ANSONIA — City Aldermen approved a $57.6 million budget Monday that keeps the tax rate at 37.8 mills.
The budget uses about $600,000 from reserves to keep the tax rate as is. The budget-to-budget spending increase totals $1.078 million.
The school district received a $300,000 increase, about $971,000 lower than the school board requested.
The goal of this budget, as spelled out in March by Mayor David Cassetti, was to keep the mill rate stable because of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ansonia residents and businesses.
“Now wasn’t the time, obviously, to raise taxes,” said Sixth Ward Alderman Tony Mammone. “There’s never a good time to raise taxes,” he said, but the pandemic made it all the more important.
The complete meeting is embedded at the top of the story.
The Votes
The Board of Aldermen held three votes to formally approve the 2020 – 2021 budget.
First they voted to approve the budget’s $57,673,556 bottom line.
The second vote was to approve the budget’s revenue numbers. A third vote was to set the mill rate.
The first vote to approve the budget was 10 – 3.
All Republicans on the board voted yes, in addition to one Democrat (Alderwoman Stroman).
The ten in favor were: First Ward Aldermen Dan King and Charlie Stowe, Third Ward Alderman Joseph Cassetti, Fourth Ward Alderwoman Diane Stroman, Fifth Ward Aldermen Joseph Jaumann and Chicago Rivers, Sixth Ward Aldermen Josh Shuart and Tony Mammone, and Seventh Ward Aldermen David Blackwell, Jr. and Frank DeLibero, Jr.
Three Democratic Aldermen — Tarek Raslan and Willian Phipps from the Second Ward, and Joe Jeanette, Jr. from the Third Ward — voted no.
“I just want to say that I am in favor of not raising the taxes,” Jeanette said. “I think everybody worked hard on this budget. I just did not believe in the total process of it, and I voted no because I don’t know if we did it the right way.”
The second vote to accept the revenue as outlined in the budget was 12 – 1, with Alderman Raslan voting no.
The third vote to accept the mill rate at 37.8 was unanimous.
The Public Hearing
The votes happened after the Aldermen hosted a public hearing on the budget, during which one person from the public spoke twice.
Ansonia resident Matt McGowan urged the legislators to take money from the police department budget and give it toward education and housing needs. McGowan expanded upon his thoughts in a letter to the editor.
McGowan also said no salary increases should be approved given the economic climate.
Debate
Monday’s budget vote was the first budget since Election Day in November, when Republican dominance of the Board of Aldermen decreased from 13 – 1 to 10 – 4.
The new Democrats on the board made their voices known, taking issue with the fact Mayor Cassetti’s administration no longer follows the budget formation process outlined in the Ansonia City Charter.
Alderman Raslan said the Aldermen simply don’t get the same amount of information from department heads that the mayor’s office receives. That, coupled with the fact the mayor hands in the budget late, does not give the Aldermen the opportunity to do their due diligence, Raslan said.
He said the Aldermen should be involved in the process as early as February.
Raslan said the Aldermen only have about six weeks to review the annual spending plan, which is not enough time.
“Ultimately, with what we’ve been provided, the BOA or BOAT has less information than the mayor’s office, and accordingly cannot possibly have anything to add other than uninformed personal priorities,” Raslan said.
The Second Ward Alderman also criticized the administration’s use of combining boards to create a budget.
In this budget cycle, Mayor Cassetti presented a budget, and deliberations were held in front of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, and a finance subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen.
Raslan said the process is confusing. Alderman Phipps said it was hard to tell who was in charge of those meetings.
Raslan’s comments appeared to irk Alderman Stowe, who pointed out Raslan was at the meetings but remained quiet.
“I didn’t hear you make any real complaints then,” Stowe said. “To me it’s easy to come from behind and make complaints after something’s finished.”
Raslan said he attended all budget meetings and made comments at each meeting.
Raslan also took issue with the fact the Ansonia budget forecasts an increase in the tax collection rate, whereas other towns are expecting more people to have trouble paying their taxes due to COVID.
Alderman Mammone disagreed, saying the numbers being used are based on reality.
Alderman Shuart, the president of the board, pointed out that when he went door-to-door campaigning with Mayor Cassetti, the message from voters was simple: do not raise taxes.
“Anything you do, do not raise taxes. That’s what they tell us,” Shuart said. “And that’s why the mayor has been laser focused his entire time in office to not raise the taxes.”
Monday’s meeting was conducted online via the Zoom video conferencing program. The mayor was not in attendance.
