Like a bloody Jake LaMotta staggering forward to take another punch from Sugar Ray Robinson, members of the Derby tax board will gather in City Hall again Thursday to approve a budget.
They met for more than two hours Wednesday, and began the painstaking process of approving dollar amounts for the various city departments, but called it a night around 9:30 p.m.
They’ll reconvene 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Members of the tax board spent a good chunk of Wednesday’s meeting absorbing late revenue numbers from the state, along with a suggested spending plan from Mayor Anita Dugatto that was only given to them during a meeting Tuesday.
The tax board adopted a preliminary budget earlier this month that would raise taxes by 4 mills, or $300 for the average single-family homeowner.
Working with revised numbers Wednesday, the tax board seems to be wrestling with a budget that raises the tax rate between 3.4 and 3.8 mills.
City officials said they’re suffering from a revaluation that saw property values plummet, along with a big increase in employee benefits such as health insurance. State aid is also decreasing, they said.
“This is the toughest budget (cycle) I’ve ever seen,” said Henry Domurad, a former tax board member and city finance director. Domurad works in the mayor’s office.
Funding for the Derby Storm Ambulance and Rescue could be a thorny issue Thursday.
The nonprofit group is independent from the city, but receives some money from the city, as do several other nonprofits.
The Storms requested a $100,000 contribution, but tax board wants to allocate $50,000. The mayor supports lowering the city’s support of its ambulance service to $45,000.
The Storm vs. tax board issue has become an annual debate in Derby.
In 2007, the city supported the Storms to the tune of $80,000 annually.
Storm supporters argue the investment is worth it because they are primarily a volunteer organization, which saves the city a ton of money.
The video from Tuesday’s tax board meeting is posted below. FYI, the Valley Indy streamed the video live, though we ran into tech problems. According to YouTube, 108 people viewed the broadcast while it was live.
