ANSONIA – Eight people spoke during a public hearing in front of the Board of Aldermen on Mayor Frank Tyszka’s proposed $68.1 million budget Thursday (April 30).

One speaker said he supports a tax increase, while another speaker said it would price him out of his home. Others asked questions about the budget.

The budget proposal currently contains a mill rate increase of 2.27 mills, from 28.55 to 30.82. If it were approved in its current form, it would require approval from voters in a referendum.

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

The Aldermen did not take action on the budget after the public hearing. Click here to view the proposed budget.

Speakers Discuss Tax Increase In Public Hearing

Resident Anthony Ferrara said the city needs to raise taxes.

“I’ve been here ten years, and my taxes have barely gone up in that time. That’s weird to me. I don’t want my taxes to go up, but everything else has gone up,” Ferrara said.

He said taxes should have gone up gradually over time.

“I expected them to go up. Should we have to jump like this? No. But we have to do it, because they should have been up already,” Ferrara said.

Resident Lou Schwarz said that the budget could price him out of his home.

“I’ve been living in Ansonia for 46 years and my overriding fear about the tax increases is that I’m going to get taxed out of Ansonia,” Schwarz said.

He said he’s living on a fixed income and that tax increases make it harder to make ends meet.

“Once the mortgage and the escrow increase above my social security, that’s it,” Schwarz said.

Resident Millie Rios asked what the city is doing to fill vacant commercial properties in town. She mentioned the former Big Y plaza on Main Street, which has lost a number of businesses since 2019, and the former Stop & Shop on Division Street which has been vacant since 2024.

“How can we attract business here in Ansonia to get into some of this commercial real estate that’s just sitting there vacant?” Rios asked.

Tyszka said he’s been in talks with a developer for a mixed-use project that could bring in $300,000 to $400,000 in annual taxes, but did not elaborate.

Budget Director Asked About One-Time Revenues

The budget proposal flat-funds Ansonia Public Schools at $38,612,089, while decreasing city spending by about $20,000 to $29,484,066.

Taxes could go up even as city spending decreases. Budget director Kurt Miller said that’s because the city would use less of its reserve money than in past budgets.

The current budget, for example, projects using about $5.2 million from the city’s fund balance to make ends meet.

Tyszka’s budget proposal would reduce that number to $3 million. Miller said in the meeting that the plan is to wind down the city’s use of reserves until 2030.

Alderwoman Anne Lynch asked how much money from the city’s $41 million WPCA sale was used to fund city budgets in 2024 and 2025. Miller said about $12.2 million.

“We had no other choice but to take that money from the WPCA to balance those budgets for (2024) and (2025)?” Lynch asked.

“I think that’s a fair statement,” Miller said.

Referendum Looks Likely

The city’s charter, under voter-approved changes in 2014, requires a public vote if a budget would increase the “net taxes to be collected” by more than 3 percent. 

Tyszka’s budget proposal contains a 9.98 percent increase in “net taxes to be collected.”

He said his budget proposal aims to fill longstanding budget holes.

“I can’t balance the budget with 3 percent. It’s not possible. We’re spending more than that. We’re spending more than that every year, so I’ve cut everything I can cut,” Tyszka said.

Voters last year rejected three budget proposals put out by Cassetti’s administration. The Aldermen then adopted a budget in June 2025 which did not require a fourth referendum because the Aldermen trimmed the proposal.

Tyszka said that the addition of budget referendums to the charter in 2014 was a mistake that tied the city’s hands. He said he’d like to see more budget control returned to his own office and the city’s tax board.

“The attempt in our form of government is to have a strong leader that’s going to do right by the people, and have a strong board that’s going to keep the leader in check,” Tyszka said.

A recently re-formed charter revision commission could look at changing the budget process. However, any proposed changes would require voter approval.

The proposed budget would cover the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.