Finizio To Present 2014 Budget Proposal Tonight

The process of preparing the 2014 fiscal year budget will begin tonight when Mayor Daryl Finizio presents his budget proposal to the City Council.

Finizio will discuss the proposal at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The budget process is scheduled to continue through next month, with a final reading on the budget to take place on May 20; the 2014 fiscal year begins on July 1.

The Board of Education has already made their budget request, asking for a 2.54 percent increase over the $39,817,405 budget for the current fiscal year. The increase would bring the New London Public Schools’ budget to $40,814,666, with the increase covering contractual salary increases and increased transportation expenses as well as the goals of enhancing the guidance program at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and reducing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. Finizio said he would pass on the board’s recommendation to the Council unchanged.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

Finizio said the city is facing an anticipated net state revenue loss of $2.7 million under Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget proposal. Finizio said the budget approved by the Connecticut General Assembly is likely to be different from Malloy’s budget, but that he plans to use conservative revenue estimates in preparing the budget.

In response to conflicts with the New London Irish Parade and organizers of an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march over an executive order requiring event organizers to pay for the use of city services, Finizio has also said he will include an item in the budget for the Council to fund commemorative events at the council’s discretion.

The proposal follows a tumultuous budget process for the current fiscal year. Finizio’s initial proposal for the 2013 fiscal year was $87.1 million, with a mill rate—or tax per $1,000 of assessed value—of 30.28. This represented a 6.4 percent increase in expenditures and a 20 percent tax increase; Finizio said the budget accurately reflected city spending, saying prior budgets had overestimated revenues and not accounted for areas such as overtime.

The Council reduced the budget to $82.9 million with a mill rate of 27.22, a 7.5 percent increase. A total of 19 municipal positions were eliminated under this budget; 35 positions in the fire department and police department were at risk of being cut, but were retained following union negotiations.

The $42.3 million municipal portion of the budget was rejected at a referendum vote. The $40.6 million school budget was reduced to its current level by Dr. Steven Adamowski, a state-appointed special master to the district, and a total of 46.5 positions were cut under the budget.

The Council’s revised municipal budget reduced the budget to $41.2 million with a mill rate of 26.6, a 5.1 percent increase. This budget was challenged by a petition, but an opinion by Law Director Jeffrey Londregan held that further referendums were not possible.

The council rejected the opinion but could not agree to reduce the budget on its own or set an early referendum date, ultimately setting a referendum for the regular election in November—four months after the conclusion of the fiscal year. The city has been operating on the revised budget, and the group Lower Our Taxes has filed suit against the city and charged that this is not valid.

The Council and mayor’s office have also been tracking spending and revenues in the current budget in an effort to not run a deficit and draw down the general fund. The Council recently approving an independent audit of the third quarter.

A preliminary audit showed a depletion of the general fund from $4,979,248 at the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year to $1,262,989 at the end. At last estimate, the city would conclude the 2013 fiscal year with a in the municipal budget.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.