Saying they didn’t have enough information to make a decision, the Derby tax board Tuesday did not adopt a preliminary 2012 – 2013 budget for the city.
Instead, members decided to push the budget adoption date to a meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 17 at 6 p.m. in the basement media room of Derby City Hall at 1 Elizabeth St.
The preliminary budget will be presented to voters at a public hearing on Monday May 21, at 6 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chambers on the second floor of City Hall.
The tax board is now scheduled to adopt the city’s final budget May 23 at 7 p.m.
The tax board (formal name, Board of Apportionment and Taxation) has until the end of May to approve a budget for 2012 – 2013. The tax board is the final say on money allocation in the city.
At a meeting Tuesday, tax board chairman Jim Butler again said the absence of a director of finance is hampering his board’s ability to fulfill their elected duties.
“We’re at a total loss without the expertise in the finance office,” Butler said. “We (the tax board) are, basically, volunteer help.”
Former Derby finance director Henry Domurad, Jr. recently filed a lawsuit against Mayor Anthony Staffieri, saying he was wrongfully terminated and that City Hall distributed a fraudulent letter of resignation with Domurad’s signature on it.
Staffieri and the city’s attorney vehemently deny the accusations and brought in a hand-writing expert to examine Domurad’s signature on the letter, which allegedly matches other Domurad signatures. Information and documents have been given to an investigator with the state’s attorney’s office.
Staffieri had brought in former finance director Alan Schlesinger to assist the tax board in Domurad’s absence, but three members of the tax board — citing the Domurad controversy — last week blocked a move to pay Schlesinger for his services.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the lack of assistance from a City Hall finance director was obvious, as members of the tax board didn’t even have the latest copies of the voluminous budget they were supposed to be voting on.
Butler said he had expected Phil Robertson, the mayor’s chief administrative assistant, to have copies ready for the tax board. Robertson was not at the meeting.
Derby Treasurer Keith McLiverty told Butler to make requests directly to Joyce Sill, the city’s deputy director of finance.
The tax board, in their most recent meetings, have been relying heavily on McLiverty and past chairperson Judy Szewczyk for assistance.
McLiverty also told the tax board adopting a preliminary budget was most likely premature since potential aid from the state is still up in the air as state lawmakers hammer out a state budget.
Derby — especially its schools — will have a better idea of where it stands within the next week-and-a-half or two weeks, McLiverty said.
Derby went through a revaluation this year, which sent the value of many properties plummeting — although some properties saw their value increase. That means the mill rate could change quite dramatically.
As of Tuesday, the Board of Apportionment and Taxation was looking at a tax rate change of somewhere around three mills, after the reval is considered.
Click here (link downloads a PDF) for a good, general explanation of what a reval could do to taxes from a finance board member in the Town of Salem.
Tax board member Judy Szewczyk pointed out the tax board also needed to find out what the new average assessment is in the city.
Earlier in Tuesday’s tax board meeting, Derby Board of Education member Kimberly Kreiger urged the elected officials to support the 4 percent increase in funding requested for Derby Public Schools.
Earlier this year the school district requested $16.1 million to run the schools in 2012 – 2013.
Derby resident Tom Lionetti said he’d be willing to pay an additional $500 to $600 in taxes next year if it helps the school district and the Derby Police Department.
“I’ll just have to pick up a few more overtime shifts,” Lionetti said.