New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Town projected to end 2018 fiscal year with surplus
Funds to be used on school resource officers
First Selectman Michael Freda said Friday the town is expected to end the 2018 fiscal year with a surplus of about $363,000, which will be used, in part, to offset the cost of hiring five new school resource officers next year.
The fiscal year ended June 30 and the books are expected to be closed on the period in August.
Approximately $220,000
will be used to pay for five part-time school resource officers in the next fiscal year, Freda said — one to staff each of the town elementary schools and one for North Haven Middle School, beginning at the start of the school year.
Residents approved the hiring of the officers at a town meeting June 25.
The officers, potentially recent retirees from the town force, will be certified and work the same hours and days as their respective school is open, Freda said previously. The program is expected to continue for at least five years.
If the financial projection holds true, as expected, this will be the ninth consecutive year the community has ended the year with a balanced budget and the fifth time during that period it has run a surplus, Freda said.
“Ninety three percent of what we do here is on us.” First Selectman Michael Freda
“Ninety three percent of what we do here is on us,” said Freda, noting the community receives 7 percent of its revenue from the state. “We have to manage it very effectively.”
Freda said the remainder of the surplus funds will be added to the town fund balance, which currently totals about 8 percent of expenditures.
The town is currently in good shape financially, Freda said — along with other economic development plans, he noted that Amazon is projected to open a new fulfillment center in the community in 2019.
“The future of North Haven is very bright,” said Freda.