The City Council is set to meet today to finalize its budget ordinance for Fiscal Year 2022, after reviewing Mayor Nancy Rossi’s $165.54 million spending plan over the last four weeks. The City Charter requires a budget ordinance be passed by 11:59 on the first Thursday of May, and the council was expected to continue tweaking some items until it convenes for a vote.
The plan, proposed in March, would set the mill rate at 34 (not including fire taxes), keeping taxes relatively “constant,” in that the mill rate considers revaluation done over the past year. Residents, then should expect no major increase in the taxes they pay.
Council Chairman Ronald Quagliani (D-at-large) said the panel was still making small alterations in the package. Two weeks ago, a transfer of some COVID relief funds was made to offset the Fire Dept. of West Haven-Allingtown’s pension fund deficit. Other alterations are expected, according to the chairman.
“In addition to the Allingtown Fire Department changes that we previously discussed the council has raised various wage proposals to address some wage inconsistencies for similar job functions performed. (We) reduced a recommended Human Resource Commissioner position, which is currently vacant, to a part-time position with no medical benefits,” he said. “The changes, thus far, have not impacted the bottom line.”
Finance Committee Chairman Bridgette Hoskie echoed Quagliani’s assessment, adding a couple of her own.
“We added funds to Trees & Shrubs as well as added more money for digitization project in the Clerk’s office. This is above and beyond the changes we previously made in the budget for Allingtown FD.
Going into the final hours, the committee chairman, who runs the committee-of-the-whole sessions during the budget review has been pleased with the council’s work ethic during the process.
“I am very pleased with the level of commitment that everyone has shown in reviewing this budget. A lot of time has been spent analyzing it then going back to critique it again and again by all of us,” she said. “The meetings with the department heads went very well. Their collaboration coupled with the mayor’s and the members of the City Council on this budget is something that should be noted.
She believes some other tweaks might be possible going into the final vote.
“I do expect there to be additional suggestions/ ideas/ changes to be brought forward in (Thursday’s) meeting. Personally, I will be suggesting some things that I hope will bring value,” she said.
With hours to go before the final vote, Republican Councilman Barry Lee Cohen (R-10) said the overall process has been a success, but he has some concerns.
“Fiscal responsibility is more than just balancing the books. It’s justifying how the funds are being used to maximize the quality of life for every resident. At this point in our deliberations, I agree with many of the adjustments that have been made. However, I remain concerned about some of the proposed increases in overtime, as well as several of the proposed, newly created full-time positions. For other areas, I respectfully question the direction and overriding strategies that were presented on how the budgeted funding will be deployed,” he said.