Community Corner

Capone Asks For .03% More For FY'12

The mayor trims Serio's school bill by $290,464.

Saying she aimed to keep everything flat, Mayor April Capone is asking for an extra .03 percent -- or $12,361 -- in her 2011-12 municipal budget.  She accordingly took a $290,464 bite out of the Board of Education’s FY’12 proposal, reducing the increase from 2.17 percent  to .56 percent.

“We’re going to try to do things as lean as we can,” said Capone. “We actually under spent our budget every year.”

Her $85,930,484 budget proposal -- school, $44,300,000;  town, $41,630,484 -- was unveiled Tuesday night before the Board of Finance (that board makes suggestions to the mayor who then turns it over to the Town Council for final approval). The total increase is .30 percent.

Tuesday marked the board’s first of four budget workshops where department heads defend their dollar allotments -- line by line. Meetings are held in the Giaimo Conference Room on the ground level of Town Hall.

Jan Lugal, director of the Senior Center, had asked for $211,674; in her budget, Capone OK’d $203,869, up $1,012 from FY‘11.

Lugal had requested $1,000 more for food/food supplies to serve up lunch Mondays through Fridays. She told the Board of Finance that to cut down on cost, she’s been buying food at discount stores and making the lunches herself.

Board member Charles “Doc” Schlegel suggested using the Connecticut Food Bank. Lugal didn’t reply but Capone did. “If I may jump in, Jan does a very good job of doing it economically,” the mayor said.

Wages in Lugal’s budget proposal went from $102,586 this year to an anticipated $105,798 for ‘12.

Republican Registrar of Voters Donna Norman asked for $2,000 more than her current bottom line of $141,270, but Capone had denied the increase.

Veronica Wright told the board she plans to rely more on Community Action Agency in New Haven for people applying for emergency assistance, and cease paying for that out of her Social Services budget. Wright asked for 78 bucks less than what she got in ‘11 -- $84,162 to $84,084 -- but Capone had chiseled that down to $81,371 (a $2,791 cut).

The mayor gave Planning & Zoning a 5.23 percent hike ($6,991) and board talk focused on making director Dave Anderson’s position full-time. He now works 25 hours a week. Anderson said he’s got more to enforce since the blight ordinance went into effect last year. But that change was not reflected in his  budget. He said part-time wages contractually increased from $24,104 to $26,032; in FY’09, that line item was $63,330.

Andrea Liquori from Civil Service threw out a money-saving idea. Instead of the town paying for firefighter tests, have applicants pay the $40 fee. She said police tests are paid for by the South Central Criminal Justice company.

“A lot of towns are collecting a fee for fire and police testing,” said Liquori, “and they’re surprised that we don’t.” She said the police and fire lists will expire next year, which will cost a substantial amount in advertising and testing to renew.

Finance board member Naureen Clough asked how many people typically test for each opening. Two-hundred, said Liquori. “That’s $8,000,” replied Clough. Liquori asked for $48,526 for the next fiscal year, up from $45,294. Capone had agreed to up the Civil Service budget but to $46,223.

Council Chair Jim Dougherty took all of a New York minute to present his request for an additional $1,165  to bring his ’12 tab to $58,515. The mayor so echoed in her proposal. Dougherty said auditing and accounting services have increased from $38,750 to $39,915. And he was outta there.

Social worker Peter Lynch approached the board with a sob story. The director of Counseling & Community Services said when he came on board last year, the interior of the Thompson Avenue building was in sad repair. He got new carpeting and bought furniture from Hotel Liquidators -- “I furnished three rooms with $800” -- but the computer system is so yesterday. And even a day before that.

Lynch said there’s one computer using the antiquated DOS system. One employee is on a typewriter. And none of the computers are networked. Lynch said they communicate via text messaging on their personal cell phones. He said the department got its first-ever voicemail last year.

He actually asked for less than what Capone proposed for his counseling program. Lynch got $590,811 for FY’11 and put in for $599,579 for FY’12, which the mayor had upped to $621,400.

But the increase was not just for a new computer system. Lynch said salaries have risen from $533,795 to an estimated $574,384 and he has little control over it. Some is for contractual raises, some goes to paying professionals who are required by the state to be licensed in order to get reimbursement, and he’s asking for an extra $2,000 for himself. Last year, town department heads forwent salary raises.

Tonight at 7 o‘clock, the board will hear from Engineering/Inlands/Flood Erosion, Public Service and Sanitation, Building Maintenance, Town Clerk, Police/Police Commission, Fire/Fire Commission, Library, Animal Shelter and Insurance/Legal Services.

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