Incoming Councilors Call for Stratford Hiring Freeze

Several incoming members of the Stratford Town Council are calling for a hiring freeze as the town addresses a $5.1 million budget deficit.

Stratford’s budget deficit was created when voters rejected the proposed sale of the town’s sewer system to the Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority and the new councilors want to start addressing the deficit once they take office.

The four incoming Republican councilors believe that the town’s financial situation is so severe that the town should implement an immediate hiring freeze and delay starting new capital improvement projects until the incoming council has an opportunity to reassess budget priorities, according to a press release from Second District Councilor-elect Mark Dumas, a Republican.

The first meeting of the new Town Council is Monday, Dec. 14.

With only six months left in the current fiscal year, Dumas believes the council must address the deficit during its first meeting, which traditionally is limited to honoring outgoing officials and swearing in newly elected members.

“I don’t think the voters care about ceremonies,” Dumas said in the release. “What they really care about is that their taxes are too high and the longer that the new council waits to address this deficit, the harder it will be to fix without raising taxes.”

Dumas has pledged not to vote for any budget that raises taxes.

The proposed hiring freeze ordinance was written by Dumas and is co-sponsored by fellow incoming Republican Councilors Mitzi Antezzo, Vincent Chase, and Alan Llewelyn. Democratic Councilor-elect Tina Manus has also said that she will co-sponsor the proposed ordinance, according to Dumas.

Dumas said the hiring freeze would not apply to the Board of Education. Only positions employed by the Town of Stratford will be impacted by the proposal and it allows for exceptions where a position is necessary for the efficient operations of town government, for positions funded by state or federal grants, or if the overtime costs created by a vacancy would offset savings.

Under the proposal, exceptions to the hiring freeze must be approved by the Town Council. All five of the bill’s sponsors expect that one of the first exceptions to the hiring freeze will be for an anticipated vacancy for the town’s Planning & Zoning Administrator. Gary Lorentson, who currently holds the position, is expected to retire early next year.

Dumas, who authored the proposed ordinance and is an attorney who specializes in labor and employment law, said hiring freezes are usually the first thing state and local governments do when confronted with deficits, but that savings are lost if a freeze is not implemented quickly.

“Once the money is spent, you can’t get it back,” Dumas said.

Tina Manus, the sole Democratic sponsor, believes that the hiring freeze is necessary to give the Council time to fix the budget with public input.

“This initiative ensures a collective and thoughtful approach to hiring and spending in our town,” Manus said in the release.

According to Dumas, he contacted all 10 incoming councilors about a hiring freeze ordinance a week after the election and invited both Democrats and Republicans to co-sponsor the proposal. While every Republican supports the idea, Manus was the only Democrat to sign on from the beginning.

Dumas believes that most if not all of the remaining Democrats will join Manus in supporting the measure, but also said that Mayor John Harkins could implement a hiring freeze without council approval if the ordinance does not receive Democratic support.

Marc Dillon, Harkins’ chief of staff, told the Stratford Star that the administration has already implemented a conditional hiring and discretionary spending freeze and the mayor has been meeting with council-elect members individually.