Norwich — The two Democratic City Council members will attempt to restore nearly $2 million to the 2017-18 budget cut by the five Republican aldermen May 1, including adding $1.5 million to the school budget, reinstating swimming at Spaulding Pond this summer and saving six city government positions.

Mayor Deberey Hinchey and Alderman H. Tucker Braddock have co-sponsored eight resolutions on Monday's council agenda that would give the school budget a 2 percent increase over this year's $75.4 million and restore funding for two office clerks, a senior center van driver, the city recycling coordinator and civil engineer in the Public Works Department. Braddock added his own resolution to restore the code enforcement secretary in the building department as well.

The two Democrats also would continue the city's membership in the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities at a cost of $25,580. In total, the resolutions would restore $1.91 million cut from the budget by council Republicans.

But even if all the resolutions pass and the spending added to the budget, the citywide tax rate still would drop by 0.06 mills, from 41.22 mills to 41.16 mills, a 0.15 percent drop, city Comptroller Josh Pothier said. Taxes in the central city paid fire district would increase by 0.99 mills from 2016-17 budget, from 7.84 to 8.83 — a 12.63 percent increase, the same as under the Republican budget, Pothier said.

The citywide tax decrease would be helped by City Manager John Salomone's separate proposal to cut the contingency account in next year's budget by $460,000, more than half his originally budgeted total of $791,902.

Several Republican cuts from May 1 would remain intact, including two police officers, a Human Services case manager and a clerk and a public works foreman and laborer.

Hinchey said the goal of the resolutions is to enumerate the exact spending items included in the Republican majority's endorsement May 1 of a more than 5 percent cut to the combined city and school budget from this year's total. The council voted on the cuts in three votes that adopted lists of cuts for 3, 4 and 5 percent reduction levels.

“This is a way for people to see where the council stands on things,” Hinchey said. “And people can voice their opinion during public comment.”

Since the specific cuts were made one week after the budget hearing, Hinchey said, residents did not get the full chance to comment on the cuts.

“We can make sure people can get a fair shake on what they think should be restored,” she said. “This gives people a chance if there's some of those things they want to put back.”

Republican Alderman Gerald Martin said the five council Republicans will hold their usual closed-door party caucus this weekend to discuss the budget resolutions.

“Some positions may come back, some not,” Martin said.

Braddock said the Republican cuts were short-sighted and self-defeating. He said Republicans rejected the proposed school restructuring plan without sending the package to referendum. Yet cutting the proposed school budget by 3 percent likely would result in the school board restructuring four city elementary schools as a last-minute, cost-cutting move with no public input.

The Board of Education Budget Committee on Tuesday reviewed a budget-cutting plan that called for pairing two sets of elementary schools and restructuring them by grade level. The Uncas and Thomas Mahan schools would be combined, with all kindergarten through second-grade students from the two districts attending Uncas, and third- through fifth-graders going to Mahan. The same would occur at John B. Stanton and Samuel Huntington schools, with lower grades attending Stanton and older students going to Huntington.

Braddock said other city position cuts affected departments that bring in revenue to the city: the city clerk, assessor, tax collection and code enforcement offices. Seniors pay $25-per-year dues to use the senior center.

“The senior center,” Braddock said. “They pay their dues and they deserve a ride. And Spaulding Pond. They can't decimate our city like that. We need things in the community. Cutting it back so dramatically, it's hurting our city too badly.”

c.bessette@theday.com