The Ansonia tax board has promised to review a revised budget proposal from Senior Center Director Maureen Bennett.
Chairman Richard Sturges told a crowd of senior citizens that much at the Board of Apportionment and Taxation meeting Monday night.
But it’s still not clear if the senior center will receive more money for the upcoming fiscal year — something Bennett and several senior citizens that attend the center regularly have requested of the tax board.
The Budget
This year, the center received $141,880. During the recent budget workshops, the Board of Apportionment and Taxation approved a senior center budget of $70,795 for the next fiscal year, starting July 1.
“That was based on discussions with the previous director, and we will review that,” Sturges said at the meeting Monday.
Bennett recently took over as director of the senior center, when the former director retired.
Because Bennett was not the director when the budget process began, the tax board has agreed to allow her to re-submit a budget proposal, which the board will review.
“We will go through the full process as if you had come to the workshop months ago,” Sturges said.
Cuts and Concerns
Bennett said she’s willing to come to whatever workshops are necessary to help get the funds the center needs.
The budget — as approved — will mean the custodian and assistant positions will be reduced from full-time to part-time starting July 1.
It also reduced money in the transportation line item. Click play on the video above to hear Bennett’s concerns about that cut.
About a dozen senior citizens attended the meeting Monday and a few spoke against the budget.
Read more about the seniors’ concerns in this previous article.
Acting Mayor Stephen Blume has said the cuts were necessary to avoid layoffs in Ansonia this year.
Blume reiterated the need to make sacrifices this year because of the tough economy and lack of money in the city.
He and Sturges said the Senior Center was not the only department that faced cuts and reductions of full-time employees to part-time.
“We are not eliminating any positions down there, whatsoever,” Sturges said to senior citizens who spoke against the budget at Monday’s meeting. “We are not picking on the seniors.”
