Budget Work Underway

By Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor

HAMDEN — While working to resolve a potential deficit in this year’s budget, Mayor Scott D. Jackson is also seeking public comment for the next budget.

The first public conversation on the 2010-11 budget will be held 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the M.L. Keefe Community Center, 11 Pine St. Another forum will be held 5-7 p.m. March 4 at the Social Hall of the Miller Senior Center, 2901 Dixwell Ave.

Jackson said he wants to give residents the chance to tell him their priorities for fiscal 2010-11. In previous years, public input hasn’t been taken until after the Legislative Council received the mayor’s budget.

“By cultivating these conversations earlier in the budget season, I can focus my budget based on the service needs of Hamden’s citizens,” Jackson said.

With regard to this year, officials are controlling expenditures and the expense side of the budget should result in a surplus because of the controls according to Jackson’s chief aide Curt Balzano Lang.

Some revenues, especially those from the state, have not yet materialized and that could play a role in a potential deficit. There are also potential shortages in several accounts.

Meanwhile, the town’s medical self-insurance fund could be at least $5 million in the hole this year. The 2009-10 budget listed $22 million for medical self-insurance, but expenses could now be more than $27 million, according to Leng.

The money for medical self-insurance is passed through the operating budget, but is an internal service account that is supplemented with employee contributions. Additional money to cover the deficit does not exist.

“The two driving problems with this year’s budget are a drastically increased medical self-insurance expense. We won’t know until the end of year, but it’s millions more than expected,” Leng said.

Higher medical insurance costs, more employee claims and more prescriptions filled caused the jump. The town switched to medical self-insurance in the 1990s.

“It’s a higher medical year and the trend is showing next year isn’t going to be any better,” Leng said.

There also is an internal deficit in the fund of about $6.5 million because annual contributions have fallen short of needs.

“The mayor is working very hard on ways to reduce the overall cost with a host of different possibilities,” Leng said.

Some of those options may take effect before the end of the fiscal year. The changes will also be reflected in the 2010-11 budget.

The challenges for next year’s budget include maintaining the pension fund and controlling spending as much as possible, Leng said. “The mayor is very hesitant to pass on a significant tax increase to residents who are struggling with the other economic problems that every person is facing,” Leng said.

“But to balance a budget that has such significant commitments is going to require additional revenue and we’re not ready yet to say where that revenue is going to come from.”

The budget has to be presented by mid-March.