Norwich - Proposals to merge the senior center and recreation director positions, eliminate seven vacant police officer positions as well as the blight control officer and two human services caseworker positions, are among $2 million in budget cuts being considered by the City Council.

The proposals will be discussed by the City Council at its 7:30 p.m. meeting Monday. The cuts would reduce the proposed tax increase from 5 percent to 2 percent.

But city employees and advocates for recreation and human services programs are rallying to oppose the cuts, which were raised weeks after the two budget public hearings.

The five Democratic aldermen recently met in a closed-door caucus to discuss some of the proposals, participants of that caucus said, and Republican Mayor Peter Nystrom said he, too, has asked City Manager Alan Bergren to calculate cost savings and service impacts of certain cuts.

"There are a lot of suggestions, but all that has to be vetted at the council," Democratic Alderman Mark Bettencourt said.

A secretary in the code enforcement office, the emergency management director's position and a part-time clerk in the Norwich Fire Department also are being considered for elimination.

Four aldermen and Nystrom reached this week said the cuts are harsh, but not final.

"If we're going to reduce the taxes, it's going to have to come out of labor somewhere, and consolidation (of positions) is one way," Democratic Alderman H. Tucker Braddock said. "The senior center and the recreation programs are going to be hard decisions to make."

Angelo Callis, president of the AFSCME Local 2422, which represents most City Hall workers, said the union will have an emergency membership meeting Monday afternoon, and members plan to attend the council meeting.

"We have heard the city is considering laying off seven dedicated public servants within our bargaining unit," Callis said. "This distressing news comes barely a week after we were told the proposed budget would not include layoffs. Slashing public services and putting people out on the street is the last thing Norwich should be doing."

Human Services Director Beverly Goulet said cutting two of the three caseworkers and the accounting clerk in her office would drastically cut services and would force her office to turn down some of the more than $1 million in grants received for lack of staffing.

"This proposal to me has the most egregious impact on our community, because these are the individuals who provide the services every day to our seniors, our young people and our families," Goulet said.

Robert Spayne, chairman of the Recreation Advisory Board, learned of the recreation/senior center director merger proposal at the board's Wednesday meeting. Spayne, a former alderman, criticized the last-minute proposal and said the board was never notified.

"We were hit broadside by it," Spayne said. "It was a complete surprise. It hadn't come up until (Wednesday). It's kind of unfortunate they waited until this point in time, and they're going to vote on it supposedly on Monday? I know there's going to be an awful lot of people besides myself who are going to be upset. This is something that should have come up on the council floor and allow people to talk about it."

Nystrom said the council will not vote on the budget Monday but will wait until the June 10 meeting in the hopes of receiving more accurate state grant figures.

Bergren's initially proposed $116.5 million budget called for a $1.8 million increase in city government spending to $38.4 million, and no increase to the $70.38 Board of Education budget.

The school board proposed a flat budget for pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade programs, but the board faces a $1.5 million increase in the Norwich Free Academy tuition bill.

Aldermen said there was no discussion of adding to the school budget at this point.

Democratic alderman and mayoral candidate Charles Jaskiewicz said he would propose shifting some school capital improvements items to the city capital budget to reduce some possible cuts.

Dolliver estimated 20 teaching positions could be eliminated under Bergren's proposed budget.

In April, Bergren suggested the school board seek a waiver from the State Department of Education to use part of the expected $1.2 million in state Alliance District education reform funding to cover operating costs.

State Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor said recently there is no waiver mechanism. The state education reform program calls for the 30 Alliance Districts to spend "a substantial majority" of the funds on their state-approved reform plans.

Pryor said school districts must show they have addressed the top three priorities - improved teacher evaluations and training, addressed the new common core curriculum standards and turned around student achievement at the district's lowest performing schools - before diverting funds to other initiatives, including operating costs.

c.bessette@theday.com