The campaign of Carmen DiCenso, a Democrat running for mayor in Derby, sent the following statement Thursday in response to Republican Richard Dziekan’s speech on Wednesday.
While Rich Dziekan says he has a plan to lower taxes in Derby if he gets elected, his plan sounds eerily similar to the plan of his former boss in Ansonia, Mayor Dave Cassetti, whose plan will likely cost Ansonia’s homeowners thousands of dollars a year in tax increases very soon. Yes, thousands of dollars in new taxes every year.
As a part of Dave Cassetti’s staff, if Rich Dziekan looks to have Derby mirror Ansonia’s fiscal policy regarding taxes, it could become a disaster for Derby homeowners. Derby’s taxpayers are already paying too much. Our homeowners cannot sustain drastic yearly increases to the mill rate like Ansonia’s homeowners will soon face.
Like Dave Cassetti, if Rich Dziekan intends to borrow money from the city’s fund balance — or rainy day fund as many communities refer to it — to run Derby’s operating budget without a plan to replace those funds once they are depleted, our valued homeowners will soon be in serious financial distress.
Once the rainy day fund runs dry, Rich Dziekan’s plan will force Derby’s homeowners to pay thousands of dollars each year above and beyond what they currently pay.
Rather than rob Peter to pay Paul, my plan of not increasing the burden on Derby’s homeowners is sustainable, not smoke and mirrors simply to get votes. My plan is to build Derby’s tax base through continuous and steady economic development by attracting new businesses to fill our existing empty storefronts while constructing new facilities for even more economic growth for Derby.
My plan is to bring new businesses into our city while working to keep our existing business right where they are.
We can do better. We will do better.
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CORRECTION: The headline of an earlier version of this story misspelled DiCenso.
