.
Senior Center
Finizio’s proposal also calls for funding to the Recreation Department to be cut by 50 percent to $224,000, with the department working to coordinate grants and other funding sources. The consolidated budget largely eliminates individual budgets for youth and senior programs, including the complete defunding of the Senior Center.
The proposal says funding could be restored depending on the approved state budget or tax rate set by the Council. The proposal also suggests establishing a special revenue fund for programs, which would allow them to be funded through private donations.
Finance Director Jeff Smith said the special revenue fund would allow the department to keep any donations rather than have it be returned to the general fund if there is money left over at the end of the fiscal year, but also that it would be a less reliable funding source than funding them through the budget.
“Let’s face it, this isn’t the best of all worlds,” said Smith. “But we’re looking for ways to cut back.”
Recreation Director Tommie Major said fundraising would also be challenging due to the short amount of time before the commencement of the fiscal year on July 1. He also protested the proposal to close the Senior Center, saying the center’s coordinator has successfully run it with a small staff and that it provides a number of vital services.
Council chambers were packed with residents carrying signs reading “Save Our Senior Center.” They cheered Major in his defense of the center.
Councilor Anthony Nolan said he would not support closing the center unless the city finds another venue to host its programs.
“I think it is a necessity also for our seniors to have someplace to go and our youth to find something to do,” he said.
Council President Michael Passero asked whether it would be possible for the department to preserve the programs without having to keep the center open.
“We’re making really tough decisions here,” he said.
Major said it has been suggested that a church or another facility could host the programs, but said these places would have to take their own costs into consideration.
“It’s wrong for us to even think about closing this building down,” Major said.
New London Public Schools
Representatives of the New London Public Schools and Finance Committee traded frustrations over the district’s proposal, with accusations on both sides that the respective governments have stymied any efforts to cooperatively reduce costs.
The New London Public Schools budget has been held at $39,817,405 for five years, the longest period of level funding in the state. The Board of Education’s Finance and Audit Committee initially requested a 1.5 percent increase to cover contractual salary increases as well as increased costs in areas such as transportation and energy. Following concerns raised by parents, the board requested the 2.5 percent to increase to allocate addition funding toward reducing elementary school class sizes and improving the guidance program at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.
Councilors expressed reluctance to grant a 2.5 percent increase given cuts to the city budget. Councilor Adam Sprecace said he was willing to approve some increase to the school budget, but would not be in favor of a 2.5 percent increase without more information on school allocations. He also said he was disappointed in accusations that the city has neglected to adequately fund the schools, saying there have been funding increases from the state as well as city investments in areas such as new school buildings.
“The New London public school system has seen increases, significant increases, over the years,” Sprecace said.
Passero said he thought the school administration has only paid “lip service” to ideas such as consolidating city and school finance offices. He also said he disagreed with the findings of a state governance and management audit on the district, saying he considers professional staff in the administration to be impeding progress in the district than the Board of Education.
“At this point I don’t see enough movement on the school administration side to support the kind of increase they’ve asked for,” said Passero.
Superintendent Nicholas Fischer said school administrators receive salaries lower than comparative positions in the region and are working long hours in an effort to improve the schools. He accused councilors of denigrated the school administration during his time as superintendent.
“It is offensive, it is demeaning, and it speaks directly to why the governance and management report said what it did,” said Fischer.
Macrino said he thought the school administration and Council have the same goals regarding school improvement and should work more collaboratively.
“When things get tough—and they are in New London, tougher I’d venture to say than they have been in many years—the underbelly begins to show and tempers begin to flare,” he said. “But that’s not going go help us.”
New London Fire Department
Finizio’s budget proposes a $500,000 cut to the New London Fire Department, with a net reduction of $161,607 from the 2013 fiscal year to $5,453,320. However, Chief Henry Kydd said the $500,000 cut was accidentally made twice since the department already figured it into their budget, meaning the budget should be at $5.9 million.
“We only discovered this problem this afternoon,” said Smith.
Finizio has proposed cost-saving measures such as leaving the deputy chief’s position vacant and having the $27,064 emergency management director role absorbed into an existing position. He has also suggested selling off equipment or closing one of the city’s three fire stations.
“I’m opposed to that, and I’m going to say that publicly,” Kydd said of the latter suggestions.
Kydd said difficulties involved in closing a station include longer response times, an increase in insurance rates, and a lack of places to relocate vehicles.
Sprecace said he was also opposed to the idea of closing a station, saying it was unclear how much this would save and that he did not think it could be done on short notice. Sprecace also said he hopes to restore the cut to the department by finding savings in other accounts such as fringe benefits, but that he was also considering savings within the department such as reducing overtime.
Public Library of New London
Under Finizio’s budget, city funding for the library would be cut from $602,700 to $300,000.
Suzanne Maryeski, executive director of the Public Library of New London, said fixed costs such as maintenance and energy account for much of the budget. Maryeski said that she was already planning to reduce a reference librarian’s position from a full-time position to a part-time one if the library was to be flat-funded. She said the proposed cut could lead to layoffs, a reduction in hours, and fewer programs.
“We can’t make it work on $300,000,” she said.
Library treasurer David Hersant said the library is an important community resource and that Maryeski has already been active in seeking grant funds to support its programs and operations.
“This budget is as bare bones as you’re possibly going to see,” said Hersant.
Passero said he considers that the library is underfunded and that the committee should look to replenish their budget.
“What we’re essentially doing is talking about giving up our library in the city of New London, and I think that would be a real tragedy and a failure on our part,” he said.
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