ANSONIA – Mayor Frank Tyszka is scheduled to present his first proposed budget at a public meeting of the Board of Aldermen 7 p.m. Tuesday (March 10).
The meeting is at city hall (253 Main St). You can view the agenda here.
The budget contains a proposed mill rate of 30.82 mills. That’s a 2.27 mill, or 7.95 percent, increase compared to the current mill rate of 28.55 mills.
The proposed budget keeps school spending flat compared to last year while slightly decreasing city-side spending, according to a budget presentation posted on the city’s website.
The proposed city-side budget is $29,484,066, which is a decrease of $22,051 compared to the current year.
The proposed school budget is $38,612,089, the same as the current year.
If the budget were adopted as-is, it would require approval from voters at a referendum. Under charter changes passed in 2014, city budgets require referendum approval if the increase in ‘net taxes to be collected’ is more than 3 percent.
Tyszka’s budget contains a 9.98 percent increase in ‘net taxes to be collected,’ according to the presentation.
Tyszka has said since taking office that a tax increase is needed to fix financial issues which began under the administration of his predecessor, former Mayor David Cassetti.
Former budgets relied too heavily on one-time revenues, Tyszka said, including money from the $41 million sale of the city’s sewer system in 2024. In addition, the city is facing budget holes after it budgeted money for a fuel cell deal that imploded before state regulators.
Tyszka’s proposed budget would also use one-time revenue. The budget proposes withdrawing $3 million from the city’s leftover WPCA account to make ends meet.
However, Tyszka’s presentation says the city will no longer book ‘fuel cell revenue projection’ or ‘use of future revenue.’ That’s money which Cassetti administration officials said could come from projects that haven’t gotten off the ground. Instead, the money was coming from the proceeds of the WPCA sale.
The city budgeted $6,514,235 for future revenue and fuel cell revenue in 2025.
The budget in Tyszka’s presentation will undergo review and possible adjustments from the Board of Apportionment and Taxation (tax board) and Board of Aldermen before it can go to voters (assuming those boards don’t make reductions that bring it below the referendum threshold).
The tax board scheduled a series of meetings throughout the month of March to discuss the budget requests from various department heads.
Those meetings are open to the public. You can view the schedule here.
In past years, city officials withheld details of the mayor’s proposed budget until the presentation to the Board of Aldermen. This is the first time in years that city officials have shared budget details with the public prior to that meeting.
Mill Rate Impact
Tax bills are calculated by multiplying the assessed value (not the appraised value) by the mill rate and then dividing by 1,000. Click here to look up your address and find the value.
Under the proposed budget, a single-family home on Holbrook Street assessed at $180,000 would pay $408.60 more per year in taxes.
A house on Gardners Lane assessed at $248,000 would pay $562.96 more per year.
A house on High Acres Road assessed at $366,000 would pay $830.20 more per year.