Mayor Bill Finch has submitted a $520 million spending plan to the City Council for the budget year starting July 1 that reflects the second consecutive tax increase of his second four-year term. It calls for a 2.5 mil increase representing a tax hike of several hundred dollars a year for the average assessed house in the city. It’s likely the council will cut the mayor’s proposal in an election year for the all-Democratic legislative body. There will be a tax increase, the question is how much? But measuring the mayor’s tax proposal, with a proposed mil rate of 43.61, see examples of how the tax increase will impact some neighborhoods below:
Let’s start with the mayor’s home on Crown Street in the Beardsley Park area. The mayor’s annual property tax bill currently is $9,058. Under his proposal it will increase to $9,609.
In Black Rock, the city’s most affluent neighborhood, the home of city fiscal watchdog John Marshall Lee on Beacon Street would experience a tax increase from the current $13,835 to $14,676. Lee tells OIB, “I’d rather there be no tax increase so I have more money for charitable donations.” A single family home on Lake Avenue in Black Rock would see a tax increase from $10,225 to $10,847.
The tax bill of a single-family home on Savoy Street in the North End jumps from $6,985 to $7,409. A 1,200-square-foot cape on Ruth Street in the North End goes from $5,034 to $5,340.
On Read Street in the East End, a single-family home increases from $4,300 to $4,562.
On Ogden Street in the East End, a single-family home jumps from $3,877 to $4,113.
To calculate your tax bill, see here.
To view the mayor’s budget proposal, see here.
News release from Finch:
Mayor Bill Finch today released his FY2013-14 budget to the City Council. The proposed $519.9 million budget, which holds the line on City spending in every possible area, reflects the challenges and uncertainty of Gov. Malloy’s proposed state budget that could potentially mean nearly $11 million in lost revenue in the coming year.
“This is a prudent but sustainable budget. We have held the line on spending in every way we can” said Mayor Finch.
Growth in the coming year’s budget is reflective of two major factors:
Debt service growth due to an historic investment in education infrastructure to maximize state reimbursement funding levels, and
Pension funding increases, which includes retiree health care and pension costs, and the cost of converting the police and fire pensions to the Connecticut Municipal Employees Retirement System fund.
While the Mayor can only submit one budget to be acted upon by the City Council, he has included three scenarios for the Council to consider in its deliberations–one with all of the Governor’s cuts restored, one with only half of the cuts restored, and one that shows none of the cuts restored. The proposed budget would mean an increase of 3.25 percent or approximately 2.5 mils, if none of the Governor’s cuts are restored.
The Mayor’s proposed budget also calls for $1.6 million in union concessions in order to continue to toe the line on City spending. “We will work together with our unions to come up with the savings needed; all options are on the table,” said Mayor Finch. “Our employees have stepped up in the past, and we appreciate their sacrifices.”
In addition, with the hiring of a new assistant chief of police, the City is placing a laser-like focus on reducing overtime expenses–this year’s budget shows a $1 million reduction–by reducing lost time due to sick and injured personnel, and implementing new time and attendance software programs that will assist the department in accurately scheduling personnel where and when they are most needed.
The City has been at the forefront of successful labor negotiations in the past having negotiated the amount employees pay toward their monthly insurance premium starting at 25 percent for new employees and increasing one percent each year topping out at 50 percent. This action has saved City taxpayers more than $8 million in the past four years. As a result of these union concessions, active employees’ health insurance spending in the FY2013-14 budget has held even with no major increases.
Overall, the proposed FY2013-14 budget reflects minimal departmental budget growth–the growth that is included reflects contractual obligations and focuses on public safety and essential core services. “I assure you that in the weeks to come, we will work closely together both here at home with our City Council members, and at the state Legislature to minimize the impact the Governor’s proposed budget may have on our proposed City budget.”
It’s time to tell Sue Brannelly and Pullman & Comley LLC that BLACK ROCK, THE LARGEST TAXPAYERS in the NATION! will not tolerate another tax increase.
If the Mayor is not going to do right by Bridgeport, it’s time for the City Council to stand up. No new taxes, period. Someone has to go line by line and cut. We cannot withstand one more hike in taxes, period. And … we will remember in November who stood for the city and who did not.
Zero-based budgeting is an approach to planning and decision-making that reverses the working process of traditional budgeting. In traditional incremental budgeting (Historic Budgeting), departmental managers justify only variances versus past years, based on the assumption the “baseline” is automatically approved. By contrast, in zero-based budgeting, every line item of the budget must be approved, rather than only changes. During the review process, no reference is made to the previous level of expenditure. Zero-based budgeting requires the budget request be re-evaluated thoroughly, starting from the zero base. This process is independent of whether the total budget or specific line items are increasing or decreasing.
The term “zero-based budgeting” is sometimes used in personal finance to describe “zero-sum budgeting,” the practice of budgeting every dollar of income received, and then adjusting some part of the budget downward for every other part that needs to be adjusted upward.
Zero-based budgeting also refers to the identification of a task or tasks and then funding resources to complete the task independent of current resourcing.
Another year, another tax increase. More excuses from Finch. He gives raises to his buds and punishes the little guy.
*** Is that anna dissing Finch on OIB? Oh yahooy! It’s pretty much a done deal one way or another keeping in mind the property reval is around the corner, no? And he also wants money to spend on possible newly created political jobs as well, remembering the council gave him the go-ahead vote to hire and pay what he wants without any input from them last year! Budget watchdogs will have their hands full this year no doubt but to what extent will their citizen overseeing be helpful? *** FOR SALE SOON ***
TERM LIMITS at ALL levels of government!!!
See you at the Annex tonight (Legislative Services Office) at 6:00 PM for the first of the Budget & Appropriations Committee sessions as part of their Official Budget Hearing Schedule for FY 2013-2014.
Who will guide the Council members present through the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report-2012 that tells the story of our audited financial results as of June 30, 2012? Did the budget balance all by itself? Or were payments withheld from the Library and BOE (in the form of ECS funds) the balancing difference? And did we have a decrease in long-term liabilities (page 3) or an increase (page 16) to the tune of $36.7 or $37.8 Million? If the narrative contains errors, who does the proofreading?
Do you think the June 2012 final monthly report used in the audit was FINALIZED and now available to the public to show how much was spent in each line item for that past year? Or do we have to trust the numbers reported in this year’s budget as FY2012 Actual??? Personally I have found it handy to “trust but verify.” How about you? Time will tell.
As the entire City Council is up for re-election this year it’s a safe bet the members will be listening to their constituents …
I just did a recalculation of Lennie’s math and to me it looks like a 6% increase of $830 for the calculations on my home. Of course, if you run enough numbers, some in dollars, some in percentages, some in mil rates, well you get the idea. It is confusing.
So Bill could have come out Monday night and said State revenues look to be reduced for the coming year (but so is the NET TAXABLE GRAND LIST unfortunately), so with all of the efficiency ideas, staff cutting, negotiating assumptions with the unions, etc. I am forced to increase the Mil Rate 6%. But he did not. Remember, trust but verify. Time will tell.
*** Is it possible one of a “few” city council members who really understood the city’s budget and overall possible future concerning economic development in Bpt decided enough was enough and it was a financially smart time, etc.. to make an exit out of Dodge before things get even worse? Or is the writing on the city’s wall not clear enough for those who drink the kool-aid and think there’s still a remote chance to turn things around and it’s really not that bad? We shall see right after July 1st. 2013 what the writing on the wall actually says, no? *** PARK CITY BLUES ***
I love living in Black Rock. I wouldn’t even mind paying 10 thousand bucks a year to the city if I could see what they were doing with the money. When I go to other parts of the city, I cannot believe the amount of litter that exists. We can’t even figure out how to pick up litter in this city and we’re surprised most of the government institutions are a disaster?