With a lean budget that needs to gather some $2.2 million to make up for anticipated state cuts, North Branford is reviewing a proposed $51.3 million 2017-18 Town Budget that does not include another potential $1.4 million that would be needed, should Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's proposal to have towns pay into the state's Teachers' Pension Fund come to pass later this year.  

For North Branford to have built the entire proposed state shortfall of $3.6 million into its 2017-18 town budget would have been "catastrophic," Town Manager Michael Paulhus told Zip06/The Sound.

As proposed, the $51,345,106 budget would create a 2.19 annual mill rate increase. Following budget workshops in March, the Town Council will open a public hearing on the proposed budget during its Tuesday, April 4 meeting, which has been moved to North Branford Intermediate School and begins at 7 p.m.

Paulhus said the cuts and costs that could be potentially handed down by the state this year are wreaking havoc on the budget process in towns across the state. Complicating matters is the calendar misalignment of town budget processes, which end in May, against the state's budget process, which won't be finalized until at least the end of the legislative session in June and could be extended into the summer months.

Following pre-budget workshop discussions with state legislative leaders including State Representative Vincent Candelora (R-District 86) and State Senator Ted Kennedy Jr. (D-District 12), North Branford is working under the premise that Hartford's legislative process and other factors will keep the proposed Teachers' Pension Fund fee from hitting municipalities in the coming fiscal year. If that does change, the town would need to issue an additional tax bill to make up for the revenue shortfall in order to pay the state, said Paulhus.

As it stands, the proposed $51.3 million town budget represents a three percent annual increase on the town government side and a 3.6 percent annual increase on the school budget side. Most of the increases are due to contractual obligations, debt service and other "costs of doing business," said Paulhus.

Thanks to sound fiscal management, a decreasing debt service (bonding) payment, and a one-time, unprecedented use of $750,000 from the town's general fund, North Branford should be able to weather the state cuts and continue to move forward with a town budget that will provide needed services to taxpayers without overtaxing them next year. Typically, the town uses $350,000 from the general fund to make up for revenue shortfalls each year, although it did use $600,000 in 2016-17, said Paulhus.

"If it wasn't for the sound fiscal management the town has done and debt management falling off significantly this year, I don't know how we'd be dealing with this, short of sending out notices and cutting positions," said Paulhus.

The bigger question, he said, is what will happen if Hartford begins to rely on municipalities to continue covering the state's budget deficit issues.

"Where are we going to be next year?" asked Paulhus. "I don't know how the government in Hartford thinks we can absorb these impacts."