ANSONIA – A public hearing on Ansonia’s proposed 2025 – 2026 budget is scheduled for Monday, May 5.
The public hearing is currently scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Aldermanic Chambers in City Hall (253 Main St.), according to an agenda posted Thursday on the city’s website.
PLEASE NOTE THE CITY CHANGED THE LOCATION OF THE PUBLIC HEARING FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE HEARING IS NOW SCHEDULED TO BE HELD AT THE ANSONIA HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM, 20 PULASKI HIGH SCHOOL.
Please note the meeting is in-person. Ansonia Aldermen meetings are usually held virtually.
REGARDING THE TIME: At 1 p.m. May 2, the city sent a legal notice saying the meeting would be at 6:30 p.m. However, at 4:57 p.m., Mayor David Cassetti posted to Valley Indy Facebook saying he had changed the time to 6 p.m. He said residents would be receiving a robocall with the 6 p.m. time.
HOWEVER, JOHN MARINI, THE ANSONIA CORPORATION COUNSEL, TOLD THE VALLEY INDY THE OFFICIAL START FOR MONDAY’S MEETING IS 6:30 p.m. THE MAYOR’S ROBOCALL SENT AFTERWARD ALSO STATED THE 6:30 P.M. START TIME.
A referendum on the budget is scheduled for Friday, May 9.
How We Got Here
Ansonia’s budget is going to referendum because of a charter change proposed by Mayor David Cassetti’s administration and approved by voters in 2015.
The change mandates that any budget with an increase of net taxes to be collected of 3 percent or more must go to voters for final approval.
The city first sent the $69.6 million city and school budget to voters April 25. It carried a net tax increase of 9 percent.
A second referendum on the 2025 – 2026 budget is scheduled for 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, May 9 at the Ansonia Armory, 5 State St.
Please note that the afternoon start is six hours later than the first referendum.
A second referendum is scheduled for May 9 at the Ansonia Armory. Note the shorter voting hours.
Aldermen To Meet Immediately After Public Hearing
After the budget was rejected April 25, Cassetti promised major changes to the budget to reduce spending.
The meeting agenda for the Monday, May 5 referendum said that copies of the proposed budget are available in the town clerk’s office or online.
However, the budget was in neither location.
The Valley Indy — based on the working of the legal notice which said there are budgets available online and in city hall — requested a copy of a revised budget on May 1.
Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini on May 2 said there is no revised budget for the public to read before Monday’s hearing at the high school.
“The Aldermen will vote to make changes to budget this Monday night at the High School following the hearing. Any changes will be incorporated into the new revenue numbers going to referendum on Friday, May 9th. There is currently no “revised budget.”
The Valley Indy on May 1 sent budget-related texts to Kurt Miller, Ansonia’s budget director, but received no answer.
A copy of the budget voters rejected April 25 is online. That rejected budget carried a mill rate increase of 3.1 mills, an 11 percent increase.
Also …
After Monday’s public hearing, members of the Ansonia Board of Aldermen are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m.
At that meeting, the Aldermen could adopt a revised spending plan and formally send it to voters for that second referendum on May 9.
However, if the Aldermen adopt a revised budget that is less than the 3 percent “net taxes to be collected rule,” then the May 9 referendum would not be necessary.
