Veto Override Fails In Hamden Budget Battle

HAMDEN, CT — Hamden’s budget battle finally has a resolution after the Legislative Council failed to override Mayor Curt B. Leng’s veto of their budget at a special meeting Monday night. Leng’s $235,998,505 budget will go into effect next month after the veto override failed by an 8-6 vote, according to the New Haven Register. A two-thirds majority vote was required to override the veto.

The council had narrowly approved a budget that would have raised the mill rate to 49.99 by a 7-6 vote last month. Leng’s budget will raise the mill rate from the current 47.96 to 48.73. The average tax increase for a single-family household from Leng’s budget would be $110 compared to a $291 increase in the council’s budget, according to a comparison chart Leng posted on Facebook.

Leng announced late last month that he was vetoing the council’s budget, saying their “excessive increase was nearly three times higher than the modest increase I recommended to protect essential services.” He also said it was not in Hamden’s “best interest; short or long-term.”

In a statement on Facebook Tuesday morning, Leng said that taxpayers “spoke loudly that they could not bear the huge tax increase that the Council approved, which would have pushed Hamden to a 50 (49.99) mill tax rate.

“I am thankful that I was able to take action through Mayoral Veto to stop this irresponsibly high increase, and I am also thankful for those Council members who stood strongly today, against this tax hike, with our residents,” Leng wrote in the post. “Tax increases without thoughtful consideration of their vast impact are harmful to our citizens and would have sent a terrible signal to families and businesses looking to invest in our community. We can do better. Our residents deserve better.

“Last week the State passed their budget and Hamden did well, matching the revenue projections we anticipated. Over the next week, I will work with our experienced financial team, in cooperation with the Council President and Finance Chairman, to develop some recommendations that would result in an even stronger budget for the upcoming year.

“We will work to continue protecting the services we all depend on, without harmfully excessive and unnecessary tax increases.”

Council President Michael McGarry originally voted for the council’s budget but voted Monday night to sustain Leng’s veto, saying he agreed that the taxes were too high of a burden to put on residents, according to the Register. Council members who were in favor of the override said the mayor’s budget contained unrealistic and overstated revenues.

Read more at the New Haven Register here.