Politics & Government

VIDEO: New London Residents Request More School Funding At Budget Hearing

Several attendees of a public hearing on New London’s 2014 budget proposal thanked city councilors Thursday for restoring funding to several departments in the city, but asked that funding levels for the New London Public Schools be increased.

Fourteen people spoke before the Appropriating Board, which includes the entirety of the City Council. Margaret Curtin, president of the Board of Education, asked that some of the $400,000 cut from the proposed school budget be restored. This funding was added to the Board’s initial request to support the goals of improving the guidance services at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and reducing elementary school class sizes.

“If you could find it someplace in your heart, or in the budget, to give us at least a counselor at the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School, that would be helpful,” said Curtin. “We have one counselor there for 650 kids right now. We could use one more.”

Mongi Dhaouadi, a member of New London Parent Advocates, said the funding request above the school budget’s initial 1.5 percent request was specifically directed toward the two goals. 

“That’s going to go directly to help the students,” he said. “You picked the wrong piece to cut out of the budget.”

Regina Nicholson, another member of New London Parent Advocates, also spoke in favor of additional funding for the schools.

“The schools do need more teachers for smaller class sizes so we can bridge that achievement gap, if not close it,” she said.

Other speakers thanked the Council for restoring funding to the Public Library of New London, Recreation Department, Senior Center, and New London Youth Affairs. Robin Pierce asked that the Council retain the funding for these departments in its final budget.

“These programs gave my family resources, education, and connection to the community,” she said of the Recreation Department and New London Youth Affairs services. “We built most of our family friends through these programs.”

The budget’s first reading

The City Council voted 4-3 to approve a first reading of the budget with $41,565,314 for New London’s municipal departments and $40,414,666 for New London Public Schools. This would increase the mill rate—or tax per $1,000 of assessed value—3.38 percent from 26.6 to 27.5.

The Council vote adds $1,735,029 in funding to several areas cut in Mayor Daryl Finizio’s initial budget proposal by methods such as adding in revenues restored by the Connecticut General Assembly Appropriations Committee, reducing the proposed school budget increase from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent, and reducing unemployment costs.

Councilor Adam Sprecace, one of the opponents of the budget, presented his own proposal which he said would avoid all layoffs. However, Sprecace’s projected savings in several areas were significantly higher than those projected by Finance Director Jeff Smith, and some councilors said they would be unable to support the proposal without Smith’s backing.

Other budget concerns

Michael Doyle said the appropriation ordinance summarizes the proposed expenditure for each department, but does not give details on how money will be spent following the Council’s revisions and what effect it could have on areas, such as layoffs or an effect on public projects.

“This is not a budget,” said Doyle. “You’re not telling me if my road hasn’t been paved in over 20 years and it has craters all over it.”

Dennis Downing, a member of the group Lower Our Taxes, questioned how long some consultants will remain on the City Hall payroll. “If you look around this room, you can see where people are at,” he said of the low turnout at the event. “They either are disgusted, or don’t care, or figure what the hell is the sense of saying anything because their voice isn’t going to matter anyway.”

Tim Cavanagh said the city needs to have a more organized development plan and should focus on Fort Trumbull to begin.

“We need a master plan,” he said. “We need a vision. Where is that?”

Councilors’ response

Sprecace said he has been dissatisfied with the level of detail in the school budget and that there was no guarantee that money added back into the budget would go toward the purposes requested by New London Parent Advocates.

“I have lost faith in the school administration to present a transparent budget, since this year they did not do it,” said Sprecace.

Passero said the budget is necessitating a smaller government and that the Council has to prioritize and seek efficiencies as a result. However, he said the Council would not be able to direct how funding is spent in the school system beyond the approved appropriation.

“You have to bring those concerns to the Board of Ed. They have to reprioritize how they spend their money,” said Passero. “The City Council doesn’t control that.”

Councilor Don Macrino said councilors have been faced with the challenge of trying to allocate limited funding in the most sensible way.

“There is a sincere effort to address all of your needs, but at this point in time from my point of view it is simply impossible to do that,” he said. “However, we’ll continue to try.”

Finizio said he based his budget on an attempt to reconcile a small tax increase with reduced state revenues, with the library as well as senior and youth programs as the last things to be cut. He said the replenishment of some state funds allowed those parts of the budget to be funded.

Finizio said he would support more funding for the schools, but only if the city is able to maintain a balanced budget in doing so.

“I would only support further increases if it is matched with a corresponding increase in the tax rate,” he said.

The Finance Board will meet at 5 p.m. on Monday at the Finance Department to make recommendations on whether to increase or decrease the budget, after which point no further increases may be made to the budget. The City Council will approve appropriation ordinances for the budget following second and third readings of the budget this month.

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