Norwich — The City Council on Monday avoided discussion on the proposed $83 million school budget for now while making small but contentious changes that added $68,000 to the combined $131.9 million city and school budget.

The second public hearing on the budget will be held by teleconference at 7:30 p.m. next Monday. The council is scheduled to adopt a final budget on schedule by June 8.

The adjusted budget would have a citywide tax rate of 41.08 mills, an increase of 0.8 mill, or 1.99%. Property taxpayers in the central city paid fire district would pay an additional 7.9 mills, a 0.19-mill, or 2.46%, increase, while the volunteer districts would see a slight drop in the fire tax, from 0.36 mill this year to 0.32 mill next year. The tax covers volunteer firefighter pensions for those who qualify.

Aldermen barely discussed the proposed school spending plan, but at the end of the lengthy debate and 5-2 vote in favor of the budget, Mayor Peter Nystrom reminded aldermen and the public watching on public access TV that the “delta” between City Manager John Salomone’s recommended $83 million school budget and the school board’s requested $85.5 million budget is “millions.”

During a meeting of a council-school board ad-hoc committee Thursday, school board Chairwoman Heather Romanski said the school system could not meet its fiscal and legal obligations with Salomone’s proposed 2.4% increase over this year’s $81.03 million budget. This year's budget is projected to end with a $1.1 million deficit, and Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow told the ad-hoc committee Thursday the school system likely would not see savings from the state-mandated COVID-19 closures.

Even at the 5.5% requested increase, school officials have said they would need deficit spending through the city’s undesignated fund balance, a statement that has alarmed both Democratic and Republican aldermen, especially as revenues are plummeting during the coronavirus emergency. Stringfellow reported to the school board that it would take a 9.11% budget increase to no longer rely on deficit spending.

For the past two years, the school budget has ended with deficits covered by transfers from the city’s undesignated surplus fund.

Republican Mayor Nystrom on Monday said departments are expected to live within their allocated budgets, and the general fund is not meant to supplement one department’s budget. The fund balance in early April stood at $13.7 million, 10.8% of the overall 2019-20 city budget.

Democratic Council President Pro Tempore Mark Bettencourt said Monday’s 5-2 vote to approve the budget was just “the first crack” at it. He said the council-school board ad-hoc committee still is working on a “final number,” warning that the minor budget changes that dominated Monday’s debate amounted to “peanuts” compared to the school budget debate to come.

The minor changes Monday — all by 4-3 party-line votes, with the four Democrats in favor and three Republicans against — included Democratic proposals to add $25,000 to the Otis Library’s proposed $1.05 million budget and $60,000 to fund the newly created School Building Committee from the capital improvements budget. They also added one police cruiser to the budget at $41,775.

The council added $25,000 to the city’s proposed share of a $400,000 project to repair decaying tennis courts, bringing the total to $100,000.

Republican Alderwoman Stacy Gould voiced the biggest protest to any budget increases during the COVID-19 emergency. She said every dollar counts at a time when 550 Norwich Public Utilities customers have told the utility they cannot pay their utility bills.

Democratic aldermen defended the proposed capital spending for the tennis courts as a quality-of-life issue and potential revenue generator with tennis camps and tournaments. They said a bulk of the projected $400,000 project would be funded by private donations and grants. If that funding did not come through, the money would roll over.

The School Building Committee needed seed money to work on a proposed, much-needed major school consolidation/renovation project to address the district's aging buildings. Bettencourt said the new committee could not do its work without professional assistance.

“If you’re talking about quality of life, talk about not raising their taxes one bit,” Gould said. “People can’t pay their utility bills.”

Nystrom argued against the $25,000 Otis Library increase, as well, saying, “$25,000 might be the total income for someone who is unemployed right now.”

c.bessette@theday.com