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Mayor Carfora Declines Comment on $1.2 Million Deficit Report

A $1.2 million deficit is expected when an audit of East Haven’s FY 2019–’20 budget is completed and presented by auditors PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP, according to the New Haven Register. Additional information regarding the audit was not given to the Courier/Zip06.com by Mayor Joseph A. Carfora.

“The audit is still not finished yet. The mayor has no additional comment other than what was previously provided to the Register until the audit is complete,” Tina Hedley, executive assistant to the mayor, wrote in an email on Jan. 29.

Hedley’s email was in response to an email from the Courier/Zip06.comwith questions for Carfora that would confirm the accuracy of the information reported in the New Haven Register on Jan. 26 and provide further context and an audit timeline to East Haven residents.

Carfora also declined repeated requests for a telephone interview.

At press time, a phone message left with an individual from the Finance Department requesting an interview with Finance Director Paul Rizza was not returned while email access to Rizza was also denied to the Courier/Zip06.com.

East Haven readers interested in the status of the town’s finances can find  the original New Haven Register story reported by Mark Zaretsky here. However, unlike the Courier and Zip06.com, which are free to access, residents seeking their mayor’s perspective on town finances will need to purchase a print copy of the New Haven Register (if still available) or pay for an online subscription to ctinsider.com to read the story.

A $1.2 million budget deficit would represent 1.3 percent of the town’s $92,032,599 budget for Fiscal Year 2019-’20, which was presented by former mayor Joesph Maturo, Jr., and approved by Town Council on April 24, 2019.

The 2019-’20 budget reduced the mill rate from 32.45 to 32.42, a 0.09 percent decrease. It also represented a $419,712 or 0.46 percent increase in spending overall; the $44,038,328 for town-side spending represented a $369,712 or 0.85 percent increase.

Under the town charter, the budgeting process for East Haven follows a stringent timeline commencing in December.

On Dec. 4, Carfora issued a temporary spending freeze that required all non-emergency purchase orders and overtime hours to get prior approval from the mayor’s office.

“This freeze allows me to assess what is necessary spending and what is not, while properly meeting the town’s actual needs,” said Carfora in a Dec. 5 written statement.

In early March, Carfora is expected to submit his budget recommendations to the Board of Finance. It will be returned to the mayor with any recommendations or suggested revisions based on budget workshops and then head to the Town Council by the end of March.

A final budget is typically adopted by the end of April.