Elicker Proposes Using State, Yale Rev To Reduce Tax-Rate Increase, Fund Schools

by Thomas Breen

Thanks to a budget-season windfall of tens of millions of new dollars from the state and Yale, Mayor Justin Elicker has proposed a smaller tax-rate increase — 1.95 percent instead of 4.01 percent — for next fiscal year, as well as $13.9 million more for the city’s schools and $350,000 for food aid.

Elicker announced those proposals in a Tuesday morning email press release.

The press release states that Elicker submitted to the Board of Alders on Monday a “technical amendment” to his proposed $733.3 million general fund budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The Board of Alders Finance Committee hosted its final departmental workshop Monday on the proposal that the mayor first put forward on March 1; the Finance Committee is scheduled to hold another meeting on Thursday, when it will take up and vote on amendments to that fiscal document. The full Board of Alders will then take a final vote on an amended Fiscal Year 2026-27 (FY27) budget later this month.

Elicker announced on Tuesday that he plans on directing a surge in new funding — including a $22 million revenue boost from the state and a $5 million bump from Yale — towards bolstering the deficit-besieged public school district and lowering his originally proposed mill-rate increase, among other matters.

In particular, Elicker has now proposed increasing the city’s mill rate by 0.77 mills, or 1.95 percent, from 39.4 to 40.17. The mayor had originally proposed increasing the mill rate by 1.58 mills, or 4.01 percent, from 39.4 to 40.98. (One mill translates to $1 owed in local property taxes for every $1,000 in assessed value.)

Elicker has also proposed sending $13.9 million more to New Haven Public Schools (NHPS), on top of the $5 million increase he had included in his originally proposed budget.

And he has proposed including $350,000 for “the Coordinated Food Access Network (CFAN) to support emergency food aid and food pantries.” While the alders had added $500,000 in such food aid to the current year’s budget, the mayor had originally proposed $0 in such funding — prompting public pushback from food-aid advocates who have spoke up about how essential it is for the city to help feed the hungry.

“We thank the members of the New Haven delegation at the Statehouse for their efforts to ensure that the New Haven Public Schools and the City of New Haven have the resources we need to address crucial needs in our community,” NHPS Supt. Madeline Negrón said in an email statement on Tuesday afternoon. “We are deeply grateful to Mayor Elicker for his leadership both in advocating for this state funding and in directing available resources toward the needs of our schoolchildren. At New Haven Public Schools, we will continue to work to identify savings that help ensure we can sustain our programs and services in the next fiscal year and beyond. We very much appreciate all members of the community—including teachers, parents, and students—who made their voices heard in support of our schools.”

See below for Tuesday’s email press release in full, and click here to read the mayor’s proposed technical amendments to the FY27 budget.

MAYOR ELICKER PROPOSES EDUCATION FUNDING INCREASE, MORE MODERATE PROPERTY TAX INCREASE, FOOD AID AND YOUTH FUNDING IN BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR FY 2026-2027

[NEW HAVEN, CT] – In response to additional funds allocated by the State of the Connecticut and Yale University to the City of New Haven, Mayor Justin Elicker has submitted a proposed amendment to his proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget for the City of New Haven. The technical amendment to the mayor’s proposed $733 million General Fund budget was presented to the New Haven Board of Alders Finance Committee on Monday evening.

In total, the City of New Haven is projected to receive an additional $22 million in revenue from the State of Connecticut’s FY 2027 budget adjustment bill. This includes $12.4 million from the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund, $2 million in Municipal Grants-in-Aid funding, and $7.6 million in supplemental education funding.

Mayor Elicker said, “We are grateful to our state delegation, in particular Senator Martin Looney, for advocating to secure this funding. The new funds will allow us to invest an additional $13.9 million into New Haven Public Schools to build on the significant local investment we have made in recent years and to completely close the projected New Haven Public Schools budget deficit for next fiscal year. The additional funds will also allow us to provide more support for vulnerable residents and our youth. Finally, it will allow us to put forward a budget with a more moderate 1.95 percent tax increase that is lower than inflation.”

Specifically, Mayor Elicker is proposing the following distribution of funds:

• Education Funding for New Haven Public Schools | $13,900,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to close NHPS’ projected budget deficit for next school year with an additional $13.9 million. This $13.9 million allocation is drawn from the $7.6 million in new state education funding and an additional $6.3 million in new state funding for the city. These new dollars are on top of Mayor Elicker’s previously proposed $5 million increase for NHPS in the city budget. Mayor Elicker is also proposing that an additional $2 million be put into the fund balance to address the New Haven Public Schools’ anticipated budget deficit for the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget.
• Lowering the Property Tax Increase to 1.95% | $1.9 million | Mayor Elicker is proposing to lower the proposed property tax increase for New Haven residents to 0.77 mills or 1.95% percent, which would bring the city’s mill rate from 39.4 to 40.17. This is achieved by allocating $1.9 million in new state funding and $5 million in new funding from Yale University, as part of its new commitment and increased voluntary payment to the city. Prior to this additional revenue, a 1.58 mill rate (4.01%) increase was originally proposed.
• Emergency Food Aid | $350,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocate $350,000 in new funds for the Coordinated Food Access Network (CFAN) to support emergency food aid and food pantries.
• Youth@Work | $350,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocate $350,000 in new funds for the city’s Youth@Work program to provide more summer jobs for Elm City youth and young adults.
• Strong School Redevelopment Project | $250,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocate $250,000 to help close the funding gap for the multi-use redevelopment of the former Horace H. Strong School, which is slated to bring 58 new affordable housing units and new arts and culture community space to the Fair Haven neighborhood.
• Facilities and Vehicle Fleet Needs and Maintenance| $900,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocate an additional $500,000 for municipal facilities’ needs, maintenance and repairs; $250,000 for municipal vehicle and apparatus needs, maintenance and repairs; and $150,000 for fire hydrant repairs and replacements.
• FY27 Health Insurance & Self-Insurance | $2,000,000 | Given increasing costs related to health care and liability, Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocate an additional $2 million toward health care and self-insurance.
• Digitization Initiatives | $400,000 | Mayor Elicker is proposing to allocation $400,000 to support ongoing digitization initiatives to convert additional municipal processes from paper to digital forms and record keeping.

Mayor Elicker’s proposed FY 2026-2027 budget and subsequent budget amendment is subject to review and consideration by the New Haven Board of Alders (BOA). The BOA Finance Committee has been holding a series of budget workshops, public hearings, and deliberations in March, April, and May.

Per the City Charter, a final budget must be approved by the Board of Alders and signed into law by Mayor Elicker by the first Monday in June, which is June 1^st.