DERBY – Members of the city’s board of apportionment and taxation voted unanimously Tuesday (April 14) to adopt a $51.3 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

The 2026-2027 budget sets the mill rate at 38.86 mills, which is lower than the current mill rate of 43.2. 

However, the average property tax bill will increase by about .75 percent, officials said. That is because this year’s budget was put together using new property tax assessments from a state-mandated revaluation.

The average property assessment increased by 60 percent. About 8 percent of residential property owners saw increases of at least 100 percent.

The Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen voted to phase-in the new assessments over five years at 20 percent per year.

The budget approved Tuesday totals $51,335,080.

In an effort to provide property-specific property tax data to the public, the city’s finance department posted a property tax calculator to the City of Derby website. The public can enter an address and see whether their taxes are going up, down, or staying the same in the new budget.

Click here and then scroll down to use the calculator.

In an interview with The Valley Indy April 13, Derby Finance Director Brian Hall said condos and multi-family houses are seeing larger tax increases than single-family houses in the city.

Before voting to adopt the new budget, a public hearing was held. 

Four people spoke. Two people supported the budget while two others expressed reservations.

Jim Gildea, a member of the Derby Board of Education, thanked the members of the tax board for their work. He called the budget responsible, as did resident Karen Kemmesies. Both noted they are seeing slight decreases in their property taxes under the new budget.

Derby Public Schools are receiving a 1.7 percent increase ($365,999). The new school budget totals $20,814,448. The school budget includes a new contract with the teachers’ union, with raises of roughly 21 percent over the life of the contract.

The contract covers 2026 through 2030. Click here for a Valley Indy story on the new contract.

Gino DiGiovanni, the chairman of the Derby Republican Town Committee, questioned the wisdom of front loading the teachers’ contract (the contract has a 7.9 percent pay increase in year one).

DiGiovanni also said the tax board has limited power over spending, because they are not involved in union contract negotiations. He said the public needs to have representation when contracts are being negotiated.

DiGiovanni and tax board member Jerry Borelli questioned whether the city is doing enough to curb spending, with DiGiovanni asking whether savings could be found by consolidating staff positions in Derby City Hall or Derby Public Library.

Hall, the finance director, said the increase or decrease people are seeing in the new budget should remain the same over five years, provided the city keeps spending essentially flat.

Borelli questioned whether that is possible, saying he was not feeling “warm and fuzzy” about the new spending plan. He said the city needs to find ways to truly cut spending.

“People are pretending things are OK,” Borelli said. “They’re not.”

Hall addressed the concerns about the phase-in of the new assessments in future years.

“The expectation is that absolutely the mill rate is going to go down and offset the increase in the assessments, the 20 percent it is going to go up each year,” Hall said. 

The finance director said that if a tax bill is going down $50, “the expectation is that you will be down $50 for the next five years,” barring any dramatic changes in expenses. 

Click the play button below to watch Hall’s explanation.

Colleen Germain-Ezzo said while there’s more work to be done, Derby is on solid financial footing compared to previous years. She noted the city is getting positive feedback from the state Municipal Advisory Finance Committee, a group keeping an eye on Derby due to bad budgeting, deficits, and constantly late audits.

“I have to be optimistic because I am not going anywhere. This is my home,” Germain-Ezzo said.

The entire tax board meeting is posted below. It’s 48 minutes.