Mayor and finance director report balanced projections; mayor proposes quarterly tax payments during revaluation

City finance officials told the council their fiscal projections show the general fund tracking toward a surplus and a fund balance currently near 12.5 percent, above the council’s 8 percent policy.

Finance Director Michael Gormani told the finance committee the sewer fund is expected to be balanced as of March and that the Allingtown fire department is projecting a small surplus that has been used to pay down pension liabilities. He said the city is conservative on motor‑vehicle tax collection, projecting an approximately 89 percent collection rate for the fiscal year, and noted prior collection performance for personal property and real estate.

Mayor Dorinda Borer said she is recommending $1,745,000 in budget adjustments based on updated revenue assumptions and finalized items such as the conclusion of an appeal related to building fees. She told council members those adjustments reduce the pressure from revaluation and equate to roughly a $4 million per‑mill revenue effect in the mayor’s view.

As a procedural change to ease taxpayer burden in a revaluation year, the mayor proposed allowing property owners to pay real‑estate taxes in four quarterly payments (for reval years only) instead of the usual two payments; the city would continue to bill the fire districts on the same schedule and education and outreach to residents would be required. The council and mayor also said they will meet the state delegation and a coalition of mayors to explore additional relief for municipalities facing revaluation impacts.

Committee members asked questions about fund balance benchmarks; Gormani noted the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) suggests roughly three months of operating expenses (about 16 percent) as a best practice and said West Haven is building toward that level.