Mayor's Proposed Budget 2014-2015

HAMDEN >> Mayor Scott Jackson left a proposed $207 million budget in the hands of members of the Legislative Council Tuesday night.

Jackson presented his 2014-15 fiscal budget — a $7 million increase over the current budget — to the council, citing pension, medical and additional employment needs as having an effect on the proposed tax increase. If approved, the tax rate would increase by 1.25 mills, from 38.94 to 40.19 mills.

“This is an active budget,” Jackson said.

Dedicated funds for the town’s retirement benefit could see an increase from $13.5 to $18.8 million. Incorporated into the $18.8 million is an interest-only payment of $3.4 million for the town’s pension obligation bonds.

The pension crisis is a result of the pension fund never having been properly funded, Curt Leng, chief administrative officer, has said.

“My friends, we have caught the tail of this beast and we will tame it,” Jackson said.

Leng said funding the town’s pension is 81 percent of the budget’s increase.

Medical costs could increase from $33.8 to $34.5 million.

With work left to do, Jackson tipped his hat to the town’s financial accomplishments.

“We’ve turned a $9 million deficit in the medical self-insurance fund into a surplus. We’ve established a plan to repair our broken pension fund over time without massive tax increases to what sometimes feels like an endangered species — the middle class taxpayer,” Jackson said.

Added town jobs could include a blight officer, program specialist and a new Department of Information and Technology.

While not a financial change, Jackson also proposed moving the Board of Education into Government Center at 2750 Dixwell Ave.

“I propose to you that the singular job of the Board’s Central Office is to educate children. Nothing else,” Jackson said.

Leng said the conversation of the school board and the town has been discussed for approximately a decade.

“If the town wasn’t addressing the pension crisis with the comprehensive pension reform plan implemented last year, the mayor’s proposed budget inclusive of important small increases to police and fire could have been increased without raising taxes at all,” Leng said.

Legislative Council President James Pascarella said Jackson’s presentation was “well done.”

“Now we have to do our due diligence and review the budget line by line. Some numbers will mature over the next six weeks. Some projections may change, but we will come up with a fair and balanced budget,” Pascarella said.

Call Ebony Walmsley at 203-789-5734. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.

Hamden Tackles Pension Crisis

By Michael Bellmore mbellmore@nhregister.com / Twitter:@bandango HAMDEN — Hundreds showed up at the Miller Library Thursday night for a special meeting of the Legislative Council to hear the fate of Hamden’s pension fund. A presentation was given by SEGAL, a consulting company, detailing its recommendations to help keep the pension fund solvent. According to the presentation, Hamden has roughly $56 million in its pension fund. If it were fully funded, it would have more than $400 million invested for pensioners and current town employees. “If you don’t do anything, in five years or sooner, the pension fund is completely bankrupt and the town goes to pay-as-you-go to pay its benefits. “If we went to a pay-as-you-go, and actually paid it, it means tax increase upon tax increase for every year, for the next 30 years,” said Curt Leng, chief administrative officer. “If we do nothing and just pay our arc, next year we have to pay $28 million. So, essentially, what that equals in cash and mill rate, that would be a four mill increase in one year. The plan that was presented, if all the pieces can be negotiated properly, is a four mill increase over a six year period.” Leng said the town’s goal is to achieve financial stability in a fair way while minimizing the impact on taxpayers. Mayor Scott Jackson said the bottom line of this presentation is that the town, for the first time, has received qualified information on how to resolve the pension crisis. “There needs to be an influx of cash, there needs to be long-term financial discipline, and there needs to be a hard look at the benefits people are earning today and forward,” Jackson said. The long-term financial discipline Jackson refers to could be delivered by the town accepting a pension obligation bond from the state. This would bring $115 million to the town for debt servicing, but would also lock the town into paying the contributions it must pay in future budgets to solve the pension crisis. But this is just one piece of the puzzle. Leng said, “In order to achieve long-term solvency without dramatic tax increases or draconian benefit cuts, we would have to have a combination of an immediate injection of cash in the form of a pension obligation bond; we’d have to have a reduction in benefits negotiated with our unions; and we have to increase the town’s cash contribution.” For this to work, SEGAL’s presentation offered three plans for reducing new benefits for current and future employees: a defined benefit plan, which locks in pensions at 1.5 percent per year, a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k) with returns that depend on market realities, or a hybrid plan, which is a mix of the two. Current retirees’ benefits, according to SEGAL’s plan, will not be affected. What might be affected though, are pensioners’ cost-of-living adjustments. All plans presented by SEGAL that resulted in solvency required some change from the current 3 percent that pensioners have been receiving for decades. Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282. Follow him on Twitter @bandango. “The biggest message that we wanted to get out to retirees, and I think that we did today, was that no one is trying to take anything away from people. “It’s just what percentage of increases moving forward can we all afford, to make sure you have a pension and that we can soundly, financially operate a town,” Leng said. “So we’re going to be looking at everything from 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and probably the quarter ratios in between to find out where’s the sweet spot that you can live with and that we can live with.” Robert Maturo, a retired police officer and president of Hamden Guardian Services Retirees Association, established to safeguard the pensions of retired police and firefighters, said he wasn’t surprised by the options presented by SEGAL. Doing nothing, he said, is an option long gone. He said while any changes to current pensioners’ benefits are a point of contention, bonding and new benefit adjustments are a must. He was especially hopeful about a pension obligation bond forcing future councils to pay into the pension fund. “We’re past the point of pointing fingers and blaming people,” Maturo said. “We need to work together. We need to get a plan that’s viable and that keeps the fund healthy for the next 50 years for all the town employees.” Michael Bellmore can be reached at 203-789-5282. Follow him on Twitter @bandango.

Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave - Take it Serious!

Municipalities throughout the area have opened cooling centers. Due to the extreme heat forecast, Mayor Scott Jackson has established Town "Cooling Stations" and also wishes to remind residents that all public buildings, including libraries and fire stations, are air-conditioned and open to the public during regular business hours. The cooling station is meant for temporary respite from the heat, especially for the elderly and those with respiratory issues. Hamden cooling stations and hours are: The Keefe Community Cente,r located at the corner of Dixwell Ave. and Pine Street, until 7 p.m. this evening. Thornton Wilder Hall, located in the Miller Library Complex at 2901 Dixwell Avenue, is a cooling station and will have water available to those in need. Thornton Wilder Hall be open to the public until 11 p.m. Hamden fire stations are also available. Information on all Town buildings and hours can be found on the Town website at www.hamden.com or by calling 203-287-7100. For further information, please contact the Fire Chief Berardesca's office at 203-407-5880.

Working to Solve Hamden Pension Crisis

By Ann DeMatteo, Register Staff adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo HAMDEN — The Legislative Council took initial steps Wednesday night toward finding a solution for the drastically underfunded pension fund, but answers won’t come for another six months. A council committee unanimously agreed to a bid waiver to hire The Segal Co. as a pension plan design consultant for $90,000. The full council will take action Monday. Council members wanting to be sure the information would be available before the 2013-14 budget is final asked how long it would take to get the information. Curt Leng, Mayor Scott D. Jackson’s chief aide, said it would take about six months. In response to another question, Leng said he believes “information will flow” about what the consultant is learning as time goes on. Already, he said, the mayor has had discussions with unions and is looking at working collaboratively with council members. “Without the unions being partners, a comprehensive solution can’t be reached,” Leng said. Leng said the mayor was seeking a bid waiver because Segal, based in Atlanta, already is working for the town on health insurance and pension matters. “They’re very good at this and we want experts with good qualifications to develop a comprehensive solution,” he said.

75% of Hamden Democrats Endorse Scott Jackson for Mayor

Hamden Democratic Elected Officials Overwhelmingly Endorse Scott Jackson for Mayor

Hamden - In an overwhelming sign of support, the Jackson for Hamden campaign is very pleased to announce the endorsement and support of the following Hamden elected officials who are supporting Scott Jackson for Mayor. This list represents a clear majority of elected officials in Hamden.Announcing their support today are the following:

Council-At-Large

Council President Al Gorman
President Pro Tem Carol Noble
Jack Kennelly
Jim Pascarella

District Council Members

Majority Leader, Matt Fitch, 1st District
Ossie Brown, 3rd District
Gretchen Callahan, 4th District
Kathleen Schomaker, 5th District
Curt Balzano Leng, 6th District

Board of Education Members

Chairman, Michael D’Agostino
Secretary, John Keegan
Valarie Stone
Adam Sendroff
Myron Hul

These elected officials joined Mayor Craig Henrici who immediately endorsed Scott at his campaign announcement on May 14th.”I’m very thankful to have the trust and support of so many great public servants,” said Scott Jackson.

“Receiving the endorsement of these 15 elected Democratic leaders is an overwhelming sign of support from,” said Adam Sendroff, Campaign Manager. “It also shows our residents who their elected representatives have confidence in and feel they can best work with on the issues facing our Town.”

“These are challenging times for any municipality and we need a leader who has the experience to effectively and efficiently manage our Town ,” said Councilman Curt Balzano Leng, Finance Committee Chairman. “Without question, Scott Jackson is the most qualified candidate to manage our Town‘s finances in a responsible and fiscally conservative manner.”

For more information about Scott and the Jackson for Hamden campaign, please contact Scott directly at Scott@jacksonforhamden.com or visit www.jacksonforhamden.com or visit Supporters of Scott Jackson on Facebook.###