DERBY – Mayor Joseph DiMartino said the city’s finances are finally in order thanks to his administration’s honest budgeting and the hiring of a key staffer.
“The last administration didn’t have a finance director for two years. There was no one watching the books. There was no one watching the money,” DiMartino said. “I found (Derby Finance Director) Brian Hall within the first three weeks of getting into office. We’re blessed to have him. He is good at his job. Derby is in a better place financially because of Brian Hall.”
DiMartino, a 59-year-old married father of four, is a Democrat running for his second, two-year term as Derby mayor. He is being challenged by Scott Derby, the Republican candidate.
The Nov. 4 election is the first time DiMartino is facing voters after the city’s tax board approved an 11.9 percent increase in the mill rate in 2024. DiMartino said the mill rate increase was unavoidable because Derby was on the verge of financial ruin due to previous administrations’ budgeting mistakes and bad budget estimates.
Hall was hired by the administration to provide a steady hand. The position had been a revolving door prior to Hall’s hiring.
“The budget problem was handled by hiring a professional like Brian. The last (Republican) administration pretty much put fake numbers in their budgets to keep the mill rate low. We are putting in real numbers,” DiMartino said. “We are creating budgets that are sound. We are putting in budgets that get reviewed by MFAC. The first budget we put through was a balanced budget. This year we finished with a $1.8 million surplus.”
MFAC is the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission, a state group that consults with Derby because of past financial problems.
DiMartino said the 2025 budget had no tax increase, and that the city was able to grow the grand list by a small amount.
If re-elected, DiMartino said Derby’s finances will continue to improve.
He pointed to the city’s $1.35 million purchase last year of a property home to a scrapyard. The city is currently trying to find a new location in town for the scrapyard, as agreed upon in the deal.
DiMartino said removing the scrapyard will lure developers to invest in the city’s long-stagnant redevelopment zone, the area between Main Street and the Housatonic River.
“We bought that property using grant money, with no city funds,” DiMartino said. “Developers don’t want to get too involved until the scrapyard is gone, which I understand. Now that we own the property, the relocation is in the works,” he said.
Relocating the scrapyard has been tough, because the city can’t just tell the business where to go. The city has tweaked its zoning to allow it to move into certain zoning areas, such as at the end of Commerce Drive, but the tenant has to work out a deal independently with property owners.
“The grand list grew a little last year but, obviously the scrapyard getting out of downtown Derby will help, because it unlocks so much potential,” DiMartino said. “We’re looking to get the south side of Main Street going – put in some retail, maybe some more housing. We want to build that up so we can expand the tax base.”
Two downtown townhouse projects that gained approval under former Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration came to fruition after he left office: Cedar Village on Minerva Street, and Trolley Pointe on Main Street. A third development on Factory Street never moved forward because of a lawsuit between the investors that is slated to go to trial next month.
But the new housing shows a downtown Shelton-like transformation isn’t far off for Derby, the mayor said.
DiMartino said Derby dragged its feet for years regarding capital planning. Under his watch, the capital planning committee was relaunched, and its members, along with the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen, approved a new capital plan.
The result – a $6.5 million capital needs referendum that Derby voters will see on the ballot on Nov. 4.
“We needed to bring that back. It was missing for quite a few years. At the least we have a clearer picture of our needs, and we’ve been meeting to put a plan together that was approved by the Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen,” DiMartino said. “We don’t have a ton of money for capital needs, but the money we do have is being put to good use, and we have a plan for it.”
About $5.05 million of the $6.5 million is going toward emergency services – two new fire trucks, a new rescue truck, and a new emergency radio system.
DiMartino said he will be voting ‘yes’ because the items are too important to let slide.
“Three of our trucks are over 30 years old. They are in desperate need of getting replaced. Plus we have a radio system that is 20 plus years old,” DiMartino said. “We can barely get replacement parts for it. You can’t have radio systems going down when firefighters are inside a house fire. It puts our volunteer firefighters in danger. It is important we get this radio system upgraded.”
Click here, here, and here for past Valley Indy stories on the Nov. 4 referendum.
DiMartino said if re-elected, the city will use $1.7 million in previously approved road bond money to pave roads, and residents will see a state project to renovate the Derby train station move forward.
The train station project is good for economic development in Derby, the mayor said.
“The inside of the train station is actually under renovation already. It has already started. They are going to raise the platform, and make it a more modern train station. We appreciate the state doing it,” DiMartino said.
DiMartino is a retired Derby DPW employee. He was also the longtime coach of the Derby High School softball team, and was a past member of the Derby Board of Aldermen.
Election Day is Nov. 4.