Mayor Anita Dugatto last week unveiled a $39 million budget that would increase spending in Derby about about 2 percent, or roughly $785,000.
Dugatto reviewed her budget plan April 21 during a meeting with Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation, also known as the tax board, the elected group that has official final say over the combined town and school budget every year.
The tax board has until about the end of May to adopt a budget. A public hearing on a proposed spending plan for next year is tentatively scheduled for May 18.
The mayor’s suggested budget has no official role in the budget process, as laid out in the city charter. It’s a suggestion, but it could influence the board. The mayor is a Democrat, as is the majority of the tax board, though it’s hard to tell which person is a member of which party because the group does not bicker.
The tax board has already been meeting for months listening to funding requests from the city department honchos — police, highway, schools and many more.
The only question that really matters to people — WHAT EXACTLY WILL THIS DO TO MY TAXES??????????????????????? — has not been answered yet. That’s because the tax board hasn’t reviewed revenue projections for the city.
That could happen during a meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, April 28) in Derby City Hall.
The mayor suggested giving Derby schools $17.2 million for the 2015 – 2016 fiscal year. That is about $40,000 less than what the school board wanted.
Click here for a previous Valley Indy story on the proposed school budget.
Tax board member Richard Dziekan questioned why the schools requested a massive increase in athletic supplies.
Superintendent Matthew Conway said the district needed to purchase new uniforms, particularly for the high school’s football team.
Most city employees are slated to get 2 to 3 percent raises in the budget.
Members of the tax board quizzed Mayor Dugatto on a new, approximately $50,000 position in the town clerk’s office described as “website management.”
The mayor said the description of the job is not accurate. She said the town clerk’s office needs a new employee who is tech-savvy in order to run the busy office more efficiently.
The most contentious item during the April 21 meeting — the police department budget, which totals $3.67 million under the mayor’s proposed budget. That is a 2.6 percent increase over the budget approved this time last year by the tax board.
The police department had requested a 2.8 percent increase.
The mayor axed $10,000 in overtime for the police department to come up with her dollar figure.
That was supported by tax board chairman Jim Butler, who hones in on the police department budget every year.
Butler said police chief Gerald Narowski transfers too much money around within his budget every year. Butler also took exception with one or two line items in the police budget that totaled less than $3,000.
Narowkski said he would work with whatever dollar amount the tax board allocates — but stressed his budget request was not dreamed up in la-la land. The overtime money is needed, he said, because it’s what the department actually spent this year.
“I’m going to do my best. That’s all I can tell you — but I am going to run out of money,” the chief said.
