Ansonia’s tax board voted unanimously Monday on a 2017 – 2018 budget that would fund the city’s library and recreation programs fully while giving the city’s Board of Education $837,252 less than school officials say they need.
Under the tax board’s plan the property tax rate would rise slightly.
But in Ansonia, the Board of Aldermen has the final say on the budget — and Mayor David Cassetti said Tuesday he’ll ask the Aldermen to discard many of the tax board’s recommendations.
“I’m not for a tax increase at all, period,” Cassetti said, though he stopped short of promising residents their taxes won’t be going up next year, pointing to uncertainty over the state budget.
Background
The mayor began the city’s budget process last month when he delivered a “worst case scenario” proposal that envisioned steep cuts for certain departments like the library and recreation department.
Cassetti’s proposal would result in the elimination of seven full-time positions at the library. As a result the building would be “effectively closed,” the library’s board of directors wrote in a guest column.
The mayor also proposed eliminating a number of subsidies the city gives to recreation programs. Leaders from many of those programs told city officials last month that as a result, fewer children will participate in sports programs due to increased costs.
Cassetti and his advisors blame the potential cuts on shortfalls in state grants to subsidize public education. They say a plan put forward last month by Gov. Dannel Malloy that would give the city millions more in state aid would keep the “worst case scenario” from happening.
Malloy visited the Ansonia Library Monday to lobby on behalf of his proposal alongside Cassetti, but its passage in Hartford is anything but guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the city has to put its own budget for next year together. And the mayor said cuts to the library, recreation, and other departments would be necessary to fund education without raising taxes.
BOAT Votes
Over the past several weeks the Board of Apportionment and Taxation has been reviewing the mayor’s “worst case scenario” budget, as well as budget proposals from the city’s departments themselves.
On Monday tax board members voted unanimously to adopt a $62,025,289 budget for next year.
The spending plan would decrease spending by more than $2 million, or about 3.28 percent, compared to this year’s budget.
At the same time, it assumes the city will receive roughly $2 million less in “outside income” — things like state and federal grants, fines, and fees for permits.
So the tax board’s budget would see property taxes rise slightly, from 37.32 to 37.7327 mills, or 1.1 percent.
That means someone with a house assessed at $150,000 would see their taxes rise about $62, from $5,598 to $5,660.
Article continues after document showing the tax board’s budget.
Ansonia BOAT Budget 2017 – 2018 by The Valley Indy on Scribd
The tax board’s budget would give year-over-year increases of 4.3 percent to the library and 5.48 percent to the recreation department, which would be more than either asked for initially.
“Most importantly, we wanted to be able to fund the library and the rec program,” BOAT Chairman Dan King said.
At the same time, the tax board budget earmarks $31,860,484 for the Board of Education, but school officials said they need about $32.6 million to maintain current school programs.
William Nimons, the president of the school board, said Wednesday the tax board’s plan would leave school officials short of funds needed to maintain staffing for all-day kindergarten and portable classrooms at Mead School aimed at bringing down the cost of special education.
The schools actually fare better in Cassetti’s “worst case scenario” compared to the tax board’s allocation. The mayor’s proposal suggested about $32.5 million for schools.
King noted that under the tax board’s plan the board would still receive an $800,000 increase from last year. He hopes the state will come through with more aid to the city.
“It’s never enough, but hopefully the state makes good on their funding,” King said. “We have a whole city to fund. You can’t really say you want to support and fund education and then take away basic services students need like a library and recreation programs.”
Mayor Reacts
The mayor said Tuesday that he’d fully fund the library and recreation department too — so long as it means not increasing local property taxes.
“The state’s got to come through,” Cassetti said.
The mayor said he will ask Aldermen to revert back to his “worst case scenario” proposal — though with an additional $160,000 added back into the library’s budget.
The mayor said the $160,000 — cobbled together from cuts to other departments — could save three of the seven positions that would be eliminated under his initial proposal.
City officials are also putting together an early retirement incentive program in an effort to reduce costs that Aldermen may vote to offer to city employees this month.
A memo sent by the mayor’s office to the tax board detailing the possible cuts is embedded below.
What Now?
The Board of Aldermen’s finance committee will now review the budget proposals before making their own recommendations.
The city’s charter gives the full Board of Aldermen until late April to finalize a spending plan.
The finance committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday (March 9) at 7 p.m. in City Hall.
Cassetti Memo by The Valley Indy on Scribd
