New Britain Compensation and AFL Committee Special Meetings – June 8, 2026
New Britain Compensation and AFL Committee Special Meetings – June 8, 2026
The city of New Britain held two consecutive special meetings on June 8, 2026, starting at 6:06 PM. The first was a Compensation Committee meeting to discuss salary increases for appointed and elected officials, followed by an Administration, Finance and Law (AFL) Committee meeting that conducted a public hearing and considered two agenda items. No members of the public spoke during any portion of the meetings.
Discussion Items
Compensation Committee (6:06 PM)
- Registrars’ salary increase: Alderman Scott noted that both registrars currently earn approximately $70,000–$71,000 annually and requested an increase due to expanded duties from state election mandates and early voting. Scott proposed a 3% increase (roughly $2,100–$2,150 each) to account for increased workload while keeping taxpayers in mind. Alderman Borrero advocated for a flat $1 increase, citing financial constraints from past corruption and the need to be cautious with taxpayer money. After debate, a motion for a 3% increase failed for lack of a second. A motion for a $1 increase was made by Alderman Barbosa, seconded, and passed. This recommendation will proceed to the AFL committee and then to the full council.
- Clerk of Committees salary increase: The council representative explained that the clerk of committees was currently paid $12,000 and requested an increase to $30,000 (an $18,000 increase) to fund daytime administrative support, including cross-training with the new council administrator. Alderman raised concerns about the lack of a job specification and the size of the increase compared to the registrars’ request. Despite objections, a motion to increase the salary to $30,000 was made, seconded, and passed. The recommendation will follow the same path to the council.
AFL Committee (6:45 PM)
- Public Hearing: A public hearing was held for item 37187, an ordinance amendment to raise capital project bid thresholds from $7,500 to $25,000 for consistency and efficiency. No members of the public spoke, and the hearing was closed.
- Item 37187 – Capital project bid requirements: The interim finance director explained that the change aligns thresholds across all city bidding processes, updates an outdated amount, and prevents the practice of splitting invoices to avoid bidding. After questions from Alderwoman Delerna and Alderman McNamara, the committee voted unanimously to refer the item to the common council with a favorable recommendation.
- Item 37188 – Downtown District proposed budget (FY 2026–2027): The downtown district representative, Ms. Bosco, described the district’s role in placemaking and economic development. She noted the budget includes a $50,000 rollover surplus from delinquent taxes and a vacancy, intended to fund a new ambassador program for cleanliness and safety. Alderman McNamara asked about the budget increase. The committee voted to refer the budget to the common council with a neutral recommendation.
Key Outcomes
- Compensation Committee recommended a $1 annual increase for each registrar (not the requested larger amount) and approved a $30,000 salary for the clerk of committees (up from $12,000). Both recommendations will proceed to the AFL committee and then to the full common council.
- AFL Committee favorably recommended item 37187 (bid threshold increase to $25,000) and neutrally recommended item 37188 (Downtown District budget) to the common council.
- The meetings adjourned at 6:36 PM (Compensation) and concluded shortly after the AFL votes.
Meeting Transcript
Um, okay, okay, okay. No, it's just the one. Oh, okay. Hello, everybody. Um, welcome to tonight's special meeting for compensation. And the time is now six. Oh, six. Mr. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Alder Woman Scott. And here. And also seated, we have Alderman Borrero. So you have a quorum. Okay, thank you. Um, I will open up the floor for any members to discuss salaries, um, for appointed and elected officials today. So is there anyone here? Any of us that would like to discuss. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yes. Um well, any of the discussing, aren't we discussing council clerk as well? Yeah, any of the compensation. Do you have any um anything that you have to say about it? Or we can have like a discussion about it now. Yeah, I mean, I think we should discuss like that's what I said. I wanted to start with um the registrars. Um, they're asking for an increase, and the discussion should be around. No one else asked for an increase this time, so um uh other than a council clerk. Yeah. Um, okay, let me see. I'm looking at referring to my notes. Um I think currently both the registrars are receiving around seventy, seventy thousand seventy-one thousand annually. Um, and they're asking for an increase due to state election mandates and the addition of early voting. And um they're stating that your responsibilities have increased um extensively. They both hold f full-time positions. Um that being said, um it's hard to especially keeping our taxpayers in mind, it's hard to justify an increase, but I I I myself have done some research and I looked at other cities in comparison to see what they are earning. Um and again they've all been asked to um add to their uh duties which I I do think um the additional duties, um I do think they have seen um an increase in their workload. I would not be opposed to a small increase keeping taxpayers in mind of maybe three percent. Anyone else have any comments about Obama? Um I would say we should go for a dollar rather than the three percent. What explain that? A dollar increase. Um, you know, the misuse of funds from the last administration has put us all in a bind, and um no, not to take it out on the um individuals looking for a raise, but as you said, we have to keep our taxpayers in mind, and um if we are going to give out anything, I think a dollar would be sufficient for the time being, and then once we get things in order, we can revisit and increase, but I think we should remain neutral um because no one else is asking for a raise. And this term everyone's workload will be increasing. So I think a dollar is and clear. When does the increase come into effect in the next after the next um is it after the next election? Yeah, yeah, it's the next election. It always yeah, so i i i my three percent would be roughly thirty, five hundred on their current salary, I believe. Does that make sense to you?
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