Flat Mill Rate Budget Exercise

On May 4, 2023 the Finance Commission met to conduct a “flat mill rate” budget exercise.  This involved reviewing expenditures in the Mayor’s proposed budget on a department-by-department basis, looking for any items that (a) could plausibly be cut and (b) would make a significant contribution to cost savings if eliminated or reduced.  The purpose of the exercise was to give the Legislative Council and Hamden residents a sense of the magnitude of the cuts that would be necessary to avoid a FY24 mill rate increase.  The Commission’s report to the Legislative Council on the flat mill rate budget exercise can be found here and Appendix A listing the potential cuts can be found here.

As noted in the report, the Commission is NOT yet recommending that any or all of these cuts actually be made.  At this stage, Appendix A is intended as a list of potential cuts to be weighed against each other and against the mill rate increase required by the proposed budget.  The Commission is continuing to evaluate the potential cuts and anticipates issuing a final report in which it identifies those cuts it specifically recommends.