While cities and towns across Connecticut are carefully and collaboratively working with every city department to find new ways to build sustainable budgets, Ansonia’s budgetary authorities, the Board of Apportionment and Taxation (BOAT) and the Board of Aldermen Finance Committee, are being rushed to pass a proposed budget without properly working with departments.
This budget is built on unrealistic numbers, placing the city on unhealthy financial footing to weather the short-term nor long-term financial and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further, the budget has little to no real input from city departments on the Mayor’s ham-handed cuts to their departments, ignoring budget requests. To add insult to injury, city hall insiders intend to take a pay increase while proposing that taxpayers pay more for their garbage pick-up.
On top of our city being in financial turmoil, we have a $12 million police station project that has been arguably grossly mismanaged by Economic Development Director Sheila O’Malley and Corporation Counsel Marini who has attempted to use inappropriate means to secure an additional $3.1 million to cover up financial problems with the project.
This has gone from attempting to sidestep the residents’ right to vote on big ticket borrowing (by inappropriately utilizing an executive order enacted by Governor Lamont that specifically pertains to emergency bonding) to now, it seems, they are trying to sell taxpayers on a multi-million dollar solar project in order to get $2 million of fast cash in rebate form.
No matter what angle you look at it, city hall insiders have failed the residents of Ansonia, and their lack of financial competency is weighing on taxpayers more than ever. This can clearly be seen in the city budget.
While we are not advocating for a tax increase; city hall believes that they can pull the wool over the resident’s eyes. Their poorly planned budget has questionably high projected revenue and conveniently does not account for the additional burden of the $3.1 million bond they are insisting upon nor the multi-million dollar solar gimmick.
How would these additional costs be covered? What else will need to be cut? How many more times will they dip into our now-exhausted rainy day fund? What is this going to cost us this time? This “0 mill increase” budget doesn’t add up when you look at the facts.
Robbing from Peter to pay Paul, attempting to sell us get-rich-quick schemes, and overspending approved budgets year after year (easily confirmed in annual audits) is irresponsible and dangerous.
In downgrading Ansonia’s bond rating in 2019 (bond rating affects borrowing rates for cities, like credit scores do for individuals), Standard & Poor’s is quoted as saying, “the rating action reflects multiple years of reserve drawdowns,” and, “we do not believe management is undertaking significant forward-looking financial planning beyond the next budget year.” Is city hall incompetent or do they think we don’t understand what they are doing with our tax dollars?
There will be a public hearing on the budget followed immediately by the Aldermen’s vote of approval TODAY, Monday, June 15, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
You can attend the meeting online here: http://zoom.us/j/92853579794?pwd=dnVqcUdKNEtNYXRxSms2em5kNm9SUT09, password 405813.
We encourage you to attend and oppose these dishonest and financially irresponsible practices.
Leslie Navarrete
Ansonia Democratic Town Committee Chair
