Mayor John M. Picard of West Haven may have to give back a raise, reports Susan Misur of the New Haven Register. Picard was given a 1.5 percent salary increase in January 2012.
The issue arose after City Council members received a draft of the 2012-13 budget, which proposed increasing Picard’s salary by 2.5 percent next year. They challenged the policy due to problems arising from raises granted during elected officials’ terms.
When council member Nancy Rossi, D-7, examined the budget proposal, she saw that Picard would be making $82,410 next year, compared to the $81,190 he received this year. The reason that the 1.5 percent increase in January was granted to Picard and the supervisors’ union was because the union recently agreed to a new contract; a long-standing city resolution guarantees that union benefits and salary would match that of elected officials.
According to Corporation Counsel Peter Barrett, however, that resolution was changed in 2007. Therefore, the 2.5 percent increase planned for next year cannot be implemented because “city and state policies say compensation must be set at the beginning of an elected official’s term and not raised after it’s begun,” Barrett said.
Finance Director Joseph Mancini estimated that Picard would need to pay back a few hundred dollars if asked to return the raise. Picard said to the New Haven Register that he does not mind giving up his current raise and anticipated raise for next year. However, he remains concerned about future mayoral salaries.
“I’ll argue I’m not the highest-paid mayor by a long stretch, and it’s a very sizable city, and the salary may become disproportionate, and I worry about attracting qualified people to run for office,” said Picard.
Picard insists that the raise issue was unintentionally overlooked, and hopes that the extra money can instead be used for an “employee of the month” program. “No one remembered they changed the resolution,” Picard said to the New Haven Register. “This is, as usual, political on a lot of levels, but if it’s about $20 a week, it’s not going to make any difference.”
However, this is not the first time a pay increase was overlooked. Tax Collector Francis Withington was also given a raise, but Barrett argued that it was approved before his term started.
City Clerk Deborah Collins is also affected by this issue. In 2011, the City Council set the position’s pay at $58,032. Collins will not be eligible to receive the $900 salary increase budgeted for next year because her pay cannot be raised during the term. “Basically, I think it was just a mistake or oversight. I don’t think anyone was trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes,” Collins said.
Picard addressed these concerns during a public hearing at West Haven High School. Residents, school officials, and city officials were in attendance. “I think we’ve presented an exceptional budget here. We’ve lowered revenue assumptions, put money toward deficit reduction, and reduced debt again, and we can really see the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Picard, according to the New Haven Register.
The 2012-13 recommended budget consists of $147.32 million, $1 million of which would be used toward decreasing the $10 million city deficit, job creating and elimination, and maintaining the tax rate. An additionally $500,000 will also be used toward West Haven school districts.
However, not everyone shared Picard’s optimism or support toward the budget. “Last year, we ended the year with a surplus of $188,000. But that was after we added in the one-time revenue of $3 million from the wastewater treatment plant,” said former City Council chairman Ed O’Brien. “If it weren’t for that, we would have increased our deficit by $2.8 million more. How are we planning to close the $2.8 million gap” in next year’s budget?
Others are worried about education expenses. Although school officials will receive $2 million more than last year, the original request was $3 million. “I also know a lot of teachers have put money out of own pocket to provide students with pencils, pens, pads,” said resident David Saldibar to the New Haven Register. “This is not part of their job, I think.”
Patricia Fusco, West Haven resident and teachers’ union president, believes that Picard’s raise should be used toward education rather than an “employee of the month” program.
