ANSONIA – The Ansonia Board of Aldermen voted June 10 to condemn state Rep. Kara Rochelle for placing the city’s finances under limited state oversight.
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), in a letter dated June 11, also condemned the move and asked for it to be reversed.
The Aldermen’s resolution, adopted in a 12 – 0 vote, states that the board “expresses its deep disapproval of the unilateral and politically motivated legislative conduct of Rep. Kara Rochelle.”
It demands that she appear before the Aldermen “to explain her actions directly to the people of Ansonia.”
The CCM letter states that a section in the state budget deliberately targets Ansonia. It says that Ansonia hasn’t shown signs of needing help from the state.
“These provisions, whether well-intentioned or not, give the appearance of an attack on one municipality and undermine its ability and authority to manage its own finances. This sets a dangerous precedent,” the letter states.
Rochelle defended her move, saying the city is in fiscal trouble and needs an extra pair of eyes.
“This administration often says Ansonia needs to be prioritized for resources, and when I ensure Ansonia gets prioritized for resources that are critically important for the fiscal safety of our residents, suddenly they have a problem with it because it might come out that there are things they could improve upon,” Rochelle said. “And it seems like they are just unable or unwilling to admit when they make a mistake, ever.”
Background
The resolution and CCM letter come in response to a section in the newly-adopted state budget that forces Ansonia – and only Ansonia – to appear in front of the Municipal Finance Advisory Commission (MFAC).
The move doesn’t place Ansonia’s finances under strict state oversight, nor is it a takeover of Ansonia’s finances.
MFAC is a group of municipal finance experts. They’ll look over Ansonia’s budgets and audits, and ask questions. Derby has been appearing in front of MFAC for years.
The media and state politicians, including the governor, have repeatedly and incorrectly stated Ansonia is going to the Municipal Accountability Review Board (MARB). MARB is more intrusive and more akin to a takeover.
MFAC is not that – but local officials fear it’s the first step in the process toward a state takeover.
Mayor David Cassetti’s administration’s protests are twofold. First, they say Ansonia’s finances are fine. Second, they say Rochelle’s move was underhanded.
The Cassetti administration has been fighting with Rochelle since she took office, and three Team Cassetti members, including the mayor, have run unsuccessfully against her.
Rochelle’s Ansonia-to-MFAC move has generated media attention because she held a filibuster on the last day of the state legislative session to make sure the controversial provision wasn’t deleted from the state budget.
Click here for The Valley Indy’s prior reporting on the state referral.
City Officials Say Rochelle Snuck Behind City’s Back
In the June 10 Aldermen meeting, Cassetti called Rochelle’s move a political stunt to discredit his government. He said the city’s finances are sound.
“What we saw from Rep. Rochelle was pure political stunt, conspiracies, half-truths, and wild claims to justify an unprecedented piece of legislation aimed at hurting her own city,” Cassetti said.
City budget director Kurt Miller said he’s happy to talk to MFAC. However, he said the way the referral happened was wrong.
“It’s an incredible amount of legislative overreach. That’s why I’m upset. I’m not upset that I have to go to MFAC, I’m upset at the way that it was done,” Miller said.
The Aldermen’s resolution said elected city officials weren’t notified of the referral in advance. It said Rochelle’s actions “have undermined the principles of transparency, accountability, and home rule that are vital to a healthy democracy.”
The CCM letter struck a similar tone, saying that the oversight referral should have been presented in a standalone bill with a public hearing.
Rochelle said that she acted in the best interest of the city. She said city residents have called her to complain about the city’s fiscal management, including the $41 million sale of the city’s sewer system and the use of “future revenue” in the city budget.
“It is tone-deaf of this administration and dishonest to pretend that this was just some political move, and it is a disservice to the conversation about what needs to happen,” Rochelle said. “And it’s really just, they’re not listening to the residents.”
She said her actions were transparent. She said the public had a chance to weigh in months ago.
“They also are completely wrong that this was a type of ‘fly by night’ thing. There was a public hearing,” Rochelle said.
Rochelle was referring to a February public hearing for a separate bill with similar language. That bill appears to have gone nowhere, according to the state legislative website.
The CCM had submitted testimony opposing that earlier bill as well.
Elected officials from Derby submitted testimony in support, as did two Rochelle supporters from Ansonia and Rochelle herself. City corporation counsel John Marini said no one at City Hall was informed about that hearing.
Rochelle said she wouldn’t appear before the Aldermen, as their resolution demands. She said she makes herself available to the public at regular coffee events, and that the Aldermen are free to personally reach out to her anytime.
“My job is to serve the public, not to do these kind of political games. If they want to get a hold of me, they have my phone number, and they have my email address, and I’m always available to them. So we will not be doing this kind of political charades,” she said.
Social Media War Of Words
Ansonia Democrats have been complaining for years about Cassetti’s budgets, including the use of reserves to stabilize the mill rate. They regularly post to social media accusing “Team Cassetti” of mismanaging funds.
On Thursday (June 12), city Democrats pointed out the fact a city budget hadn’t been filed in Ansonia City Hall, even though the Aldermen adopted a budget June 10.
A budget document was available as of 4 p.m. Thursday.
Rochelle posted to social media saying she stands by her decision. The Cassetti administration has been posting videos to social media saying finances are good.
Ansonia Budget Director Says City Has Been Open
Miller said on June 10 that the city has clean audits, and that prior check-ins haven’t been cause for concern. He said he expects the MFAC meeting to be a formality.
He referred to a December 2024 report by bond rating agency S&P Global, which downgraded Ansonia’s debt outlook but also outlined the city’s stated financial plans. He said the city is following those plans to the letter.
That report criticized the city’s use of its fund balance to fund its budgets.
It said the city needs to reduce its reliance on one-time income, including the sewer sale, to fund repeating expenses.
However, the report maintained a bond rating of AA- for the city, indicating “strong capacity to meet financial commitments, but somewhat susceptible to economic conditions and changes in circumstances.“
Miller said the city is on firm financial ground and that it plans to stop using its fund balance for regular expenses by 2029.
“We were very upfront, very honest with what we were looking at doing,” Miller said. “And if you go back and you look at the audit prior to this one, the one back in (2022), we started having conversations about the use of fund balance or one-time revenues and things to help keep the mill rate low.”
The city is currently about six months past the deadline for its most recent audit, which was originally due Dec. 31, 2024. Marini said the audit will be done by the end of June.
City and school officials have said Ansonia has trouble meeting audit deadlines because of turnover in the school business office. Three different people have headed that office in the last three years.
Miller said the city is scheduled to go before MFAC Sept. 10.
“I look forward and relish the opportunity to go to MFAC in September. Honest to God, I cannot wait,” he said. “Because what’s going to happen at that meeting is: We’re going to do our presentation, the folks at MFAC are going to say thank you for the presentation, we’ll see you in two quarters, we’re not a hundred percent sure why you’re even here.”
MFAC meetings are open to the public. Click here to view the MFAC meeting calendar.
