Ansonia Republicans are planning to meet behind closed doors Thursday night to talk about school funding, the Valley Indy has learned.
Members of the public will not be allowed to attend because it is a political caucus.
Republican officials said the caucus will include Republican members of the Board of Aldermen’s finance and education subcommittees, Republican members of the Board of Education, as well as Mayor David Cassetti and members of his administration.
Though Cassetti initially said Tuesday that two Democratic Aldermen would also be invited to the caucus — scheduled for 7 p.m. in the GOP campaign headquarters at 301 Main St. — the city’s corporation counsel said that would make the meeting illegal, so the two Democrats would not be invited.
Asked in an email if he had any concerns about the meeting, David Knapp, the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, ripped the GOP.
“So much for transparency,” Knapp wrote. “If they have nothing to hide why is it only the Repubs and not include the Dems?”
The mayor said that Republican First Ward Alderman Charles Stowe came up with the idea of having the meeting after a protracted budget process this year during which school and city officials battled over how much funding the school district would receive.
“I don’t want to raise taxes,” Cassetti said. “I promised the residents I would not raise taxes. But we’ve got to find a way to fund education. We’ve got to work together … we’ve got to come to some kind of a solution.”
Stowe agreed.
“Last year we had a rough time getting a budget done,” he said. “We want the aldermen and the mayor’s office and the Board of Ed people that we have in our party, (we) want to make sure we’re all on the same page and if we’re not, we want to float ideas and see how we can make sure we save the taxpayers any burden while trying to make good learning for our children.”
Stowe and the mayor said having the discussion behind closed doors will allow GOPers to be more candid and make the meeting more manageable.
“I think it’s more being able to speak freely about their ideas, number 1, and number 2 is we’ll have less people, too, to start with,” Stowe said. “We’ll be able to have fewer people give their ideas.”
Caucuses among members of a single political party can be closed to the public under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Cassetti was elected after promising more transparency in city government — in particular a more transparent budget process.
So how does a GOP-only caucus to discuss the city’s biggest-ticket spending item — education — comport with that promise?
“We’re just having a discussion,” Cassetti said. “It’s all going to come out when we have our budget meetings and hearings.”
John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, agreed.
“The party has a right under the FOI laws to caucus,” Marini said. “They’re simply exercising their ability to have a dialogue.”
The chairman of the Ansonia Republican Town Committee, Irving Reed, said Tuesday afternoon in an email that he was unaware of Thursday’s caucus.
The Valley Indy left messages seeking comment with Phil Tripp, the president of the Board of Aldermen, and William Nimons, the president of the Board of Education.
