The City Council’s Budget & Appropriations Committee will meet Saturday morning to vote on the final details of the spending plan for the fiscal year starting July 1 that the full legislative body is scheduled to ratify Tuesday evening.
The tax rate is expected to drop from roughly 43 mills to about 28, the lowest rate in more than 50 years. The change is driven by a revaluation of taxable property that will see sizable increases in property values. Some home owners will see a drop in their tax bill, with some increasing modestly and others staying about the same, according to city financial officials.
Mayor Joe Ganim and City Council leadership released a joint news release on Friday that highlights additional city-side financial investment in education from his original budget proposal.
The city will make a slight upward adjustment in the tax rate of real estate and car taxes to finance additional $2 million on top of the $10 million extra over two years.
In addition, the city will speed up the funding increase so $10 million of that commitment will be received by the Board of Education for the July 1 fiscal year to mitigate program and job cuts to the district.
News release:
Today, Mayor Ganim and Council leaders announced a plan in consultation with Superintendent Avery and the help of the Bridgeport state legislative delegation to significantly increase local funding to the Bridgeport Public Schools. The proposal increases Mayor Ganim’s previous commitment of $10 million local dollars over two years to $12 million, and accelerates the funding increase so that $10 million of that funding would be received by the Board of Education this upcoming fiscal year. Additionally, the proposal allocates the $10 million of new state aid from the State Mohegan-Pequot Fund to the Board of Education.
Combined with a $15 million increase in state Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding, the Board of Education would receive a combined $35 million in new funding next fiscal year between state and local funding increases.
“This plan is the result of true partnership among my administration, the state delegation, the City Council, Superintendent Avery, and the school board,” stated Mayor Ganim. “We are doubling down on the new aid secured by our delegation in Hartford by putting our local resources to work for our biggest priority—our youth. This collective effort is truly historic, and a strong signal that we are supporting Dr. Avery and the Board at all levels of government as they work to resolve issues within the school district.”
In a joint statement, Council President Herron and Budget Co-Chairs Newton and Ortiz stated, “We have many competing priorities as we craft the City budget, but none are more important than educating our children. Therefore, we are redirecting our new state aid to the school system, as well as significantly increasing our local commitment to the BOE. We will make this commitment while also supporting the largest mill rate drop in the City’s history.”
“The Bridgeport delegation is proud to have delivered a historic $25 million in state aid that will help the Bridgeport Public Schools. On behalf of the delegation, I am encouraged to see the City of Bridgeport, through the leadership of the Mayor and City Council, also make historic investments in our public schools,” stated State Rep. Christopher Rosario, Chair of the Bridgeport state delegation. “We look forward to continuing to work in strong partnership with the City and Board of Education to ensure that every child in Bridgeport had access to a high quality education.”
Superintendent Avery stated, “I am extremely pleased to have the strong support of Mayor Ganim, the delegation, and Council members as we work to improve our school district. This new state and local aid will save many essential jobs and prevent us from making decisions that would devastate our school system. I look forward to continuing this partnership in the years to come as we continue to make progress and reform district operations.”
If accepted by the Budget and Appropriations Committee, the proposal will advance to the full City Council on Tuesday evening for a final vote.
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Would like to thank the city council for the first time in my tenure for their efforts thus far. However, I would also like to point out we are still about $9 million short. So please keep looking and keep helping press the state even though session is over.