New London — Mayor Michael Passero on Monday pitched a combined $98.67 million budget with another proposed drop to the city’s tax rate to the City Council.

Passero’s budget presentation was accompanied by an upbeat message about the state of a city which he said was “firing on all cylinders,” and on a solid financial footing. Passero’s address was the first in-person meeting at the newly restored City Hall in more than two years.

“You only need to look around the city to see the construction cranes and the changing skyline. Land that has been empty for decades is under construction or has already been built out and is now on our tax rolls,” Passero said.

“We should all be proud of New London’s newfound status as an economic success story,” he said.

Passero said that with growth in the city’s tax base, rapid growth of the city’s fund balance and bond rating upgrade, the city is able to invest in itself.

“As we continue to invest in our parks, roads and sidewalks, we have also been able to achieve a longstanding community dream with the planned construction of a 60,000-square-foot community recreation center,” he said.

If approved, the budget would lower taxes by 1.72%, the fourth consecutive year with a drop in the tax rate. Taxes on a single-family home assessed at $110,000 would drop by $68 to $4,126 per year.

“By reducing property taxes, we are increasing economic opportunity for all, especially those aspiring to build a foundation of generational wealth through home ownership and opportunities for higher education,” Passero said.

The proposed budget is an overall increase of $2.37 million, or 2.46%, from the current budget. Despite the spending increase, taxes will drop because of additional taxes collected due to a 5.5% increase in the grand list.  

It contains $53.45 million in city government spending, a $1.66 million or 3.2% increase over the current $51.79 million budget. Passero has proposed spending $45.2 million on education funding, a 1.6% or $709,091, increase over the $44.02 million provided to the Board of Education in the current budget. Funding for education is $1.1 million less than what the school board’s request of $46.32 million.

Education spending is funded jointly with state and taxpayer money and because of flat funding from the state, the increase to taxpayers is 3.2%, said Finance Director David McBride.

The city side of the budget contains funding for a $12.4 million police budget, a 1.6 increase, and $10 million for fire department, which is a 6.8% or $639,804 increase. The fire department budget this year contains funding for a deputy chief and additional fire inspector in the fire marshal’s office.

Recreation and Youth Affairs is getting a nearly $400,000 bump in funding for four new positions and money for additional youth affairs programming.

The city has budgeted $390,000 in a contingency fund to account for increases in salaries being negotiated in three different contracts.

The city is additionally receiving $26 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, which it is using for grants to small businesses, social service programs and investments in infrastructure. This spending is separate from the budget.

“The budget that I am proposing today will continue the city on a path to prosperity across all sectors of our diverse community. This budget will support the policies that have been fueling our success to date. It will continue to build financial stability and drive economic growth,” Passero said.

The City Council has scheduled a series of budget meeting that start on Tuesday.

g.smith@theday.com