Hiring Freeze Instituted by New London Mayor

Post from Office of Mayor Finizio:

From Staff:

Mayor Finizio Issues Executive Order Correcting Deficit in City Council’s Budget

Today, New London Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio issued Executive Order #9, instituting a hiring freeze and directing members of the finance department to follow all legal means necessary to ensure that the City of New London meets its legally mandated financial obligations in the coming fiscal year.

“The budget adopted by the City Council underfunds mandated expenses by hundreds of thousands of dollars,” said Mayor Finizio. “As Chief Executive Officer, it is my responsibility to ensure that we pay legal obligations including our health insurance premium, our worker’s compensation, and our disability insurance, while simultaneously balancing the budget.”

The executive order states, in part:

1. The Personnel Administrator and all City Department Heads are hereby ordered to cease all hiring procedures for any vacant City positions unless specifically ordered otherwise by the Mayor; and

2. The Finance Director and City Treasurer are hereby ordered to follow all appropriate legal means at their disposal to ensure that all legally mandated financial obligations of the City of New London are met and satisfied in a timely manner.

Mayor Finizio said, “I want our rating agencies to hear me loud and clear: I will not allow the City to deplete its fund balance for operating costs. I am committed to seeing our fund balance grow and our bond rating improve, and I will not destabilize our cash flow or risk raising our interest rates as we head into the Magnet School Pathways construction project.”