Mayor Pressed To Justify Tax Bump

“I’m paying more in taxes, but the services that I’m receiving as a resident are not going up,” Yoland Highsmith told Mayor Justin Elicker at a city budget-focused town hall. 

Gloria Bellacicco agreed, criticizing the Tweed Airport expansion for taking too long and disrupting quality of life. ​“To be honest, I haven’t seen New Haven finish one project that it starts,” said Bellacicco. ​“So if you’re going to raise our taxes, finish the projects, please.”

That critique of too much promised, not enough delivered, rose to the fore Tuesday night during Elicker’s first community town hall meeting about his proposed $703.7 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2024 – 25 (FY25). If approved by the alders, that budget would take effect on July 1.

The mayor’s proposed budget includes a 3.63 percent spending increase, as well as a 2.3 percent increase to the local tax rate.

During Tuesday’s meeting at High School in the Community, residents and attendees called for more effective services while resisting higher taxes.

After Elicker delivered a presentation about the city’s financial status and current budget proposal, he opened the floor to community questions and comments. Many people criticized tax increases. Some, like Bellacicco, argued that city government should focus more on finishing existing work before trying to expand the budget. 

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn responded by listing recently completed projects such as the maintenance building and the playground at Lighthouse Point Park, as well as the first raised crosswalk on a state-owned road, near Nathan Hale School.

The mayor pointed out two new engineering positions in the proposed budget that will help speed up programs and address concerns. But finishing the projects requires money, which means higher taxes, said Elicker. ​“It’s really hard to get these projects done. I have a bald spot because I’m losing my hair over trying to get these projects done, and things cost money and that’s just the reality.” 

One funding deficit contributing to the mayor’s hair loss is education. City tax increases will go, in part, towards education funding. Elicker is pushing for the state to provide more assistance. According to the mayor, the governor’s proposed budget would increase New Haven educational funding by just $1 million — a small fraction given New Haven’s $200 million-plus education budget.

“In my conversations with the governor, I think there is an opinion that we can do more with less, and I don’t think that’s an accurate reflection of what’s going on in cities like New Haven,” said Elicker. 

The mayor compared the city’s public school system to that of other cities in Connecticut, stating that New Haven spends less per student than the state average, yet the city’s student body faces more challenges. He also noted that the city has fewer staff members, and that there is only one social worker per 400 students and one guidance counselor per around 350 students. 

Ben Scudder, a teacher at High School in the Community, said that a lot of teachers feel as though the Board of Education spends money ineffectively. ​“Whether that’s true or not, that’s how they feel,” said Scudder. This lack of confidence, then, can lead to less community support for efforts to increase funding from the state. ​“They feel like it won’t affect their classrooms and their students.”

Elicker said he wants to boost confidence and reframe this issue, arguing that the problem is not the city’s ability to manage funds well but rather the unique challenges New Haven experiences compared to its state counterparts. ​“There’s a narrative out there that New Haven spends way too much on school administrators. We have 41 schools. You need administrators to help support,” Elicker said. ​“We’re always working and we can always do better at spending our money efficiently, but the problem is we do not have enough money.”