Funding For New Municipal Positions Approved

The City Council authorized the funding of three municipal positions on Monday, but not without voicing criticism against Mayor Daryl Finizio and New London's financial affairs.

The 4-3 vote approved an ordinance allocating prorated wages for the positions, created in the transition to a strong mayoral form of government. The decision comes on the heels of the announcement that the city is expected to have a .

The Finance Committee also met prior to the council and established the first meetings to address the projected budget shortfall. These will take place at 4 p.m. before a special council meeting on Feb. 13 and a regular meeting on Feb. 21.

Funding for positions

The funding will cover the establishment of a director of development and planning, office administrator and principal secretary, and deputy fire chief. The proposed annual wages are $90,000, $87,500, and $60,000, respectively; the  prorated wages for the 2012 fiscal year budget total $125,144.23.

The office administrator salary was the only one approved for the 2012 budget, although Finizio gave this employee a raise using money from salary decreases elsewhere in the office. The Finance Committee after Finizio said the positions could be funded within budget through line item transfers. Finizio said Monday that the hires were made on good faith and on the belief at the time that the city was financially sound. He also said the city could be subject to potential liabilities if the funding was not approved, since the director of development and planning and office administrator .

Finizio said that Fire Chief Ron Samul plans to retire on April 1, 2013 and that a deputy fire chief is needed for OpSail 2012 preparations as well as to oversee day-to-day operations at the fire department during the selection of a new chief.

Council President Michael Passero said he could not support the appropriations based on the city’s budget situation.

“It was my understanding that we were simply reallocating money that was already there, and now it seems that the budget might be as much as $4.5 million in the red,” said Passero.

Councilor Adam Sprecace said he agreed that the city would benefit from the new positions, but disputed whether the line item transfers would adequately cover them. He suggested that the transfer of funds from a vacant housing rehabilitation coordinator position in the to fund the director of planning and development position might not be possible if that position is federally funded.

“I don’t believe the city has the money to fund this even if its budget was spot on,” he said.

Councilor John Maynard said the hiring process should have been given more scrutiny, but said it would be unfair to cut off funding after the director of development and planning, Kristin Havrilla Clarke, moved her family to New London to accept the position. He said the council could also make a final determination on the positions with the 2013 fiscal year budget. Councilor Donald Macrino agreed.

“This is a very difficult discussion, because we’re not just talking about numbers,” he said. “We’re talking about people.”

Finizio said the issue should be handled separately from the deficit, as the deficit could potentially affect any municipal employee. He also criticized the city’s budget as having “tremendous informality,” with numerous line item transfers and other shifts commonly taking place without the knowledge of the City Council.

“I think a lot of our financial management was handled internally, and our council did not know about it,” said Finizio. “And that troubles me greatly…I would hate to see one employee held hostage in the midst of this if that employee was hired in good faith.”

Councilors Wade Hyslop, Macrino, Maynard, Anthony Nolan supported the approval of the funding. Councilors Marie Friess-McSparran, Passero, and Sprecace were opposed.

Criticism of Finizio

Finizio was himself the subject of several critical comments by councilors and residents. He commented that he had been unaware of the full scope of the potential budget deficit until an auditor’s report was finalized on Jan. 25.

Passero said he felt the information had been developing over a longer period of time, and said the mayor should have informed the council sooner so the Finance Committee could get an early start on analyzing the budget. He also said Finizio should have known about the budget situation at the Jan. 23 Finance Committee meeting and did not express any concerns he may have had about the deficit.

“You were aware of it and you deliberately kept the information from the council,” said Passero. “I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

Finizio acknowledged that the relationship between the City Council and mayor’s administration has been strained and promised greater cooperation in addressing the budget shortfall.

“I’m very disappointed in the mayor. Very disappointed,” said resident Evelyn Louziotis. “He’s not doing his job.”

Other residents were more critical of the prior City Council, which approved the . James Dixon suggested that expectations of high revenue may have led Finizio to believe the budget was more stable, and suggested that former mayoral candidates serving on the council may have manipulated the budget numbers to support their campaigns. Eric Parnes said the city should ensure that properties are taxed properly and said he thought the prior council was irresponsible with municipal funds.

“Nothing you can say right now is going to satisfy me,” said Parnes. “It’s just going to be more excuses.”

Finance Committee meeting

At a Finance Committee meeting preceding the regular City Council meeting, committee members questioned Finance Director Jeff Smith regarding his calculation of a $12 million deficit. Smith said the 2012 fiscal year has a projected revenue shortfall of $2.5 million and overspending of $1.9 million. In addition, Smith said a recent audit suggests that there was a $1.4 million deficit in the 2011 fiscal year budget. The remainder of the projected shortfall would come from replacing the money in the general fund which would be used to cover the approximately $6 million deficit.

Sprecace said he had been reviewing the budget documents and disputed the $12 million figure. Sprecace said the replenishment of the general fund could be disregarded as a financial issue related to the 2013 fiscal year budget, meaning the deficit in the 2012 fiscal year budget would be closer to $6 million. Sprecace also said that keeping the general fund at 8.3 percent of the budget was an accounting practice rather than a requirement.

Smith said the city should be able to shrink the deficit by finding revenues and cutting spending.

“The biggest problem is the people who don’t pay us, or who pay us in another fiscal year,” he said.

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