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Amid Historic Budget Shortfall For New Haven, Mayor Submits Two Budgets

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker
Ebong Udoma
/
WSHU
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker

New Haven, Connecticut, faces a $66 million budget deficit this year. That’s one of the worst shortfalls in decades. Mayor Justin Elicker has proposed two different budgets: a crisis scenario, and a call for help.

Elicker proposed a crisis budget with deep service cuts, including potentially closing a library, senior center and fire house. His second budget factors in potential help from Yale University and the State of Connecticut.

Elicker said the pandemic is only part of the money problem. Most is fixed costs, like salaries and pension obligations. Elicker says cities can’t balance their budgets because the state does not reimburse enough for non-taxable land. That could force him to up the tax rate 5.7 percent.

“We do not want to raise taxes by that amount, we do not want to close these services, these are vital to our community,” Elicker said.

Elicker said he is in talks with Yale officials and state lawmakers. He supports a bill by Senate President Martin Looney that would address issues with Connecticut’s model for city funding.

Copyright 2021 WSHU

Cassandra Basler oversees Connecticut Public’s flagship daily news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She’s also an editor of the station’s limited series podcast, 'In Absentia' and producer of the five-part podcast Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.