Ansonia’s next Mayor needs to have a unique set of skills like leading a team through challenging situations and managing the city’s finances.
My experience on Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen specifically my two terms serving on the board’s finance committee gives me the tools needed to have a well-rounded grasp of the city’s budget.
Knowing the ins and outs of the city budget is going to be key to finding cost savings throughout the budget.
Recently a mailing from Mayor Cassetti’s campaign called into question previous budgets passed through the finance committee and by the Board of Aldermen and I’d like to set the record straight.
In the 2012 – 2013 budget Ansonia faced really difficult choices after we were hit hard by revaluation. The board was forced to choose between raising the mil rate to maintain it’s current revenue levels or cut vital city services such as police protection. Ultimately the board put together a budget, which was passed in a bipartisan and unanimous fashion (see minutes from the meeting below). It’s disingenuous for the Mayor to attack a budget, which members of his team voted for, and people within his administration called “a good bipartisan effort” and also stated we kept the mill rate “as low as possible without sacrificing vital services”.
Making hard choices, knowing the city finances, and leading a team are skills I have and I’m ready to put those skills to work for the residents of the city of Ansonia.
The writer is the Ansonia Democratic party’s nominee for mayor in this year’s election.
The opinions in guest columns do not necessarily reflect the Valley Indy’s opinion.
