New London — The City Council has scheduled an Aug. 10 referendum to allow voters to determine the fate of a controversial police staffing ordinance.

The council repealed the 80-officer ordinance in March, calling the number arbitrary and not supported by any recent studies on city policing. The council’s repeal led to a petition drive and collection of enough signatures to force the council to either rescind its vote or schedule a referendum.

A previous council had passed the 80-officer ordinance in 2014 during a time when there was a drop in the number of officers and low morale at the police department in part because of a threat of layoffs. There were 65 officers at the time the ordinance was passed and the 80-officer goal was never reached. The department had 73 officers as of last month.

On Monday councilors voted 6-1 against revisiting their vote to repeal the ordinance. Councilor John Satti, who has opposed the repeal from the start, voted against the motion.

While the council could have let the question go on to the ballot for the November municipal election, it opted instead to schedule the citywide vote for Aug. 10.

Council President Efrain Dominguez said the council wanted to get the question out to voters as quickly as possible but thought June was too soon. The extra month will give the registrars of voters time to prepare ballots and voting machines.

Former councilor John Russell spearheaded the petition drive and said Tuesday that the council’s decision to hold a vote in the middle of the summer was intentional.

“It’s when everybody is on vacation and not thinking about these types of things,” Russell said. “This was thought out to try and keep the numbers down. It’s a continuation of their arrogance. They’re only supporting a small segment of the electorate in the city — the people who think like they do.”

Dominguez disagreed with Russell and said Tuesday he expected people would come out to vote.

Opponents of the repeal, like Russell, have voiced concerns about the defund-the-police movement and possibility the repeal would lead to cuts at the department. 

The council has spent weeks in budget deliberations and meetings with department heads and so far decided not to cut the $12.28 million proposed police budget, which shows a $116,046 or 0.95% increase.

Police Chief Peter Reichard has said that he is willing to work on possible reductions to the overall budget but warned any funding cuts for personnel would ultimately lead to increases in overtime costs, which has been on a downward trend.

The council has also heard a steady chorus from citizens calling for reductions in police department spending and more investment in areas such as education, social services and public works. Those calls continued on Monday during the council's second reading of the proposed budget. Many of the calls come from members of the New London People’s Budget Coalition, which has asked for a 35% reduction in police funding.

New London Green Party member Frida Berrigan, a former mayoral candidate, asked the council “what is the return on our investment” in police spending.

“What do we want the return on our investment to be? The People’s Budget offers a clear alternative framework and starting with the return on investment we want — communities where people’s basic needs are met and where problems are responded to with restorative justice, with harm reduction, with harm mitigation. Not with punitive measures. Not with handcuffs. Not with tasers,” Berrigan said.

“We are here. We are present and there have been people speaking about what we want as a community,” Sharmaine Gregor told councilors. “What we’re saying is we do not want an increase, period, in the (police) budget. That means all the funding that you want to be giving to the police department we want you to do other things with.”

A final council vote on the budget is scheduled for Monday. The proposed budget now stands at $96.3 million and includes $51.8 million for general government and $44.5 million for education. If passed, the tax rate would decrease by 0.24 mills.

Some of the changes in the budget this year include a new Peer Navigator initiative in the Human Services department aimed at reducing the number of mental health-related calls to police.

The City Council also recently shifted some budget funds to provide for an increased investment in the city’s youth. The council approved the use of $242,013 to fund a new youth initiative account that would sponsor programs run by the New London Youth Affairs, a division of the Recreation Department, whose programs are now grant-funded.

Mayor Michael Passero said he appreciates the calls for shifts in police funding but said while he shares some of the goals of the New London People’s Budget Coalition, “we have some disagreement on the path to achieve those goals.”

“My budget is sincere. We did work very hard to reshuffle the available resources to some great new initiatives for youth and human services,” Passero said on Monday. “At the same time, I have a responsibility while we’re building a new paradigm to maintain public safety and I take that very seriously.”

g.smith@theday.com