The Ansonia tax board is aiming for a half a mill increase, as it continues working on the city’s 2011 – 2012 budget.
Residents will get to weigh in on the proposal at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall.
Then the Board of Apportionment and Taxation will possibly revise the proposal and will take a final vote on the spending plan at a meeting May 16.
City officials would not release the draft budget Wednesday afternoon, saying they are waiting for budget figures from Hartford, where lawmakers just passed a state budget.
Officials claim the document doesn’t have to be released because it is draft form, which appears to fly in the face of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
According to state law, draft documents are only considered exempt from release if “public interest in withholding such documents clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”
It is unclear how holding onto a draft spending plan of public money is in the public’s interest.
Ansonia is the only local municipality that has declined the Valley Indy’s request for the document that spells out how public money will be spent.
Derby, Oxford and Shelton all released “draft” budget documents.
Details
Although a paper copy wasn’t available Wednesday, city officials were willing to talk about the budget over the phone.
Joseph Miller, the city’s comptroller, said Wednesday the proposal stands roughly at $59 million, with about $26.1 million of that going toward the Board of Education.
He said the current proposal — which could change — represents less than a mill increase in the tax rate.
Tax board member Ed Norman said the Board of Apportionment and Taxation is seeking to have only a half mill increase.
If the tax board is successful, that would mean a tax rate of 26.25 mills, up from the current 25.75 mills.
That would translate to a tax bill increase of about $100 for a home assessed at $200,000.
The original proposal from the Board of Aldermen had a 0.92 mill increase.
The Board of Apportionment and Taxation has been meeting over the past several months to attempt to trim the spending plan.
NOTE: The city released the proposal Thursday afternoon. A copy is posted below.
