The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
City OKs budget without tax hike
MIDDLETOWN — The Middletown Common Council approved a $225 million budget Tuesday night with no tax increase for residents for the third consecutive year.
Majority Leader Eugene Nocera said the mill rate will remain at 35.7 for the 2022-23 fiscal year, though residents will have to pay more for water and sewage, with rates rising 2.85 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.
“It’s probably the most difficult budget I’ve ever worked on,” Nocera said during the meeting Tuesday night. “This (budget) builds a better future for Middletown and prevents Middletown from losing ground from this awful, awful pandemic that’s hurt many areas of our community.”
Linda Salafia was the lone council member who voted against the budget, which represents an increase from the mayor’s proposed $221 million budget.
“The council supports the mayor’s initial proposal,” Nocera said prior to Tuesday night’s meeting. “The mayor was being cautious, and paved the way to what the budget has become now, but, as the mayor said in his statement at the beginning of the budget, his proposal was a baseline . ... We added some things we felt were essential for this budget, and I believe the mayor supports that.”
These additions include funding for a second social worker for the police department, a part-time assistant for the arts department, and added support for the public works
department to maintain parks and fields, among other line items. The budget also allocates funding to meet the contractual
obligation for raises to Middletown teachers and administrators, as well as raises for non-union and non-contractual BOE employees
to keep them on par with union and contracted staff, according to Nocera.
The Board of Education
was granted $94.9 million in its budget, less than their $97.6 million ask, but more than the mayor’s proposed $92.1 million budget. The BOE will also receive $8 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and is expected to come forward in June about rolling over 2 percent of this year’s budget into next year, according to Minority Leader Phil Pessina, who said this was a factor to the council’s decision not to meet the board’s original budget request.
“We couldn’t in good conscience support that BOE budget and stay on track to keep our mill rate low,” Pessina said after the meeting Tuesday night. “We did the best we could. I’m positive with the additional money they have and the money they’ll bring forward. They’ll be able to manage capital projects as best they can.”
The council also voted down a motion to appoint a committee to conduct an in-depth review of concerns presented about the Russell Library budget. This move was prompted by criticism, particularly from a former employee, about the amount of money going to administrative salaries over materials for the library.
The council voted 6-4 against conducting the review into the matter. Mayor Ben Florsheim said the issue will be revisited in the future. Pessina, who voted against the motion, said he feels any questions about the library’s budget should have been addressed when Director Ramona Burkey originally presented her proposal to the council.
“I was quite surprised when those individuals came forward,” he said. “I know what Ramona did. I know what her staff did. She was on the front lines and she steps up.”
Visit middletownct.gov to view the entire budget.