An image from the April 19 meeting of the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation.
DERBY — Members of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation (BOAT) are asking for more time before making a decision on a city budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
The board is asking the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen (the city’s legislative board) to extend the budget adoption deadline to May 25. The Aldermen/women could consider the request at a meeting scheduled for April 22.
Gov. Ned Lamont recently amended one of his COVID-19 executive orders regarding municipal budgets — allowing communities the option of pushing budget adoption dates all the way to June 30.
The move by BOAT circumvents a charter change approved by Derby voters in November setting the budget adoption date to the last business day of April.
In Derby, the elected BOAT members set the budget and mill rate. The public does not vote on the budget.
The new (tentative) budget schedule in Derby is as follows:
- Preliminary budget adoption: May 11
- PUBLIC HEARING (your chance to share your opinion on the budget): 6 p.m. May 17
- Final BOAT budget vote: May 25
All municipal meetings in Derby have been held online since the pandemic started last year.
Check the City of Derby website for agendas, agenda packets, and Zoom info needed to participate in the meetings.
Overall Budget
The Derby Board of Education is requesting a $629,000 increase in funding from the tax board, a 3.3 percent budget-to-budget increase. The school board’s total proposed budget is $19,706,006.
As of Tuesday, the city is looking at a budget totaling roughly $47.9 million, a decrease of about $176,700. They are looking, according to the draft budget posted online, to lower the mill rate from the current 43.8 to about 40.1 or 40.2.
This is a revaluation year, so a lower mill rate does not automatically mean lower tax bills. It’s one part of the tax bill formula. Many on Derby’s hilltop saw steep increases in their assessments — something the tax board is very aware of, and has raised the issue at every meeting. Other residents saw no change in assessments.
To determine whether you will be paying more, less or the same taxes, follow these steps:
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1. Find your old tax bill and look at how much you paid. Put that number aside.
2. Find your new assessment, which is available online here.
3. Multiply your new assessment by 40.1 or 40.2, then divide that answer by 1,000. That’s your new property tax bill. Understanding that as of April 20, 2021 a new mill rate had not been established.
4. Compare your answer from step 1 to your answer in step 3.
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This week’s ‘Navel Gazing’ podcast features audio from the April 19 Derby tax board meeting:
