New Rochelle Proposed Budget Evolves, Recreation Job Restored

Additional savings from state health insurance costs gave the New Rochelle City Council the chance to restore a job that affected senior citizens.

At Tuesday's council meeting, City Manager Charles Strome III said the final insurance rate received from the state was $1.4 million less than originally estimated.

—totaling $1,150,000—the city has $250,000 left over.

Strome's recommendations—which the council agreed to—were to restore a recreation supervisory position and put the remaining money into the city's fund balance.

The recreation position is for the , working with senior citizens. Strome said salary and benefits will cost about $110,000. That left $140,000 to be put into the city's undesignated fund balance, which now has about $2 million.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner William Zimmermann said that seniors make up about 10 to 12 percent of the city's population.

Councilman Louis Trangucci, R-District 1, said, in light of budget problems and the strong probability that 2013 will be even worse, the extra funds—after the saved recreation job—should be saved.

"That money is going to be needed next year," he said.

Councilman Jared Rice, D-District 3, said the crossing guard jobs that were saved were for the remainder of the 2011-12 school. He said the council will have to review their status for the fall.

Not all planned job reductions could be saved, Strome said. The public works department is still set to lose an engineer, and a clerical position in that department will be shared with finance.

"That's a direction we ought to be going anyway," he said, referring to shared services.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the budget at its regular legislative meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 13. The council will likely continue discussions on the budget before the vote.