In a Tuesday meeting that lasted scarcely five minutes, the City Council approved its third and final reading of the $81,979,980 budget proposal for the 2014 fiscal year.
The Council voted 4-3 to approve a $41,565,314 for the municipal departments and $40,414,666 for New London Public Schools. This results in a 3.38 percent increase in the mill rate—or tax per $1,000 of assessed value—from 26.6 to 27.5.
In 4-3 votes split along the same lines, the Council approved a first reading of this budget on April 29 and a second reading on Monday. The vote sends the budget to Mayor Daryl Finizio, who has the authority to veto line items or the entire budget but has said he would approve it as it currently stands.
Finizio’s $81,016,213 budget proposal, presented on April 1, recommended a 2.5 percent increase to the school budget to bring it to $40,814,666 and a 2.6 percent decrease in the municipal budget to bring it to $40,201,547. This included a 3.09 percent mill rate increase to 27.42 and made cuts to numerous departments, including a $1.4 million reduction to the New London Police Department, $500,000 reductions in the New London Fire Department and Department of Public Works, 50 percent reductions to the Recreation Department and Public Library of New London, and defunding of the Senior Center. Finizio said the recommendation was made based reductions in revenue under Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget proposal.
The Council later identified $1,735,029 in additional revenue and internal savings, mostly from a restoration of $788,789 in state funding by the Connecticut General Assembly and a reduction of the school budget by $400,000.
Most of this funding was reallocated to replenish budgets cut in Finizio’s budget, including a $500,000 restoration to the police budget. However, this leaves that budget about $900,000 below its 2013 level.
Police Chief Margaret Ackley previously said this budget would necessitate 15 layoffs, or removing five officers per shift. Finizio said the city will work to identify additional revenue and other savings and that no layoffs would take place before the halfway point of the fiscal year.
On its website, the New London Police Union said nine officers are seeking employment elsewhere. The union said employees have been demoralized by “the toxic atmosphere in the department and the political game playing of the city.”
During budget discussions, Councilor Adam Sprecace presented three alternate proposals which he said would find enough internal savings to avoid layoffs. These proposals were turned down after other councilors expressed concerns with Sprecace’s proposal to further reduce the school budget as well as Finance Director Jeff Smith’s disagreement with Sprecace over the level of savings the city could realize in employee and insurance expenses.
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