ANSONIA — The following letter was sent by Mayor David Cassetti’s office on June 22.
The costs to run a municipal government don’t decrease…as we all know it takes more and more of your dollars to run any city. Insurance costs, pension and contractual obligations, rising trash fees, utilities…everything increases in costs.
The burden always falls at the feet of you, the taxpayer. As the mayor of this great city, it is my obligation, my duty, to find ways to make Ansonia the best it can be. We recently passed a zero tax increase budget; it wasn’t the most satisfying budget for everyone, but, to put it simply, I WAS NOT GOING TO RAISE TAXES!
For the past two years, a committee has been regularly meeting to explore the feasibility of regionalizing the school districts of Ansonia and Derby. Why? I want the best possible opportunities for our children…Regionalization means a greater curriculum, more science, foreign language, music/ arts, AP courses, sports, etc…Together, with our close friends in Derby, we can provide a better education for all of our children. Regionalization can do this. BUT, there are other opportunities to enhance municipal services for our residents, and the key to this is looking at the “R” word…yes, REGIONALIZATION!
There are other areas to explore to create more efficient government (I.e…Better services, more efficient, MORE AFFORDABLE services for our residents!). We can look at our transfer stations, trash collections, shared services with purchasing equipment and supplies, water pollution control services, senior center consolidation…athletic facilities…ambulance services…just to name a few! There are so many opportunities to a) provide better services and, b) save precious tax dollars, both resulting in the most bang for your buck…no pun intended!
I suggest and strongly encourage both Boards of Aldermen from Ansonia and Derby to immediately form a joint committee to explore ways to accomplish the above. In the words of Ronald Reagan, “IT CAN BE DONE…in my words…IT MUST BE DONE!
Mayor David S. Cassetti
ANSONIA
