ANSONIA — A second public hearing on Ansonia’s proposed $64 million budget has been tentatively scheduled for May 30. A vote to adopt the budget by the Board of Aldermen could happen at a meeting on June 1.
Right now the budget is under review by the city’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation (BOAT), along with a finance subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen. The members of BOAT could vote to send it to the Aldermen at a meeting scheduled for Wednesday (May 10).
Mayor David Cassetti says the budget, which was first shared with the public on April 27, cuts the mill rate, fully funds Ansonia Public Schools, and improves public safety by making the city’s EMS outfit full-time, along with spending more money on the police and fire departments.
The administration is also pointing to the grand list, saying the list of taxable properties now exceeds $1 billion.
“Our mill rate today is actually lower today than it was when I first took office,” Mayor Cassetti said on April 27. Click play on the video below to watch Cassetti’s full remarks.
However, Ansonia Democrats have criticized the administration for ignoring the budget deadlines outlined in the Ansonia City Charter.
In addition, the Democrats have said the budget could lead to rent increases for people who live in apartments, because taxes could increase for multi-family property owners because of a recent, state-mandated revaluation. The Democrats worry the tax increases will be passed to the renters.
The proposed budget cuts the mill rate by 11.56 mills — from the current 37.8 to a proposed 26.24 if the budget is adopted as is.
The administration said that the property tax bill will be $125 lower for single-family houses assessed at $193,300.
Cassetti said the tax cut comes after a decade of growing the grand list, stabilizing taxes and “recharging” Ansonia, an economically distressed city.
The tax bill situation is complicated this year because of revaluation.
To calculate your tax bill, find the most recent assessment of your house, divide that assessment by 1,000 and multiply the answer by the 26.24 mill rate. That will give you your tax bill under the proposed budget.
Then, find a copy of your last property tax bill, which was calculated with a different mill rate and assessment — and compare the answers.
Not every property owner in Ansonia will save $100 in taxes if the budget is approved. People who own two-family houses could see their taxes go up.
Miller said a two-family home assessed at $202,810 would see a tax increase of $366 if the budget is passed as the mayor proposed.
The assessment of two-family properties increased more than single-family homes, a trend that has been seen in other Connecticut communities.
Miller, during a livestream Q&A with The Valley Indy on May 3, said he did not think a tax increase of $366 on two-family homes would cause rents to increase. Miller said supply and demand has a bigger influence on rents.
Miller’s complete remarks can be seen in the video below. Fast forward to the 16-minute mark.
A public hearing on the proposed budget was held on May 3 in front of the tax board in Ansonia City Hall. Most speakers said they support the budget.
Resident Anthony Levinsky, a member of Ansonia’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said the proposed mill rate decrease will benefit taxpayers and prospective businesses.
Ansonia’s Main Street has been reborn over the last decade, first with restaurants and now with hundreds of apartments under construction.
“I’m very excited for this budget and the prospect of being more attractive to business, industry and development moving into the future for Ansonia,” Levinsky said.
Mike Mayko, a retired newspaper reporter who volunteered for a previous Cassetti election campaign, owns a multi-family home in Ansonia. He said he realizes he might be paying more in local taxes but appreciates the mayor’s efforts.
“I don’t intend to raise taxes on my tenants,” Mayko said. “Mayor Cassetti has never raised taxes on us and I’m thankful for that.”
Resident Sharon Voroschak, a member of the Ansonia Board of Education who ran with Cassetti, also spoke highly of the budget.
“As a taxpayer during inflation I’m very proud of the 11.5 mill rate decrease,” she said. “This helps homeowners and renters during difficult times of inflated prices.”
Three residents, including Thomas Egan, a Democrat who is running for mayor, pointed out the administration routinely violates the City Charter during budget season. The charter states the budget is supposed to be presented to the tax board in February.
A budget is supposed to be in place by April 30.
“This budget is 73 days late and believe it or not the city’s ordinances call for criminal penalties when this happens; now I don’t want to see Mr. Tax-etti go to jail or anything like that, but it’s important for our democracy in Ansonia to have things done on time,” Egan said.
Resident Rosemarie Bobbitt, who has previously written letters criticizing the administration, chastised city officials for presenting a late budget.
“The budget is 10 weeks late, giving the people and the state no real time to review the budget and no real time to speak and allow our voices and concerns to be heard,” she said.
Cassetti administration officials said the charter deadlines don’t make sense because they cause officials to guess at how much state money the city will be receiving. However, there are more than 100 other towns and cities in Connecticut in the same situation.
Derby already has a budget in place, and Seymour sent a budget to voters last week (it was rejected so a second vote is scheduled for May 18).
In addition to disregarding the charter’s deadline on the budget, this year the administration declined to release a copy to the public until after the mayor started speaking at a meeting on April 27. That practice doesn’t conform with the transparency spelled out in the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Miller told the Valley Indy following the 30-minute public hearing he stands behind waiting longer to present a budget.
“Had we jammed the budget through, just to make some people happy, there’s a ton of money we could’ve lost out on,” Miller said. “Plus, we don’t have our full insurance costs yet as the liability companies are waiting as long as they can. We presented a budget in April and will be voting on it in June.”
Resident Richard Tylinski, who has penned several letters to the editor critical of Ansonia’s financial practices, said the budget is misleading because it shows only projected numbers for the current budget, rather than actual numbers, and added the mayor “keeps promising miracles … when you all will be left holding a bag of I.O.U.s.”
Spending in the proposed Ansonia budget is up by $3.4 million compared to the budget currently in place.
The budget gives the Ansonia Board of Education an additional $1.8 million — a 5.4 percent increase — for a total school budget of $35.8 million.
The budget in part also includes $7.5 million for public safety ($5.8 million police, $353,035 fire, $1,1 million ARMS, $193,617 emergency operations center, $81,019 fire marshal); $6.8 million for city employee benefits; $4.7 for public works; $3 million for city government expenses; $2.4 million for debt service costs; $1.2 million for utilities and $974,512 for insurance.
The Democrats, during a Valley Indy livestream on April 27, asked about $5 million in the budget identified in a line as “use of future funds.” Miller addressed the question during a Valley Indy livestream on May 4 (posted above, the question is at the 23 minute, 45 second mark).
Miller said the $5 million is potential revenue the city could receive from the redevelopment of two old factories in the heart of downtown: the former Ansonia Copper & Brass, and the former SHW property. Miller said the administration is confident those properties will generate revenue for the city because developers are already interested.
“If you look at the Ansonia Copper and Brass property, the SHW property, there is roughly 65 acres. That is prime real estate,” Miller said.
Click here to read the mayor’s budget presentation.
Here is the tentative Ansonia budget schedule.
Wednesday, May 10 — Budget Workshop/Meeting with BOAT and the Aldermanic Finance Subcommittee, with BOAT expected to turn the Budget over to the Board of Aldermen at the conclusion of this meeting.
Tuesday, May 30 – Board of Aldermen Public Hearing on the Budget
Wednesday, May 31 – Board of Aldermen Budget Workshop/Meeting
Thursday, June 1 — Board of Aldermen Budget Workshop/Meeting, with the Board of Aldermen expected to adopt the FY’24 City of Ansonia budget at the conclusion of this meeting.
