Maintaining low tax rates in Derby while continuing to improve city services and educational funding is always a challenge – even more so in these tough economic times.
Derby’s success in being able to have some of the lowest tax rates amongst surrounding towns and still improve services and school funding is a result of: our healthy respect for residents and their hard-earned money, department heads working with their teams to identify opportunities to save money, yearly zero-based budgeting with the tax board and the strong leadership of our Mayor and Board of Alderman.
To understand the “real” tax rate, we have to take into account both the average home value and the mill rate. Looking at only the home value or only the mill rate gives an incomplete picture. Of Ansonia, Derby, Orange, Seymour, Shelton and Woodbridge, Derby has the second-lowest tax burden on its homeowners. Using the Zillow home value index and 2010 – 2011 mill rates, Derby’s average property tax bill is $350 higher than Ansonia, slightly less than Shelton, about 20% less than Seymour and about half of Orange and Woodbridge’s. When thinking about the ‘fixed’ costs of basic services like the Police, Fire department and School system, for Derby to be pretty close to Ansonia in terms of effective property tax with almost 30% fewer households as a tax base is a real testament to all of Derby’s elected officials and department heads!
Even better than just having lower taxes, services continue to receive increased funding. Through constantly questioning every dollar the city spends in our zero-based budget process (each city department builds his or her budget from zero every year), expanding the tax base (new commercial development opportunities behind BJs and the downtown redevelopment getting off the ground, as examples) and seeking new and innovative ways to save money (such as the new healthcare plan saving the city ~$1 million per year), Derby has been able to continue offering the high level of service our residents expect. This is no small feat and something we can all be proud of!
As we near Election Day on Tuesday, I first and foremost encourage you to vote – your voice matters! I would like to thank you for the privilege of serving you over the past two years on the tax board and would welcome the opportunity to continue doing so. Now go grab your friends, family and neighbors…talk about where you want Derby to be tomorrow…and then vote on Tuesday!
Sources:
Zillow Home Value Index on zillow.com
State of Connecticut, Office of Policy and Management, Mill Rates
Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Town Profiles 2011
The writer is a Republican running for re-election to the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation.
The Valley Indy deadline for political columns is Saturday, Nov. 5 at noon.
