While the school budget formulation process is well underway, the work on the city side of the budget is just getting started — and Mayor Anthony Staffieri sent out letters Monday telling his department heads to toe the line.
The letter stresses that the economy is still in terrible shape — and the governor’s budget proposes one of the biggest tax hikes in history.
“In my opinion, it would be immoral to increase property taxes in Derby on those citizens carrying the burden of those issues above,” Staffieri wrote. “They deserve better.”
“I therefore challenge your management skills asking you to create and submit a ZERO growth budget for fiscal 2011 – 2012.”
The letter was sent to all departments under city control, ranging from the police department to the senior center.
Staffieri also asks that department heads forgo raises — and that he is asking the same of all non-union city employees.
“I am asking the same of all non-union employees. I realize, at a time when prices on almost everything are going up, no pay increase causes difficulty but I can’t raise taxes on the people of Derby in this economy,” the mayor writes.
Funding requests from city departments are due March 24.
The Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation is tentatively scheduled to go over those requests starting March 29.
