ANSONIA – In addition to the municipal election, voters in Ansonia will be asked in November whether to approve or reject $132.6 million in borrowing.
The Ansonia Board of Aldermen and the Board of Apportionment and Taxation held a joint meeting via Zoom on Aug. 31 to place $132,632,000 in capital improvement items on the Nov. 7 municipal election ballot.
Ansonia Chief Financial Officer Kurt Miller told The Valley Indy on Sept. 20 the city does not know how much the borrowing could impact taxes, if at all. Ansonia officials tend not to provide that information prior to bonding.
Miller said it “depends on when projects come on, and the type of borrowing that we actually do for each of the projects.”
The amount of annual debt the city will take on depends on the vote and how city officials manage the finances.
“Once we have the approval we will sit down and determine the best way to purchase any of these things that residents vote affirmative for,” Miller said.
A virtual public hearing was held the same night the Aldermen and tax board decided to place the borrowing package on the ballot. The hearing drew 60 people, with residents and officials speaking for and against the plan.
The items will be separated into five different categories: education, public safety, recreation, roads/infrastructure and public works.
That means voters can say yes to buying several new emergency vehicles and public works equipment but can say no to building a new middle school.
Here is the list of the capital improvement projects slated for the ballot.
Education $105,525,000:
* $100,000,000: Ansonia Middle School and related capital/infrastructure expenses (subject to partial state reimbursement rate, city officials said)
* $5,025,000- Ansonia High School improvements
* $500,000- acquisition of citywide school furniture
Public safety $10,762,000:
* $1 million-crime surveillance cameras
*$1.1 million expansion of animal shelter
*$232,000 police department capital needs (vehicles, tasers, batons)
*$80,000- police K9 unit expenses
*$1.15 million- two ambulances
*$1.5 million- rescue fire truck
*$2.5 million ladder fire truck
*$1.2 million- engine fire truck
*125,000- citywide generators
*$250,000- fire department/office/emergency operations center space at 65 Main St.
*$375,000- fire, police, ARMS radios/communications devices
*$1.25 million- fire, police, ARMS radios/communications infrastructure
Recreation $10,200,000:
Turfed field at Nolan Athletic Complex, improvements to recreation facilities (basketball, tennis and pickleball courts), citywide park improvements
Roads and Infrastructure $5.1 million
Paving of city roads and construction of related infrastructure
Public Works $1.045 million:
*$520,000- two dump trucks
*$213,000- roadside brush machine
*$212,000- bucket truck
*$100,000 transfer station scale
Residents’ Reaction
Former city grants writer Eileen Krugel served on a 2001 school building committee. She said the work for that committee was done in the open with tons of material and information shared with the public.
Regarding bonding for a new middle school, there’s been nothing publicly disseminated yet, land hasn’t been secured and a detailed proposal hasn’t been shared, she said.
“There’s not a lot of information on this, and while all the things seem to be really useful on the list of capital improvements, what really concerns me is how it’s going to impact us,” Krugel said. “We need a breakdown of how it will impact us over time. Some public information would be very helpful.”
Aldermanic President Josh Shuart said public information/education sessions will take place over the next two months prior to the November vote.
Former longtime Ansonia Board of Education Chairwoman Bev Tidmarsh said she’s surprised a new middle school proposal is not being brought to voters as a separate item.
“I truly see the need for a new middle school, but I was surprised it was going to be on the November ballot lumped in with all the other items,” Tidmarsh said. “I’m concerned that people will look at the bottom line and just nix everything.”
Former Democratic Alderman Bill Phipps said he had sticker shock when he saw the list of items being proposed.
“It seems like an awful lot of money that we’re bonding,” Phipps said. “It seems like a lot of things are being packaged in this one item. It doesn’t give folks a lot of time to think about it. It’s something we have to think about very hard.”
Former Democratic Alderwoman Tara Kolakowski said the animal shelter expansion should also be a separate item.
“It should be a standalone item and not lumped in with 11 other items,” she said. “It’s been needed for 20 years in Ansonia. And why do we need $5.1 million for road repairs? The city has received state and federal money for roads, so where has all that money gone?”
Democratic Mayoral Candidate Tom Egan chimed in to speak just after the aldermen adjourned the hearing, and was not allowed to express his thoughts on the record. Shuart said he called for people to speak several times before the hearing was adjourned.
Can Ansonia Afford This?
Miller said that whatever projects voters approve on the ballot, city officials will then sit down and hash out the financing details.
“We want to put the questions on the ballot and ask residents if they’re comfortable with moving forward with these projects, if that happens, then we can sit down and see what can be purchased, not everything is going to be bonded,” Miller said. “There’s a kind of art and nuance to this and we will do it with the least possible impact to residents on their taxes.”
Miller said over the next five years, the city’s principal and interest payments will be dropping.
Mayor David Cassetti said the borrowing will not raise taxes — and reminded the public stable taxes is the cornerstone of his administration.
“It will not increase taxes, it is 80 percent reimbursement (new middle school) and old debt is falling off. The remaining 20 percent will not increase taxes. I’m looking at a quarter to half mill decrease next year. I’m already working with the budget,” Cassetti said.
What The Employees And Officials Are Saying
Several city officials and department chiefs explained why the items are needed.
“Our middle school building is 90 years old with major code and fire updates that need to occur, and I don’t know how long our students can wait for this to occur,” said Superintendent of Schools Joseph DiBacco.
Public Works Superintendent Tim Holman said several of his vehicles are more than 20 years old, rotting out and need to be taken out of service.
“We have a used brush cutting machine that’s costing us $30,000 in repairs and it’s still not working up to capacity and our scale (at the transfer station) is 40 years old, so it’s time,” he said.
The city’s emergency management director, Jared Heon, said police, fire and EMS communication equipment is in need of a major upgrade.
“We are in dire need of upgrading our police, fire and EMS radios and console communications- our radios are from 2003, they run 24/7, 365 days a year, they are always on and we need to make sure we stay up to date,” Heon said.
Ansonia Fire Chief Alex Horjatschun said the radios his volunteers are using are way past their expiration date.
“We are using radios that are no longer supported by Motorola and replacement parts are non-existent,” he said.
Horjatschun said three fire trucks-the engine, the rescue and the ladder trucks-are also at or near 25 years old, an age where the National Fire Protection Association recommends taking the vehicles out of service.
Assistant Fire Chief Anthony DeLucia said the all-volunteer fire department responded to more than 800 calls last year, a number he said that’s increasing every year. He said having reliable equipment is essential.
“We have an obligation to protect the residents and the commuters in this community, so this should be a no-brainer for the radios and communication upgrades,” he said. “You’ve got to spend money to keep things going.”
