Governments in Derby and Ansonia are hosting separate public hearings Thursday on budgets that could raise taxes in both cities.
Continue reading for more info and to watch five videos from budget discussions in both municipalities.
The two budgets and cities are independent from each other, FYI.
DERBY
Derby has a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday in Derby City Hall at 1 Elizabeth St. The budget could be officially adopted at a meeting immediately following the public hearing.
The Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation is considering raising the mill rate by 2.5 mills. If the budget is approved as-is, a single-family house assessed at $130,000 would pay an additional $325 in taxes next year.
Officials said the tax increase is needed, in part, because of bookkeeping mistakes discovered by an audit of the city and school district finances.
The Derby budget does not allocate additional local dollars for the school district, which could result in layoffs, according to Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway.
The Valley Indy will have an update on Derby’s budget later today.
The budget, including a recovery plan to get the city back on solid financial ground and correct bad practices outlined in the audit, was discussed at length during a tax board meeting Monday.
The Valley Indy live-streamed the meeting on Facebook in three parts. Parts one, two, and three are embedded below.
In part one below, skip ahead to the 30-minute mark to hear Derby City Treasurer Keith McLiverty explain a recovery plan for city finances.
Derby Tax Board Budget Discussion, Part II
Derby Tax Board Budget Discussion, Part III Skip to the approximate 53-minute mark to hear Conway talk about the impact to schools in Derby if the education budget is flat-funded for the second year in a row.
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In Ansonia, Mayor David Cassetti unveiled a budget earlier this month that would add less than 1 mill to the tax rate — .48 to be exact.
That increase would add about $75 to the tax bill for a single-family house assessed at $150,000, according to Ansonia government.
A public hearing on Ansonia’s proposed budget is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday June 20 at the Ansonia Senior Center, 153 Main St.
The Aldermen could officially adopt the budget at the same meeting, according to this agenda.
Ansonia is coming off a budget cycle that saw the school district file a lawsuit after the Board of Aldermen took money away from education after passing a budget last year.
The funding dispute cemented deep political divisions within the community, fueled by toxic comments tossed out on social media.
This year the city hired Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller for $30,000 to help draft a spending plan. Miller said the budget reduces the government’s reliance on dipping into its fund balance to prevent tax increases.
In an interview with The Valley Indy after Cassetti unveiled the budget, the head of the teachers’ union in Ansonia said while there have not been staff layoffs in the district, the proposed budget does give the school system a chance to recover.
The Valley Indy livestreamed two Ansonia budget meetings — the mayor’s unveiling of his budget, and the first public hearing on the budget.
Both videos are embedded below.
Mayor Cassetti Budget Reveal
Ansonia Proposed Budget Public Hearing
