by | Mar 30, 2017 8:10 am | Comments (11)
Daniela Brighenti photo
High-schoolers help prepare the Escape before work stopped.
Bartlett: Summer.
A year after expecting to open a new center for disengaged and homeless youth, city officials offered explanations for a series of mishaps and delays — and asked for another $200,000 to complete the job.
by | Mar 27, 2017 12:17 pm | Comments (7)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Paolillo: Show me the surplus.
A budget-watching alder has put the finance department and every other department proposing capital spending increases for the next fiscal year on notice: Be ready to defend those requests as well any projects that still have open balances.
by | Mar 20, 2017 7:46 am | Comments (12)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Clerkin and Melita at the start of Thursday’s hearing.
Mayor Toni Harp’s proposed budget for her office is the same as what alders approved last year. Alders still had a question: How has the adminisitration managed to raise pay for executive staff with minimal to no increase in her budget and without their approval?
by | Mar 17, 2017 12:25 pm | Comments (0)
Rose (center), his executive assistant, Paula Pernal (right), Deputy Corporation Counsel Cherie Phoenix (left) at hearing.
A hearing about the city’s top lawyer’s budget turned into an examination of why his office is taking over the labor relations department, when he plans to fill a top vacancy there, and whether he’s assuring that city officials are up to date on how to properly handle and dispose of official public records in the wake of a still ongoing controversy over a high-profile firing.
Continue reading ‘Top City Lawyer To Oversee New Department, Old Drama’
by | Mar 17, 2017 8:08 am | Comments (6)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Evans and Knight field questions Thursday night.
New Haven’s Democratic registrar of voters promised to have more poll workers and more signage on the next Election Day with a $20,000 bump in her budget.
But first she’ll have to figure out why she’s sitting on a projected surplus of more than $200,000.
by | Mar 14, 2017 3:43 pm | Comments (7)
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Local 3144 showed up in force for the hearing.
Hoping for a three-year streak, supporters made their pitch for increased funding of the city’s library system.
Continue reading ‘Library Supporters, Local 3144 Pitch Alders On Budget’
by | Mar 1, 2017 9:16 am | Comments (15)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Jones and Clerkin Tuesday.
Mayor Toni Harp proposed a $554.5 million general fund budget that she said would “pay the bills and keep the lights on” without raising taxes — assuming the cash-strapped state ups its annual aid to the city by $30 million.
by | Feb 27, 2017 3:37 pm | Comments (12)
New Haven government will spend more money this coming fiscal year, but will keep taxes the same as last year — at least in the proposed budget Mayor Toni Harp plans to unveil Tuesday afternoon.
by | Feb 14, 2017 8:53 am | Comments (13)
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Pullen: Business hit more.
East Rockers who live near State Street saw their property values shoot up. Those nearer to Whitney Avenue didn’t.
That’s because the impact of the city’s latest revaluation comes down to location, location, location —- and often how close you live to new luxury apartments.
City of New Haven
Neighborhood breakdown for Revaluation 2016, including single and some multifamily homes.
Continue reading ‘Luxury Apts. Raise Values, Blood Pressure’
by | Feb 5, 2017 12:23 am | Comments (10)
Paul Bass Photo
Assessor Pullen.
New Haven’s building boom catapulted the city’s grand list — its total amount of assessed taxable property — to $6,915,801,814 this past year.
by | Feb 1, 2017 5:09 pm | Comments (28)
New Haven will need to find a way to pay starting cops more if it wants to stop the suburbs from stealing them, Mayor Toni Harp said Monday.
by | Nov 2, 2016 2:08 pm | Comments (19)
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Colon: “We have been shaken down.”
Alders praised the hiring of New Haven’s new fire chief — but not the $2,000 monthly housing allowance that came with it.
by | Aug 25, 2016 8:26 am | Comments (70)
Paul Bass Photo
Marchand: Artful Ducker.
City officials scrambled this week to prevent another Yale-union spat from blowing an unexpected $5.6 million hole in the just-ended fiscal year budget.
In the end, Yale leveraged a threat to win assurances it can proceed with a plan to build a new biology lab.
by | Jul 1, 2016 7:30 am | Comments (2)
Jim Turcio.
A rush of last-minute customers got the city to its goal for permit fees for the fiscal year ending Thursday — as new political events put projections for the new year into doubt.
by | Jun 7, 2016 1:25 am | Comments (25)
Paul Bass Photos
Alders Marchand, Brackeen Monday night.
Paolillo led the charge for fiscal restraint.
The Board of Alders passed a $523.3 million city budget — and immediately started working toward closing a potential $2 million hole in it.
The approval came during a four-hour meeting at City Hall. It capped months of deliberations over the budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
by | May 24, 2016 7:43 am | Comments (8)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Paolillo: Still skeptical that city can afford it.
A new $45 million K‑4 “lab” school that alders were dead set against rebuilding last year got a renewed lease on life after key alders had a change of heart.
by | May 24, 2016 7:39 am | Comments (6)
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Westville Alder Adam Marchand addresses Monday night’s Finance Committee meeting.
Alders put crossing guards and librarians back into the new city budget while taking out money from the schools in order to shore up finances, at a Finance Committee meeting Monday night.
Continue reading ‘Library, Crossing Guard Jobs Added Back Into Budget’
by | May 19, 2016 7:38 am | Comments (5)
Paul Bass Photo
Campbell: City can’t assume costs.
Starting July 1 people arrested in New Haven will not be held in the prisoner lock-up next to the police station at 1 Union Ave. They will probably head to a new holding center at the jail on Whalley Avenue.
That’s because the lock-up at police HQ is slated to close.
by | May 17, 2016 12:40 pm | Comments (15)
Paul Bass Photo
Budget Chief Clerkin and Controller Daryl Jones detail the budget changes.
Mayor Toni Harp Tuesday proposed cutting planned new library and crossing-guard jobs and upping building permit fees rather than raising taxes in order to close a last-minute budget gap.
by | May 10, 2016 7:42 am | Comments (12)
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Morrison: “Totally against” tax hike.
Leading alders said they’re looking to the mayor to guide them on how to avoid raising taxes amid a last-minute $8 million shock to the proposed new city budget.
The alders’ Finance Committee Monday night held off on discussing the budget to “see what’s going on with the state, so people can regroup and re-evaluate,” said board President Tyisha Walker.
by | May 6, 2016 7:39 am | Comments (32)
Paul Bass Photo
Harp: “A huge shock.”
New Haven cleaned up at the Capitol, collecting $8 million more than last year from the state despite a budget crisis.
New Haven got creamed at the Capitol, collecting $8 million less than promised.
by | Apr 20, 2016 6:40 pm | Comments (20)
Paul Bass Photos
Okafor (left); Blue.
The Harp administration is taking an internal look into a second case of a staff dispute breaking into public view and leading to a mixed budget message to lawmakers.
by | Apr 13, 2016 2:45 pm | Comments (4)
Paul Bass Photo
Library aide Princess Zuri McCann at the main branch this week.
Building on last year’s successful pitch to budget-makers, the city’s chief librarian is trying to move the city ever closer to spending about 1 percent of its general fund money on libraries.
by | Apr 12, 2016 7:35 am | Comments (7)
Aliyya Swaby Photo
De La Paz, Harries.
Board of Education members unanimously approved a $231 million budget for next year — but are far from pinning down all its components.
by | Mar 31, 2016 12:03 pm | Comments (15)
Paul Bass Photo
Disappearing crosswalks at Blake and Osborn.
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Festa, Santiago grill Hausladen at hearing.
The city might let you remove metal “boots” from your car, and let you park in your neighborhood for free, even in special residential zones.