The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Approved budget lowers tax rate, funds anti-racism panel
MIDDLETOWN — The Common Council approved a $210.8 million budget Thursday night, which reallocated funding from police and reduced the tax rate by 0.2 mill.
The new budget represents a 0.33 percent cut in spending.
Mayor Ben Florsheim’s proposed $211.5 million “no-frills” fiscal package, released April 27, would have kept taxes stable at 36 mills. The figure represented a 7.1 percent increase over last year’s $197.5 million budget.
The council, which approved a 35.8-mill tax rate, reappropriated $200,000 from the Police Department’s private-duty
line item to the soon-tobe-formed committee on anti-racism. The changed garnered bipartisan support in an 11-1 vote.
Republican Councilor Linda Salafia, who voted against the measure, told those on the Webex session she was opposed to the measure for a number of reasons, including the fact that councilors had just received the adjustments, without adequate time to look them over. “Police overtime for private duty is billed to the contractors and generally we make a profit on it.”
The $200,000 will be a good start for anti-racism efforts, but, Florsheim admitted, “it’s certainly not the end.”
Other reductions included the arts budget: $80,330, because of the cancellation of this year’s circus program. The Board of Education was fully funded.
“These changes are minor ones in the grand scheme of things,” said the mayor, considering the still-evolving coronavirus pandemic.
Florsheim received about 600 emails from people in favor of shifting police funding for other uses. “We talked about this last-minute flood of petitions and letters about the police budget, which gave us a very compressed time frame before the approval to try to address those concerns.”
That included the hiring of another sworn officer, which the council zeroed out. Florsheim said leaders are considering creating a partnership with a social services agency to relieve officers of some duties, as well as pull in more appropriate assistance. “We have been trying very hard to meet those demands in some way. I feel good about the conversation that is going on.”
Over the years, Florsheim said, Middletown police have examined hiring practices, and provided training for staff, as well as “taking a hard line” on any violations. “There is still work to be done. We all realize that.”
Presently, the force is about 114 strong, the mayor said. Maximum staffing would be 126.
Majority Councilman Gene Nocera and his fellow council members heard many times that not taking action on funding the anti-racism panel would delay funding its very important mission.
“The public made it clear, too, over and over, taxpayers said we don’t want a committee that meets a month later and nothing gets accomplished. Nobody wants that. It would be a waste of people’s time,” Nocera said.
“When you look at what’s occurring — the pandemic — unemployment at an all-time high, and devastation to local businesses, you really have to dig deep to get people back on their feet,” he added.
Freezing fire and other taxes is necessary to provide needed relief to residents “with no gimmicks,” Nocera said. “They really need it right now.”
The city’s fire and water/sewer fees remain stable, according to Florsheim, who tackled his first-ever municipal budget this season.
Thursday’s meeting went late into the night. A public hearing on the anti-racism committee ran from 5:30 to 7 p.m. because so many people logged on to the Webex meeting during the comment session. Florsheim was “really gratified” by feedback from so many residents.
Minority Councilman Phil Pessina said the tax rate decrease was progress in the right direction.
“It is somewhat small, but it shows the commitment we have of giving more money to support the mayor’s initiative,” said Pessina, former Middletown acting deputy police chief, a longtime officer and “staunch” supporter of community policing.
He was pleased with the collaboration between both parties. While he was on the beat, Pessina pushed for community policing, which was made policy in the mid-1980s. “As a young officer, I knew there was a better way to do business,” he said.
Periodically examining police procedures is a good thing, Pessina said. “We have a great Police Department. It’s time they do an internal examination” in order to do better work, as well as build upon the department’s strengths.
The court system also must enact reforms, he added. “At the end of the day, we know we did the community right,” he said.
Florsheim will be posting the new spending package on the city website shortly. For information, visit cityofmiddletown.com.