Well, taking a gander at the BOE operating budget might be a better start, but this news is good. Norwalk will recieve lower revenues this upcoming year. The budget must reflect that.
Moccia has asked department heads to identify “potential reductions” and communicate them to Director of Finance Thomas S. Hamilton no later than Tuesday.
In addition, Moccia wrote that he has instructed the Department of Personnel and Labor Relations to institute a “hiring freeze for all nonpublic safety positions effective immediately.”
The memorandum, prepared with input from Hamilton, comes as the Board of Estimate and Taxation crafts the city’s 2008-09 operating budget.
Hamilton, speaking to the tax board Tuesday night, explained the reasons behind the memorandum and his concerns about reduced revenue projections.
“It does appear that the economy is really in for a rough time,” Hamilton said. “My concern is interest income. We had put our budget projections on interest income together in December, really before all of these major reductions in interest rates by the Fed.”
According to Hamilton, the city can expect $825,000 less in interest income than was anticipated in December. In addition, the city can expect a $690,171 reduction in state aid and other intergovernmental revenues. Adding “open items” — spending requests still under consideration by the tax board — adds another $232,279.
That equates to nearly $1.75 million less than the $275.2 million budget that Hamilton recommended to the tax board in early February.
“You’ve got two problems. One is we’re $922,000 over the (expenditures) cap right now, unless you want to go back to the (Common) Council and ask them to amend the cap,” Hamilton said.
While the Common Council may raise the overall expenditures cap by a two-thirds vote, tax board members indicated Tuesday night that they will not pursue that route.
“It’s good that we’re having this discussion, so that we have tonight and Thursday night to roll up our sleeves and look at all the different departments (and) make some tougher decisions,” said Fred Wilms, Board of Estimate chairman. “But I think, for right now, I would just like to suggest that we definitely work to, at a minimum, meet the council cap.”
Said Stuart Wells, also on the tax board, “Probably everything is going to have to give a little bit, which also may include the tax rate being a little higher than we wanted, but I tend to agree that if we’re really looking at $1.5 million to $2 million, we’d better at least find $1 million.”
bsource:The Hour, Mayor looks to trim budget by $2M, institute hiring freeze, March 19, 2008
