New London Mayor Finizio has announced a hiring freeze in response to the City Council overriding his budget veto.
Finizio made the announcement during a 2 p.m. news conference in his office and said he is directing members of the finance department to follow all legal means necessary to ensure that the city meets its legally mandated financial obligations in the coming fiscal year.
“The budget adopted by the City Council underfunds mandated expenses by hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Finizio said in a statement. “As Chief Executive Officer, it is my responsibility to ensure that we pay legal obligations including our health insurance premium, our worker’s compensation, and our disability insurance, while simultaneously balancing the budget.”
The executive order states, in part that the personnel administrator and all city department heads are ordered to cease all hiring procedures for any vacant city positions unless specifically ordered otherwise by the mayor.
“I want our rating agencies to hear me loud and clear: I will not allow the City to deplete its fund balance for operating costs. I am committed to seeing our fund balance grow and our bond rating improve, and I will not destabilize our cash flow or risk raising our interest rates as we head into the Magnet School Pathways construction project,” Finizio said.
