'Serious accounting errors' in E. Haven

East Haven (WTNH) - In this economic climate, every dollar counts, which is why finding out you are in a sudden $2 million budget hole can cause a huge problem. That's the reality for city officials in East Haven. How did they get into this mess?

Every town is fighting with economic problems; East Haven's issue is a bit different.

"It's very troubling, it's very troubling, certainly you wish you found it sooner, I'm glad we didn't find it later," said East Haven Mayor April Capone Almon.

Mayor Capone Almon is referring to a surprising, some may say alarming, sudden deficit. Specifically, projected revenues and tax collections were overestimated and carried over year after year. The end result: an unexpected $2 million shortfall that must be made up in this year's budget.

"It could have been worse and we're going to get through it," said Mayor Capone Almon. "We're going to get through it."

But in her budget address for next year, the Mayor sounded more upbeat, even while emphasizing that challenges lay ahead in a difficult economy. But some in the audience worried about what's going to happen now.

"Been here for 42-years, I love the town, I don't like seeing stuff like this," said John Finkle, candidate for Mayor. "That $2 million shortfall is in this fiscal year. The problem is, if that's the shortfall for this fiscal year, that carries over plus some into the next budget year."

Mayor Almon said she can not start the next fiscal year with a deficit. And she emphasized that city finance director Paul Rizza, who's last day in town hall was Tuesday after 13-years, will not be investigated for this $2 million problem. What is clear is that East Haven officials have two year's worth of budgets to correct in a short amount of time.