FILE PHOTO
Derby Fire Department Commissioner Gary Parker addresses the Derby tax board in early March.
DERBY – Elected officials met March 24 to talk about whether to borrow money to pay for a number of big-ticket items.
“Our thought is maybe we do a $3 (million) or $4 million bond referendum to try to pluck some things off of this list,” Mayor Joseph DiMartino said.
A referendum – where the city asks for permission to borrow money – could happen as soon as November, officials said, though the details are still being worked out.
DiMartino made his statement during a meeting of the Derby Capital Planning Commission. They are a group of elected officials who make recommendations on which capital projects to fund. Capital projects are expensive items such as fire trucks and ambulances.
City departments are currently asking for $36.5 million to fund capital projects.
The Derby Fire Department – a volunteer department – needs to replace several aging fire trucks, including a ladder truck.That’s $5.5 million.
In all, the fire department has capital requests totaling $7.4 million.
Derby Storms and Rescue has capital requests totaling $1.5 million.
The Department of Public Works: $4.9 million.
Derby Public Schools: $18.5 million ($16.6 million of which is HVAC work at the high school and Bradley School).
Derby Public Library: $1.59 million.
City/Town Clerk: $241,526.
Police: $879,218.
The detailed list is embedded below (or click here). Keep in mind the list isn’t approved as items the city will be funding. It’s a list of what’s needed, according to the people on the ground.
How much to borrow – $3 million to $4 million or a larger amount, or two referendums in two years – remains to be seen.
Replacing fire trucks at the fire department was discussed the most at the meeting, with George Kurtyka, president of the Derby Board of Aldermen and Alderwomen, saying it should be a no. 1 priority, along with Storm Ambulance and Rescue.
“My priority would be – the fire department first. It’s my opinion that the trucks are old,” Kurtyka said.
The request to replace fire trucks has been kicking around for three years.
Derby Fire Commissioner Gary Parker said the age of the department’s trucks impacts insurance costs. The department’s insurance rating is 4.4, Parker said. The scale is 1 to 10, with 1 being the best. Higher scores can impact insurance premiums, Parker said. The age of fire trucks is looked at as a drawback by insurance companies, he said.
Parker told The Valley Indy last month that Derby has fire trucks built in 1990, 2000, 2008 and 2015. A ladder truck is from 2004. The equipment is now costing more than $100,000 a year in maintenance, the commissioner said.
The Derby Capital Planning Commission includes three Alders, one member of the Derby Board of Education, and two members of the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation (tax board).
Colleen Germain-Ezzo, the chairwoman of the tax board and a member of the capital planning commission, said the need to priortize the list of needs is crucial. She noted last year Derby raised taxes by 11.9 percent (4.6 mills).
Jim Gildea, chairman of the board of education and a member of the capital planning commission, said it’s important that whatever goes to voters is something all city departments agree on.
He asked the city’s finance department to come back with more information, including how much the city could borrow and how much debt the city is now carrying.
Alderwoman Sarah Widomski, a member of the capital planning commission, asked that a needs list from the Derby Water Pollution Control Authority be obtained, so the commission can get a full picture of requests.
The next meeting of the Derby Capital Planning Commission is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 28. Check the city calendar in case that changes.
