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Jasmine Wright | Oct 22, 2024 8:30 pm
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ANSONIA – City government broke the law by taking 123 days to release documents connected to a straightforward public records request, according to a hearing officer’s report for the state’s Freedom of Information Commission
Theresa Conroy, a former state representative and current member of Seymour’s Board of Selectpersons, filed a public records request in Ansonia in September 2023. She asked to see the employment contract for Kurt Miller.
Miller works part-time as Ansonia’s budget director. He also holds a full-time position as Seymour’s chief administrative officer.
Ansonia Planning & Zoning consultant David Elder addresses the commission on Aug. 26.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia Planning & Zoning Commission proposed a temporary moratorium on smoke shops during their regular monthly meeting on Aug. 26.
“The purpose of the moratorium would be to give the commission time required to draft and consider regulations that would regulate smoke shops and tobacco stores,” consultant David Elder told the commission.
Members of the commission said that smoke shops in town have had issues with police as well as labor violations. The commission wants a moratorium on new shops while they draft regulations.
The commission scheduled a public hearing on the moratorium for Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. It will be conducted via Zoom.
ANSONIA – A meeting to discuss vehicle break-ins is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 6) at Hilltop Hose Co. No. 5, 80 Pulaski Highway.
UPDATE: The City of Ansonia has rescheduled this meeting for a date to be announced. It with be held at the Ansonia Senior Center.
Ansonia Police Lt. Patrick Lynch said police will talk about how to protect vehicles from thieves, review current property crime stats, and to listen to people from the Hilltop neighborhood about their concerns.
“This is a statewide issue. You have these groups, predominantly juveniles, who go around packed into a car – four to six people, usually in a stolen car – who go into a neighborhood and start checking door handles,” Lynch said. “If a car door is open, they’ll go in. If it’s a push-button start and the car starts, that means somebody left a keyfob behind. And they take that car.”
Lynch said there have been four vehicle break-ins on the Hilltop and two attempted break-ins since July 1.
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Eugene Driscoll & Jasmine Wright | Aug 5, 2024 6:05 am
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(Left to right) Republican Mayor David Cassetti is challenging state Rep. Kara Rochelle for her seat representing Ansonia & Derby in the state House of Representatives.
ANSONIA — DERBY – Earlier this summer incumbent state Rep. Kara Rochelle had a small lead in the money race over her challenger, Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
“Kara for Ansonia & Derby” raised $6,298 from individual donors as of June 30, according to the campaign finance disclosures due on July 10 with the state. “Cassetti For State Rep” had raised $5,913, according to its July 10 filing.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich & Jasmine Wright | Jul 31, 2024 7:57 pm
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ANSONIA – An elected official from Seymour is alleging that Ansonia’s administration violated state law when it took more than three months to provide an employment contract for a top official.
According to a hearing before the state’s Freedom of Information Commission on June 3, Theresa Conroy filed a request to view the city’s employment contract for its budget director, Kurt Miller, in September 2023.
Conroy, a Democrat, currently serves on the Seymour Board of Selectpersons. She is also a former member of the state legislature.
An image from the national website of the Society of Professional Journalists.
SEYMOUR — Valley Independent Sentinel freelance reporter Jean Falbo-Sosnovich won two journalism awards for her in-depth reporting about a retired Seymour police officer.
Falbo-Sosnovich won first place in the investigative category in the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists 2023 ‘Excellence in Journalism Awards.‘
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Jasmine Wright | Jun 16, 2024 1:59 pm
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Ansonia's board of education meeting on June 12.
ANSONIA – The Ansonia board of education voted to adopt a budget for the 2024 — 2025 fiscal year on June 12, about two weeks after the city passed a budget that allots $37.6 million to the school district.
The move is largely ceremonial, since that allotment is already finalized. However, it also marks the first time this year that any details of the board of education’s spending has been made public in a single budget document.
The Breakdown
The new budget is a $1.8 million, or five percent increase over last year’s budget. The largest increases were in employee pay and benefits, which together increased by about $1.2 million.
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Jasmine Wright | May 30, 2024 8:52 pm
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Budget Director Kurt Miller discusses the budget with the Aldermen before they adopt it. A breakdown of the budget's expenses is shown on his screen.
ANSONIA – Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen voted to adopt a $67.1 million budget for fiscal year 2024 — 2025 that carries a 0.25 mill rate increase on Thursday (May 30).
The new budget will take effect July 1.
Alderman Steven Adamowski abstained from a vote to accept the budget’s expenses. He raised concerns that the Ansonia Board of Education – which, at $37.6 million, makes up 56 percent of the total budget – had not made any details of its funding request available to the public.
“Not to see a budget, or not to have a budget submitted by the board of education, is unprecedented. I don’t know if that’s ever happened in any Connecticut municipality in history,” Adamowski said. “In any event, I don’t see how we can approve the budget without having a budget from the board of education.”
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Press Release | May 29, 2024 10:21 am
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HARTFORD — The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information will recognize lawmakers and journalists who have been champions of open government at its annual awards ceremony to be held on June 12.
The event will run from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at The Hartford Club, located at 46 Prospect St. in Hartford.
CCFOI’s mission is to advocate for and promote government transparency, public access, and strong Freedom of Information laws that help guarantee the rights and liberties of journalists and other persons under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and state constitution.
The awards honor the work of those who have worked toward those same goals.
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Eugene Driscoll | May 22, 2024 6:29 pm
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DERBY – Members of former Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act by telling a citizen he had to pay $720 up front before the city would comply with a request for public documents.
Robert Lee, the Florida resident who submitted the freedom of information request, said the Dzeikan administration tried to hide information by stonewalling him.
“It seemed to me they wanted to delay this. They didn’t want to give me the information,” Lee testified during a FOI hearing.
The hearing was in August 2023, but this is the first time the violation has been covered by a media outlet. The audio from the hearing is posted below.
