About 50 school supporters in the audience gave the Ansonia Board of Apportionment and Taxation a round of applause Monday after approving a $61 million 2013 – 2014 budget.
The new spending plan includes a 39.34 mill rate. Just what mill rate will do to your taxes depends on how your assessment fared in the city’s recent revaluation.
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The $61 million budget is a $2 million increase over the Ansonia’s current spending plan.
It includes a 2 percent increase in spending on the city side of the budget and a 3.7 percent increase ($1 million) for Ansonia Public Schools.
The school district had initially requested a $1.8 million increase.
The $1 million increase is the largest budget-to-budget increase the school district since at least 2008. Last year the district laid off about two dozen workers because of financial woes.
The tax board decided to increase funding to the school district after a cantankerous public hearing May 13. Prior to that meeting, the tax board was considering a 2 percent increase for the school district.
The decision to up the ante troubled Republican Aldermen John Marini and Charles Stowe. Before Monday’s (May 20) meeting, both elected officials wrote guest columns in the Valley Indy criticizing the tax board.
Tax board chairman Richard Sturges wrote a guest column in response.
But Monday’s meeting wasn’t marked by debate. Marini spoke about the budget, saying Ansonia’s median income is low and unemployment is high. Annual increases of $1 million or more for the school district just isn’t sustainable, he said.
In addition, Marini suggested the city come up with a way to better communicate with its citizens.
Ansonia Alderman Edward Adamowski, the chairman of the Board of Aldermen’s finance committee, said volunteer/elected officials had been working on a budget plan since January. He said the committee respected the authority of the tax board, who have final say over the city’s purse strings.
See the video above for a portion of Adamowski’s comments.
Ansonia Mayor James Della Volpe thanked all the boards and commissions for working hard, especially in an economy that has been in the dumps since 2008.
The mayor said there are tiny signs of life in the local economy and said the new budget will allow the city to hire an economic development director to concentrate on increasing the grand list on a full-time basis.
