The Mayor is proposing budget cuts to close the gap. See the coverage below as well as his letter to City Employees.
NHI
WTNH Coverage of Mayor’s Press Conference
Governor Rell Fires Back
Here is the letter:
Dear Colleagues:
As you may know, the State Legislature closed session for the year last
night without passing a new Fiscal Year 2009 budget. Therefore, the
State will operate under the tax and spending plans in the biennial
budget approved last year. The budget the State is working with results
in a difference for New Haven of $14.7 million between what we require
in aid and what they will in fact provide. With this challenge in mind,
in order to achieve a balanced budget by July 1, we are going to need to
make some sacrifices. These are sacrifices we don’t want to have to
make. However, we will do what we must and we will do this together as
one united team.
Our goal is to make the changes we need to make to meet the budget with
as minimal an impact on our delivery of services to residents as
possible. Throughout this process it’s important to keep the best
interest of our residents as a top priority. We will not raise the mill
rate. But, because of the revaluation phase-in, homeowners will see an
increase in their property taxes. This requires us to make budget
adjustments internally. It would be irresponsible to unfairly increase
property taxes beyond what taxpayers will see from the second year of
phase-in.
At 3:30 p.m. today at City Hall, I will lead a press conference to talk
about where we plan to save money and where we hope to make some money
back. The changes we discuss today are part of a proposed framework that
we will further develop to submit to the Board of Aldermen next week. By
not honoring its self-imposed obligation to reimburse us for tax-exempt
property in the City and by eliminating funding for important
programming, the State has left us with no choice but to make
concessions in our budget to avoid a deficit.
Over the course of the next several days and weeks, you will hear about
potential changes in programming, staffing and services. I will continue
to make it a point to keep you informed about how these changes may
affect all of us. Please know that we are working to achieve the most
minimal impact on day-to-day operations within the City as possible, but
some areas will undoubtedly experience a more visible impact than
others.
Each and every one of you works hard everyday for the people of New
Haven. Your work is valued and appreciated. Please relay any questions
or concerns to your department head who will also work to make sure you
are informed about this process.
Very truly yours,
John DeStefano, Jr.
Mayor
