Town grappling with state aid cuts

Leaders pin hopes on more development

PORTLAND — Faced with $800,000 in cuts in state aid, town officials are tightening their belts and being very careful about every expenditure.

One thing the Board of Selectmen has rejected, however, is sending out a supplemental tax bill. Instead, the town and school department are being “very judicious and careful about reducing expenses wherever possible,” First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said Wednesday.

Bransfield is working closely with Director of Finance Tom E. Robinson to monitor the situation.

The 2017-18 fiscal year, which began July 1, will reach the halfway mark Sunday. That leaves six more months until the fiscal year ends and the state is still in financial flux.

Early this month, state Treasurer Kevin P. Lembo warned the state “is on pace for a $207.8 million deficit,” according to a report in the CTMirror.

The deficit mandates that the state prepare a deficit mitigation plan, the CTMirror reported. Further complicating the picture is the fallout from the tax plan adopted by Congress — and signed by President Donald Trump — last week.

Against that background, Bransfield said there are indications the General Assembly will convene a special session next month, which could involve further steps to reduce state spending.

She and Robinson are waiting to see how to proceed if the legislature takes further actions to reduce aid to the cities and towns, Bransfield said. “At this point, I am looking very carefully at every purchase order that’s put on my desk,” she said.

The town adopted its 2017-18 budget in May. But the General Assembly did not approve a state budget until late October, about six months after the town did.

Reductions in aid, particularly for schools, after the town had adopted its budget, “make things very difficult,” Bransfield said.

So, among other things, Bransfield has put a hold on new hires and/or replacement hires. “We’re not calling it a hiring freeze,” she said. “We’re calling it ‘a hold.’”

That means Bransfield and Robinson evaluate each position individually to determine if it is necessary to immediately refill a position or defer action about appointing a replacement.

If it becomes necessary, the town could use some of the approximately $400,000 in surplus from the 2016-17 budget, Bransfield said. Meanwhile, “We are pursuing economic development options,” she said.

The proposed $30 million Elmcrest/Brainerd Place mixed-use development is currently under review by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Also, last week the town received PZC approval for the proposed purchase of 5.5-acres of riverfront property off Brownstone Avenue. Bransfield has said the land could be used for a visitor’s center and perhaps a riverfront restaurant.

The Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park, which Bransfield took the lead in pushing to bring to town, so far this year has paid $388,000 to the town as its share of the gate receipts from the water adventure park.