We all cringe during budget season because it brings up the question: “how much will it cost me?”
Things seemed to be going smoothly in Ansonia’s budget process until the 11th hour BOAT cave-in to Superintendent Carol Merlone, creating an additional $400K+ increase in school funding. Although I have to hand it to the “Super” for coming up a winner, the whole “surprise” factor doesn’t generally sit well with taxpayers’ bank accounts.
If BOAT thought more school funding was a priority, I‘d rather they had shifted funds from other places to stay within the BOA’s suggested budget.
So where does one go with any after-the-fact budget gripe?
Not BOAT, they don’t actually answer to us, they’re appointed.
BOA members’ involvement ended when they sent the budget to BOAT, and the Mayor never had any vote in the process at all.
Everyone is well insulated.
As Alderman Adamowski (D) said, “BOAT has the final responsibility according to our City Charter and has exercised that responsibility for generations”.
Do we really want to continue like this for future generations?
In Alderman Adamowski’s BOAT address May 20, he stated “The biggest problem we currently face is that the State of Connecticut keeps cutting and cutting their funding to town and cities…”. Very true. The “state” being Democrat Governor Malloy and the Democratic controlled state legislature, has done a great job of that, along with the largest tax increases in Connecticut history, in the worst of times. Ansonia’s reward for voting those folks into office doesn’t seem to be a position at the front of the money allocation line. Far from it. Ansonia has been accustomed for too long on being financially dependent on state handouts which have made us less capable of being self-sufficient. Part of the solution is hiring an Economic Development Director. I don’t what the holdup is or why the completed economic development study has not been publicly disclosed.
Alderman Adamowski continued, “I do believe we need to come up with a solution because the City of Ansonia’s residents simply cannot afford increases in taxes such as this”. No kidding. I didn’t see the solution in the rest of his delivery but I think it somewhat safe to say that we will pretty much be in the same shape every year, just as in the past. Solution: run Ansonia like a $61 million business. If you think running the city in the same way with people who have been in office for term after term after term will bring in new ideas and solutions, then you’re a funny guy.
Former Republican, Alderman Adamowski, now Democrat, also said “The city just keeps getting buried with salary increases, rising health care costs and many other mandated items which we are required to fund. …..most of the increases were contractual”. BINGO! That last quote could be our city motto. BOAT has NO say in salary or benefit packages for city employees yet the biggest budget driver is mandatory wage and benefit increases, and astoundingly, no entities within the budget process have any involvement in employee contract negotiations. That’s about as backwards as you can get. Solutions to this may be realized through a City Charter revision.
The Charter Revision Commission, chaired by Alderman John Marini ® is currently addressing possibilities that give Aldermen and residents more ownership of the budget process, along with a host of other topics. The Charter Revision Committee meets on the last Thursday of each month at 7:15 PM in the BOA Chambers in City Hall. Your attendance is welcomed and your input is invaluable.
Patrick Henri
The writer is the chairman of the Ansonia Republican Town Committee.
