Governor's Budget Cuts Will Impact City

As reported Tuesday afternoon on CT News Junkie, Governor Jodi Rell has released a Deficit Mitigation Package that cuts $337 million from the $37.6 billion passed by the legislature three months ago. Some of these cuts must be approved by the legislature.

Among the cuts are $84 million in municipal aid.

"It's kind of a 'I told you so' moment," said Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, referring to the pleas of several Connecticut mayors during the budget process to spare the cities. "They didn't solve the problems at the state level. They just kicked them down the road. If they had addressed the issues at the state level, we wouldn't be faced with this now."

The budget cuts were the subject of a conference call among Connecticut mayor's this morning.

"The general consensus, among the mayors is that we hope that the state doesn't attempt to solve their problems on our backs," Giuliano said.

If promised funding is not available in some areas, the city will have to turn to the General Fund to meet shortfalls.

"We're already in the hole by half a million dollars," Giuliano explained. "Our budget was based on funding that the legislature and the governor cut after our budget was passed. Now that budget is going to get hit again, and for more than we planned.

"At the city level the projections made in our budget are already being adjusted, and we don't normally see that kind of adjustment until late Winter, early Spring," Giuliano explained, citing and adjustment in projected energy costs, for which the city has to dip into the General Fund to cover.

"We are going to have to have each city director take a good hard look at their budgets, in conjunction with the city's Finance Director," said Democratic Common Council member Vinnie Loffredo. "It would be my suggestion to the mayor and my fellow councilors that we consider budget not expended, and positions that have been financed but not yet filled. We need to look for places where we can afford to make savings.

"It's going to be a tough year," Loffredo admitted. "And it's going to be a tougher budgeting year next year. Tougher than the one we just faced."

In addition, Giuliano noted that some of the other cuts to services in health, senior services, mental health services and other areas, while not directly affecting the city budget will have an indirect effect.

"If people can't get services that they normally get from the state, who are they going to turn to?" asked Guiliano. "They're going to turn to us."