Ansonia residents will decide this November whether to give themselves veto power over the city’s annual budget.
Aldermen on Tuesday (Aug. 27) approved unanimously four charter revision questions for this year’s election ballot, the first among them asking voters whether the city should have a budget referendum if the city’s tax levy increases 3 percent or more yearly.
The questions are the product the Charter Revision Commission, which has been holding meetings since February to discussion possible changes to the charter, a document that serves as a framework for how the city’s government works.
The budget referendum proposal had effectively been mothballed by the commission in July, but was revived this month after residents packed Aldermanic Chambers at City Hall asking for it to be put on the ballot.
The commission forwarded the proposals to Aldermen Aug. 13, after which the Aldermen met Aug. 20 and suggested revisions.
The Charter Revision Commission met Aug. 22 to make those changes.
Click here to listen to an interview with commission chairman John Marini, a Republican Alderman from the city’s Seventh Ward, about the process.
Though Aldermen didn’t discuss the proposals at length Tuesday before voting unanimously to let voters have the ultimate say, two members of the board — First Ward Democrats Peter Marcinko and Edward Adamowski — remained skeptical.
Marcinko said during the meeting the referendum proposal was rushed.
“The one thing that worries me is the lack of education about it,” he said, adding that the proposal was brought forward at the “11th hour.”
“I just think there’s going to be problems with it later on,” Marcinko said.
While questioning Marini about the proposal, he wondered whether department heads would ask for money they didn’t need in years where a big increase isn’t in the works.
“You don’t think this might lead to departments planning ahead to the point where they’re expending money if they don’t feel they need to?” Marcinko asked. “As opposed to people trying to keep the budget as low as possible, they may say ‘I’m not going to be able to get as much money as I need next year, but I might want to be able to start something this year.’”
Marini said he doubts that would happen, given the oversight of the process, and that the potential for referendums “puts pressures on departments to look ahead” to their long-term needs.
“There’s still other gatekeepers here,” he said. “There’s the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Apportionment and Taxation … it’s not a matter of grab it while you can.”
Adamowski pointed out there’s no money in this year’s budget to pay for budget referendums, which will cost about $10,000 apiece.
Marini said the Board of Apportionment and Taxation would have to find the money — if the proposed budget carries a tax increase of 3 percent or more, and if voters approve of the measure in November.
After the meeting, Adamowski said he doubts residents will approve the budget referendum question, but said he voted Tuesday to approve it going to the ballot to give them a chance to weigh in.
“If the people want it, let them vote for it,” he said.
Marcinko was also doubtful about the prospect of voters giving themselves veto power on the budget, but said “the people should be able to vote on it.”
Mayor James Della Volpe said after the meeting he was OK with voters having the ultimate say on the budget.
“Let the people speak,” he said.
He said he’d like to see the charter revised further to give himself — or anyone else sitting in the mayor’s chair — more direct input in the process.
“What I’d like to see is the mayor propose a budget to the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, then give it to the Board of Aldermen, then they approve it, then the mayor either accepts it or rejects it,” Della Volpe said. “But that’s further down the road.”
To that point, Aldermanic President Eugene Sharkey said after Tuesday’s meeting he thinks the Charter Revision process will be re-initiated to allow more possible reforms to the budget process, but couldn’t yet be specific about a timeline.
“We’ve got a lot of irons in the fire for a lot of things happening,” he said. “As soon as we get a chance, we will sit down and go through it.”
In addition to the referendum question, Aldermen approved three other questions for the Nov. 5 election ballot:
- The city wants to increase the current dollar threshold — from $5,000 to $25,000 — that forces the city to request sealed bids and take out legal notices requesting sealed bids.
- A measure allowing the city to post abbreviated legal notices in newspapers, and referring people to the city’s website for complete information.
- An attendance policy for boards and commissions that says if a person on one misses three consecutive meetings, they are considered to have resigned.
None of the proposals generated any discussion Tuesday. Click here for a previous story detailing them.
Audio of the meeting is embedded below. Click the play button to listen.
