DERBY — After a two-hour, sometimes contentious meeting, members of the city’s tax board unanimously voted to adopt a $47.8 million budget that gives more money to schools without raising taxes.
The budget approved Wednesday night totals $47,890,594. It covers the fiscal year starting July 1. It sets the mill rate at 38.6, unchanged from this year.
The tax board approved a school budget of $19,607,966. That is a 2.24 percent increase over the total school budget approved last year. The direct Derby contribution to the school budget is $12,742,276, which is 3.4 percent more than the city spent on schools last year. Derby schools also receive taxpayer funding from the state and federal governments.
The funding is less than the 4.29 percent increase requested by the Derby Board of Education. However, school officials said they can make it work.
“The Derby Board of Education is grateful for all of the support, work and effort that went into the budget process,” Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea said in a prepared statement. “The final budget appropriation is important and will help us continue to move the school system forward, make progress, and invest in our children.”
Mayor Rich Dziekan, who is running for re-election and facing challenges from fellow Republican Gino DiGiovanni and Democrat Joseph DiMartino, had submitted a budget that would have reduced the mill rate by .4 mills. That budget, had it been approved, would have resulted in $64 in savings for a single-family house assessed at $160,000.
However, the tax board opted to bump up the allocation to the school district and to a capital expenses line item. Dziekan pushed back hard against allocating more money for capital expenses, saying the city still has more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 “American Rescue Plan” money to spend. Capital expenses refer to big-ticket spending items, such as fire trucks or building repairs.
Ultimately the board opted to keep the tax rate as is instead of a small reduction.
“I want to thank you guys for everything you’ve done. It was long and tedious. We done good.” Mayor Dziekan said after the board voted on the mill rate.
Tax board chairman Roberto Santos thanked the officials and the public for their involvement in the process.
The meeting was marked by bickering between Mayor Dziekan, and Jennifer Desroches, a Democrat who serves on the tax board. Desroches asked the most questions and said she did not trust the financial data being supplied by the Dziekan administration. Dziekan was short with her several times during the meeting. In a meeting Tuesday night, Desroches and deputy finance director Nancy Balsys had also been in conflict.
At the very end of the meeting, Town Clerk Marc Garofalo made a comment saying the way women were spoken to during the meeting was not acceptable. He said it was consistent and appalling — but didn’t name names.
Dziekan he didn’t know who was disrespecting women.
The mayor’s response drew a “my God” from Desroches and a “it was you, Mr. Mayor,” from resident Tara Hyder.
“I would never,” Dziekan said just before the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
The meeting video is posted at the top of this story.
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