New Britain Committee Budget Meeting - May 7, 2025

The Committee on Administration, Finance and Law and Public Services held a special meeting on May 7, 2025, at 6:01 PM, adjourning at 7:11 PM. The committee reviewed three budget resolutions for fiscal year 2025-2026, heard presentations from multiple city departments, and tabled all resolutions pending a continuation meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public signed up to speak.

Discussion Items

• Item 36785-1: General Fund Budget for FY 2025-2026: A motion was made by Alderwoman Beloin Savedra, seconded by Alderman Russell, to refer this resolution to the full council with a neutral recommendation. The committee then heard presentations from the following departments:
  • Corporation Counsel (Mary Pakorski): Budget decreased by a few hundred dollars; four full-time positions; handles litigation, collective bargaining, FOI requests, and contract review for both the city and Board of Education.
  • Mayor's Office (Justin Dorsey): Budget virtually unchanged, with a 2.5% increase for non-mayor staff due to contractual raises.
  • Finance Department (Jonathan Perigini, Mike, Cheryl): The assessor's budget is down 1.79% due to reduced professional services and lower costs for vehicle valuation guides. Revenue collection budget is similar, with one unfilled position. Finance department salaries increased due to a position transfer; professional services increased $45,000 for software upgrade and training; pavement management added $50,000. New cannabis sales revenue is estimated at $250,000.
  • Human Resources (Linda Gard): Budget cut by nearly $38,000; three and a half employees; handles recruitment, benefits, employee relations, and fair rent/housing complaints; increase in physical and psychological exam costs noted.
  • Public Works (Mark Moriarty): Mayor's proposed budget shows a 1.12% increase ($168,245) over the current year; provided extensive inventory of city infrastructure; noted new catch-basin cleaning initiative funded by the Clean Water Fund.
  • Registrar of Voters (Peter Gostin): Budget cut by about $36,000 from their request; new tabulators and voter registration system coming; new cellular service for poll pads may reduce need for hotspots.
  • Town and City Clerk (Mark Bernacki): Budget decreased $24,000 due to retirements; office generates over $2 million in fees (primarily conveyance tax) and returns about $1.4 million surplus to the city.
• Item 36786-1: Special Revenue Funds and Enterprise Funds Budget for FY 2025-2026: A motion was made to refer to full council with neutral recommendation. No department presentations were given before the item was tabled.
• Item 36787-1: Capital Improvement Program Appropriation for FY 2025-2026: A motion was made to refer to full council with neutral recommendation. No department presentations were given before the item was tabled.

Key Outcomes

• All three resolutions were tabled by voice vote (motion by Alderman McNamara, seconded by Alderwoman Beloin Savedra) pending the continuation of the meeting on May 8, 2025. No final votes were taken on the budgets; the committee forwarded neutral recommendations to the full council.