New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Official says inaction nearly lost city 3 years of reimbursement
WEST HAVEN — The city’s new emergency management director promised the City Council Monday that he will give “110 percent” in finding revenue for emergency operations.
However, Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana said the city under previous leadership nearly let three years of federal reimbursement funds expire due to inaction. He said he was granted a 30-day extension to apply for reimbursement for a little more than $75,000 in emergency management costs between the 2021, 2022 and 2023 fiscal years.
“These grants, there are three of them my predecessor actually didn’t file, we were set to lose these on March 31,” he said.
Former West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi, whose three-term mayoralty ended last December when she did not seek reelection, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Fontana, who filled a similar professional role in New Haven for 16 years prior to working for West Haven since February, said it is a goal of his to pursue federal revenue to ease the burden on local taxpayers. He said he believes West Haven “missed some really significant opportunities over the years.”
“Once these grants get into the pipeline they create funding and reimbursement
“These grants, there are three of them my predecessor actually didn’t file, we were set to lose these on March 31.”
New Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana
for money spent,” he said. “The problem is we’ve got to go back three years.”
Fontana said the grants would encumber no costs to the city, although he would need to document annual emergency management spending back to the 2021 fiscal year.
The grant applications, which were approved by the council, are among the efforts taken by the administration of Mayor Dorinda Borer to bring in more revenue.
In addition to pursuing emergency management spending reimbursements, Borer has also increased the city’s involvement in the South Central Regional Council of Governments — having recently been elected the group’s treasurer — which connected the city with grant funds for an economic development consultant and announced a decrease in senior transportation costs in her recommended budget for the 2025 fiscal year due to a cost-sharing agreement with Savin Rock Communities, West Haven’s housing authority.
Despite the expected influx in revenue, Borer has still proposed a slight increase to the city’s tax rate in the coming year. She announced Monday that she has hired at least 10 critical roles, including having made an offer to a finance director. The mayor has proposed adding expenses, such as creating a marketing budget, to promote economic development as part of a long-term goal to reduce residents’ taxes.