Pressure on cities and towns to function without a state budget has resulted in nearly half of the members of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities deciding to freeze spending and/or reduce or cut services, a new CCM survey shows.
Of 59 member cities and towns responding to the survey, 29 towns have had to freeze spending at some level during the first quarter of this new fiscal year, while 28 towns have had to reduce or cut services, the survey says.
Freezing capital budget spending funded through a town’s general fund and implementing a city-wide hiring freeze are two examples of steps taken by some towns. When it comes to services, some towns have reduced education expenditures while others have cut back police overtime and part-time hours, the report states.
The average percentage increase in approved and proposed local government budgets among the 59 responding towns was only 1.52 percent, the report notes, while the local mill rate increased on average by 2.86 percent.
“The specter of towns and cities needing to reopen their local budgets to adjust for significant cuts in state aid that could result from a final state budget agreement has created an unprecedented local-budget situation among municipal leaders ─ who pride themselves on responsible fiscal management and balanced local budgets year in and year out,” said CCM Executive Director Joe DeLong.
