Derby tax board begins deliberating mayor’s 2022-23 budget proposal

DERBY — Although discussion of Mayor Rich Dziekan’s budget proposal for 2022-23 was on the city Board of Apportionment and Taxation agenda for April 5, the mayor himself did not attend.

Mayor Rich Dziekan assigned the responsibility of answering questions from the members to Chief of Staff Walt Mayhew. The board’s first question at the meeting was why the mayor opted not to attend.

In response, Mayhew said Dziekan had delegated that responsibility.

“The mayor is a CEO of a $48 million organization. And, as that CEO, he sets policy, direction, goals for the organization,” Mayhew said. “He appeared before your board and shared those thoughts with you on a very high level executive summary of his budget and offered you the opportunity to interact with him on that level. Beyond that, he sends his staff to work out any details just as any other

CEO of a corporation of that size would.”

Following Mayhew’s comments, the board moved on the specific questions on the budget proposal including tax collection and an additional position in the city’s highway department.

Mayhew said the city has collected 99.6 percent of the tax revenues due for 202122 and said the city is projected to collect more due to the supplemental motor vehicle tax.

That contradicted finance director Agata Herasimowicz’s estimate, according to board member Jennifer Desroches.

“Is there any reason why Agata was saying that 99 percent was not an accurate figure? When we were talking in I think January,” Desroches said.

Mayhew in response said he was not sure why Herasimowicz, who has been on administrative leave since early March, had said that.

The city has never publicly stated the reason for Herasimowicz being placed on leave, and has not yet replied to a Freedom of

Information request for documentation on the reason.

The board also asked Mayhew if he was the person to speak to on budget and financial matters in the future, and he confirmed he was.

Dziekan, asked later about Mayhew’s role in the budget, deferred questions to Mayhew. “Contact Walt,” he said. According to Mayhew, Dziekan does not regularly attend BOAT meetings, although he did attend a previous meeting to present his budget proposal.

Under Section 26, the city charter says the mayor “shall, ex officio, be a member of said Board of Apportionment and Taxation and shall preside at the meetings of the Board.”

The charter further states that the board “shall elect one of its members as Chairperson to act in the absence of the Mayor.”

Dziekan said he has let BOAT run its own affairs for years.

“I’ve chosen to let the BOAT be a self-governing board for four years, run by its chairman. They’ve done an excellent job,” he said. “I see no reason to operate differently.”