Norwich — The Republican-majority City Council on Monday will propose budget cuts to the police and paid fire and human services departments and will call for shifting part of the revenue received from Norwich Public Utilities from the central city district to the citywide general fund.

The proposed cuts will be considered at the 7:30 p.m. Monday council meeting, when the council plans to adopt a final 2016-17 budget.

Republican Alderwoman Stacy Gould said Thursday the cuts were forced by the nearly $1 million cut in state grants. 

City Manager John Salomone made proposals to absorb most of the grant cut, but that would have required a tax increase.

“We got cut $1 million from the state, and we have to find some savings for the taxpayers,” Gould said. “We're incorporating what he's recommending and what we're recommending.”

The cuts include a $100,000 reduction to the police department overtime replacement account — used to pay officers to fill in for vacations and sick time — and another $100,000 to the central city fire department replacement account.

The latter would be applied to the central city fire district tax rate.

The council again will propose elimination of a human services caseworker position to save $78,313.

The council initially rejected that cut, 4-3, on May 2 after strong public opposition.

“I will be voting to cut it this time,” said Republican council President Pro Tempore Peter Nystrom. “I don't want to, but if I don't respond to this cut of $1 million from the state, I wouldn't be being responsible. I wasn't prepared to do it back then. Today my hand is being forced by the state.”

Nystrom also issued a news release Thursday criticizing what he called a budget “shell game” of increased apportioning of NPU revenues to the central city fire budget, rather than the citywide general fund.

By city charter, NPU must pay the city 10 percent of gross utility revenues each year.

Nystrom said if the entire $2.9 million in NPU revenue now applied to the central city district was applied instead to the citywide general fund, it would cut 1.89 mills off the citywide tax rate.

He said the NPU revenues "hide the true cost" of the central city fire budget, which should be more than 12 mills, rather than the current 7.16 mills.

City Comptroller Josh Pothier said the NPU apportionment was increased to replace other revenue removed from the City Consolidated District  — including state payments in lieu of taxes for property in the CCD, property conveyance taxes and the Mashantucket-Pequot fund.

Pothier said the real increase in the NPU portion to the CCD was about $30,000 to $40,000.

The shift was done last year under the guidance of interim City Manager John Bilda, also the NPU general manager, at the previous council's request to reduce the fire tax burden.

Bilda said Thursday the increase was calculated after reassessing the value of NPU property and equipment housed in the central city and covered by the paid fire department.

He said NPU had expanded its facilities and infrastructure in the CCD, and the assessment hadn’t been updated in years.

“The council asked us to do that to provide some tax relief to the CCD,” Bilda said Thursday. “We took a real, real close look at the value of the NPU property in the CCD.”

On Monday, the Republican-sponsored budget resolution would remove $164,000 from the NPU revenue applied to the central city fire district and allocate it to the citywide general fund.

Democratic Mayor Deberey Hinchey voiced strong opposition to most of the Republican proposed cuts and to the shift in NPU revenues.

Hinchey said the arguments split the city in half, noting that half of the city’s residents live in the CCD.

Hinchey said the Republican proposal would amount to taking revenues that should be applied to the central city residents and property owners and using it to subsidize those who live in the volunteer fire districts.

“Last time I checked, this is one city,” Hinchey said.

c.bessette@theday.com