ANSONIA – Speakers at a hearing March 25 said elected officials aren’t doing enough to “sell” their budget proposal to the public.

“You don’t just negotiate with the administration. You have to negotiate with the residents to get them to accept,” resident Gary Zawisza said.

Zawisza made his statement during a public hearing in front of the Ansonia Board of Apportionment and Taxation on the proposed 2026-2027 budget.

It was the first budget public hearing of Mayor Frank Tyszka’s tenure and it was testy at times.

Zawisza was one of four speakers who said elected officials aren’t doing enough to inform residents.

“You’re in the planning stages. When you’re planning, and when you present, you have to sell it,” Zawisza said.

The $68.1 million budget unveiled by Tyszka March 10 would add 2.27 mills to the current mill rate of 28.55. Tyszka’s budget flat funds Ansonia Public Schools at $38,612,089 and reduces spending on the city side of the budget by about $20,000, to $29,484,066.

Under the proposed budget, a single-family home on Holbrook Street assessed at $180,000 would pay $408.60 more in property taxes next year.

Tyszka has said a tax increase is still needed due to budget decisions made under his predecessor, David Cassetti.

Decisions cited by Tyszka include the city using proceeds from the sale of its sewer system to fund its budgets, as well as budgeting for revenue from a fuel cell project which hasn’t been built.

Ansonia budgets are usually reviewed and approved by the Board of Aldermen.

However, the proposed budget in its current state would require approval at a referendum. A city charter provision passed in 2014 requires voter approval for any budget which increases the ‘net taxes to be collected’ by more than 3 percent.

You can view Tyszka’s proposed budget here.

People who spoke at the public hearing warned the public will vote no if the budget goes to referendum without additional explanation from Tyszka’s administration.

Last year’s proposed budget under Cassetti was the first in Ansonia history to trigger a referendum. Voters said no at the polls three times.

Former Alderwoman Diane Stroman said voters this year won’t see the administration’s reasoning when they head to the ballot box. They’ll only see a question asking if their taxes should go up.

“Everything’s going up. The light, the gas, the cable if you got it, everything’s going up, so that adds to it. So there has to be some kind of a plan that somebody has to sit down, put their heads together and figure out, how can we communicate to the community?” Stroman said.

She suggested elected officials hold discussions at places such as the Ansonia Senior Center to explain what’s happening with spending.

Other suggestions from the public included using the city’s CodeRED system to send out notice of government meetings, and bringing back neighborhood ward meetings.

Nina Phipps, a member of the city’s economic development commission, said budget meetings and public hearings should be posted to the city’s Facebook page. She said she only knew the public hearing was happening due to a post on Valley Indy Facebook.

“A lot of people get their information from Facebook. It’s not there, it wasn’t there, it wasn’t shared,” Phipps said.

Tyszka indicated he wanted to wait until the dollar amounts are firmer before making a case to the public. Ansonia relies heavily on state aid, and the state budget is set later.

“We can’t go out to the residents until we give you a real number,” Tyszka said.

The Tyszka administration’s budget timeline has also attracted criticism from Ansonia Republicans. The GOP noted in a Facebook post that several public tax board meetings are being held in the afternoon when most of the public are at work.

School Board Discussion Gets Tense

Two members of the school board spoke at the meeting about the proposed education budget, which keeps spending flat compared to the current year.

Chris Phipps, the current president of the board of education, said he understood the board would not be getting its initial budget request, which had asked for a $923,000 increase compared to the current year.

However, he said anything less than that would affect students and teachers. He said it would have taken a $2.4 million increase to maintain a “status quo” budget, which the school board never proposed.

“At this point, further reductions will not come from efficiencies or restructuring. They will directly impact our teachers, our staff and our classrooms. These are the people and programs that serve Ansonia’s children every single day,” Phipps said.

He said he’s hopeful that the state legislature could send about $400,000 to Ansonia through a bill which hasn’t been passed yet. That money would help make up the funding gap, he said.

Phipps stopped short of asking for a specific number from the city.

“I just want to say that hopefully we’ll get that, and anything that the city can get. Anything, you find some money under a rock somewhere,” Phipps said.

Richard Bshara, a school board member who is a former president of the board and has held multiple positions in the city’s finance department, said the city should grant the school board’s initial request of a $923,000 increase.

Bshara said the city should send that initial request to voters and give them the option to approve or reject it.

“I’m asking you and the board allow our budget to go through the way it has been presented, and allow the people to decide through the referendum, which I am assuming will occur,” Bshara said.

Tyszka responded by pointing to the fact that Bshara worked for the city finance department when Cassetti was mayor. 

“I know you were with the administration that was here before, but they did not make cuts. They did not represent the people of Ansonia, and they lied on the budget,” Tyszka said.

Both Tyszka and Bshara raised their voices as the discussion became more heated.

Tyszka said Bshara was accusing him of not supporting education. Tyszka said a slim school board budget is necessary due to the city’s financial situation.

“I support education, but I also support fiscal responsibility for everybody, not just for the city,” Tyszka said.

“You’re here to advocate for the taxpayer. I’m here to advocate for the kids,” Bshara responded.

“So what have you done in the last five years, Mr. Bshara? What have you done to the budget?” Tyszka said.

Tax board president Edward Norman banged his gavel and asked for decorum from both men.

“A little decorum here. Maybe you guys can take it in the hallway?” Norman said.

Both Bshara and Tyszka continued to speak back-and-forth for about six minutes before Norman cut off the debate.

Next Steps

At the end of the meeting, Norman agreed with speakers from the public who said city officials could do more to keep the public informed.

“In our discussions with the different departments, (we’ll) see if we can’t get some kind of public service announcement,” Norman said.

The budget could still change in the coming days. The tax board has not yet finalized its budget or sent it to the Board of Aldermen for further review.

At least one more public hearing will need to be scheduled before the Board of Aldermen can vote to send a budget to voters in a referendum.

That public hearing has not been scheduled as of March 25.