Mayor Implements Spending Freeze In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — For the third straight year, Mayor Curt Balzano Leng has implemented a spending freeze to close out the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Leng announced on Tuesday afternoon that the spending freeze for the remainder of the 2016-17 fiscal year will go into effect immediately and will affect all non-essential operating budget expenditures.

The freeze will not cut any public health or safety operations, already approved services or programs, required maintenance, or contractual obligations, according to Leng.

Leng said the goal of the spending freeze is to ensure a “balanced end-of-fiscal-year budget while maintaining our high level of public services and governmental responsibilities to the residents of Hamden.”

Leng also implemented spending freezes in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to help ensure that both of those budgets closed balanced.

“We are working very hard to end Fiscal Year 2017 with a balanced budget,” Leng said in a statement. “If achieved, it would be Hamden’s sixth consecutive balanced or surplus Town budget – a telling representation of the responsible, consistent, and stable financial management Hamden has worked so hard to attain. Further strengthening Hamden’s fund balance and financial position will allow us to focus on stabilizing and reducing the Town’s mill-rate.”

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