Alderman On Ansonia Tax Cut: ‘Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day’

On February 11, 2014 the City of Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen passed a fiscal budget for 2014. I voted in favor of the proposed budget. I want to explain why I voted for this budget. The budget lowers taxes. That is the bottom line for me. It is not the giant tax decrease I would have liked for this year but it is a start.

Rome was not built in a day and millions of dollars of programs and spending does not stop overnight either. 

Each department head, with the single exception of the Board of Education, was asked to come in with a 4 percent decrease, and most did. This means that the department heads were willing to examine their budget to determine where savings could be achieved. I thank them for their efforts as should we all.

This budget cuts everything on the margins. As I stated earlier, these services and benefits that citizens and workers have come to expect from the taxpayers of Ansonia cannot be discontinued overnight. However, the city cannot simply continue to add millions of dollars to our budget year in and year out as the price and expectations of these services goes up. We cannot treat the citizens of Ansonia as our own private ATM!

To lower taxes further in the future, we need to examine how we spend our money in every department including the Board of Education. We have the number one football team in the state, but our graduating seniors are unable to enroll in some universities unless they attend another year of prep’ school because our high school education system is ranked so low in the quality of education it provides. 

Cities all over the nation are faced with the same dilemma. Historically, government workers received wages that were somewhat below those of private industry, but received corresponding benefits that were somewhat better than private industry. Today the wage gap has decreased and the benefit gap has increased significantly. The cost of the benefits to the budget has become unsupportable. 

Because municipal workers receive an excellent health care plan, it is termed a Cadillac” plan under new government regulations. With the introduction of the Affordable Health Care Act (ObamaCare) the city will be forced to pay a premium tax to the federal government above and beyond the cost of our workers healthcare. The expense will be near $800,000 — in addition to the over $2 million per year for the basic cost of our employee’s basic health insurance. 

Be advised that I do intend to cut city services and I do intend to cut city benefits within the limits of my position. I believe you can’t reduce taxes without cutting spending. I believe you can’t cut spending without cutting services and benefits. 

The writer is an Alderman from the city’s Seventh Ward.

The Valley Indy accepts letters/guest columns of up to 500 words.

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org