Resolution Allocating $4 Million for Flood Control Deemed Deficient by Finance Department

New Britain city Finance Director Jonathan Perugini appears to imply that he did not implement a $4 million budget transfer approved by the City Council for Allen Street flood control project, saying that the resolution to approve it had, “deficiencies.”

The Council unanimously approved $4 million last September for improvements to address flooding experienced by residents of the Allen Street, Roxbury Road and CCSU area. The resolution was approved by Mayor Erin Stewart (R).

Since then, members of the public and Council members have been asking about the status of the funds. On April 10th, Council Majority Leader, Ald. John McNamara (D-4) submitted a Council petition, a procedure used by Council members to require a report from a city department. Ald. McNamara’s petition asked about,

the status of a fund transfer adopted by the Common Council on September 29, 2023, appropriating $4 million to the Department of Public Works for use in the Phase 2 Allen Street improvement project as part of the Capital Improvement Program.

Perugini’s response, submitted to the Council for its April 24th meeting, appears to imply that the transfer was not carried out. His report to the Council says that, “there are deficiencies with this aforementioned resolution.” He said the resolution was, “devoid of reference to any specific accounts,” and that, “The reference to the ‘Rainy Day’ account,” as the source of the funds in the resolution, “is understood to mean the General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance (the ‘Fund Balance’), which is not a budget line item.” He went on to say that,

To the extent that the Resolution seeks to add $4,000,000 to the current fiscal year budget, it is inconsistent with the budgetary procedures and timelines set forth in our Charter and Ordinances in as much as the funds were not appropriated during last year’s budget approval process.

The Resolution also fails to comply with the requirements set forth in Section 10-4 of the Charter regarding the process for budget amendments during the fiscal year. Section 10-4 allows for emergency expenditures before the close of any fiscal year, but only on the recommendation of the Mayor, the approval by a two-thirds vote of the entire Common Council, and only after the Director of Finance certifies that there are available unappropriated revenues in excess of the appropriated revenues in the annual budget.

Perugini also said that the resolution would invoke the City’s Fund Balance policy,

which provides, among other things, that when the Fund Balance is used to cover a fiscal emergency, any such action must also include a corresponding plan to restore the Fund Balance to the target 5% within a five-year period. There is also a requirement for a public hearing, as well as certain procedural matters that would need to be satisfied under the above-referenced sections. None of those requirements were satisfied

The report by Perugini in response to McNamara’s petition does not indicate that the Council had been informed between September and April about these, “deficiencies.” Many members of the public understood that the funds had been transferred and were available for the project.