See how much New Haven pays for debt service

New Haven City Hall. New Haven City Hall. Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo Photo: Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close See how much New Haven pays for debt service 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

NEW HAVEN — According to city Alder Anna Festa, D-10, New Haven is “broke.”

Festa said this recently as the Board of Alders Finance Committee meet with police and fire officials to talk about the millions of dollars in overtime — incurred and anticipated — covered in budget transfers.

Festa said the city cannot continue to borrow its way out of a deficit, which New Haven did last year when it undertook $160 million in debt restructuring. “We cannot continue to put the burden on the taxpayers,” Festa said.

(Despite overtime issues the city projects it will end the fiscal year with an $8 million surplus, which includes the transfers and a projected $8.9 million deficit by the Board of Education.)

But how much does the city pay each year toward its debt service?

A look at the approved city budget for fiscal year 2018-19, capital projects budget section, shows that the cost of debt service has more than doubled in the past 20 years. It was $26.8 million in 1998 and projected to be $67.2 in 2019, according to the document.

Related: Gov. Ned Lamont calls for cutting back on bonding, to manage debt

The document explains the city’s plans for various projects this year, including technology, equipment, vehicles, pavement projects, bridges, streetlights, sidewalks, facility repair and much more. It explains the the debt service payment as a percent of the general fund expenditures.

For instance, in 1998, the debt service cost of $26.8 million was 8.87 percent of total $303 million general fund expenditures, the document says. In 2019, the projected $67.2 million in debt service is 12.29 percent of the total $547 million general fund expenditures, according to the document.

New Haven Capital Budget by on Scribd

Related: In 2018, New Haven looks to borrow $250 million to fund pension liability.