Thomas Breen Photo
City Controller Daryl Jones.
The city expects to end the most recent fiscal year with a surplus, according to Controller Daryl Jones.
Duringan appearance with Mayor Toni Harp on WNHH FM’s “Mayor Monday” program, Jones said he expects city government to have concluded the most recent fiscal year (which ended on June 30) at least $11-$13 million in the black.
It takes weeks to reconcile and audit accounts to come up with a final number.
The surplus should more than wipe out the previous fiscal year’s $10.5 million deficit, he said.
He called the $11-$13 million figure a conservative estimate. A month earlier, in its May monthly financial report, his office had pegged the anticipated surplus at $9.1 million.
As of June 28, the city had collected over 100 of its budgeted anticipated real estate tax revenue, according to figures provided by the city. That figure includes with 99.02 percent of anticipated personal property tax revenues and of motor vehicle tax revenues and over 100 percent of anticipated supplemental motor vehicle taxes and delinquent taxes.
The city’s mill rate for the new fiscal year is 42.98. City mayoral spokesman Laurence Grotheer noted that 12 other cities and towns in the state have higher mill rates, including Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Britain, New London, Hamden, West Haven, and Middletown.
The city did not raise taxes this year. It was helped in that effort by refinancing $160 millioin in debt, bringing tens of millions of dollars in up front cash.
Jones: Ready For Ransomware
The hackers hit Atlanta. Baltimore. Smaller communities like Lake City and Rivera Beach, Florida, as well. They demanded big bucks. And they left behind a government mess.
Could they hit New Haven?
That question worries Daryl Jones.
It has worried him since he became city government’s controller (in charge of paying the bills and keeping the books) five years ago. And it has increasingly worried him in recent weeks as news spreads about devastating ransomeware attacks on cities across the country, in which hackers hijack and encrypt government computer systems. They demand six-figure cryptocurrency payments to return access to government computer systems — and even then years’ worth of records and staff work can be lost for good.
“We got calls over the weekend” from concerned people during the latest wave of national news stories, Jones said during the WNHH “Mayor Monday” program.
Jones said he made improving security an integral part of a systemwide IT upgrade he began after taking his job in 2014. “We invested a lot in infrastructure. Six years ago we had one data center. Now we have four,” he said. That means if “something fails on one end,” the city can pick up the work elsewhere.
His staff also holds monthly IT security meetings with federal, state and local experts to monitor potential vulnerabilities, Jones said.
“It goes back to infrastructure. If you go back to Baltimore or Atlanta, the main reason why they were attacked was because they never upgraded their infrastructure,” Jones said.
Within the last month, as reported municipal attacks have increased, Jones said, the city purchased an insurance policy for all of local government, including the Board of Education.
Last month Riviera Beach, Florida, agreed to pay hackers $600,000 in BItcoin to get its data back; Lake City, Florida agreed to pay $460,000 but may still have lost 100 years worth of uploaded municipal records.
In a separate discussion Wednesday on WNHH FM’s “Dateline New Haven” program, retired New Haven Assistant Police Chief John Velleca advised cities to heed FBI advice not to pay ransomware, while WNHH station manager Harry Droz argued that the cities need to cough up the crypto-cash to stay in business. You can watch the episode of the program below:
Click on the video below for the full episode of WNHH FM’s “Mayor Monday” program:
WNHH’s “Mayor Monday” is made possible with the support of Gateway Community College and Berchem Moses P.C.