Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin took office in January, and his honeymoon is officially over. The mayor is trying to figure out a way to balance the city’s budget.
Bronin's proposal to involve the state in a fiscal oversight board has failed. Now, he’s looking to the unions for concessions. On Thursday, city union leaders and politicians held a press conference at the state capitol.
"We are here today to state proudly and loudly to the public that we have said to the mayor all along that we are prepared to work hand in hand with the city to identify cost saving measures in order to protect the vital public services through the collective bargaining process," said Richard Holton, president of the city's police union.
But the city's more than half a billion dollar budget is in trouble. In addition to a roughly $10 million deficit this year, the deficits for the four years going forward look like this: $48 million, $69 million, $89 million, $97 million. Bronin has said the city has a structural deficit problem that his predecessors papered over with one-time fixes. But the fixes are all but gone.
At the press conference, State Representative Matt Ritter said Hartford's unions have put a few numbers forward to help the cause.
"I believe that just on preliminary data and conversations, an $8 to $12 million target per year is very real and very achievable," Ritter said. But, at a press conference later in the day, Bronin said that won’t be enough.
"I think the reality is that our budget is going to require ranges that are higher," the mayor said.
Bronin said he took labor leaders at their word that they are ready to negotiate. Meanwhile, the mayor has just under two weeks before he presents his budget.
