Middletown Council's Approved $135.9M Budget Sees 2.9% Tax Increase

In a 6-5 vote, the common council Wednesday approved a $135.9 million spending package and a $76.47 million school budget, which will raise taxes in Middletown 2.9 percent over last year.

In what Council Majority Leader Thomas Serra termed an "extremely, extremely difficult budget," the most so in his 22 years of city service, the amended 2013-2014 budget was passed with the approval of Democratic councilors Gerald Daley, Hope Kasper, Ronald Klattenberg, Robert Santangelo, Thomas Serra and Mary Bartolotta. 

While bipartisanship allowed the Democratic and Republican caucuses to draft an amended budget, it wasn't enough to solicit unanimous approval.

Pessina, the minority leader, said he was pleased with how both political parties worked to pass a financially sound budget, passing the least amount of increases on to taxpayers. "This is the first year the Democrats reached out to the Republicans," to work out an equitable compromise.

The GOP, he said, are most concerned about public safety, education, seniors and parks and recreation. "It is a bipartisan budget not only in theory but in practice."

On March 29, Mayor Dan Drew put forth a $137.85 proposed budget, which would have seen taxes increase 3.3 percent. This amended spending package pushes up the mil rate eight-tenths of a percent — from 26.9 to 27.7. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in assessed property values.
Republicans Deborah Kleckowski, Phil Pessina, Joseph Bibisi and Linda Salafia voted against the resolutions, as did Democrat Todd Berch, who said his sole objection was to the elimination of the "grant writer position, which would be extremely beneficial and adventageous to the city."

This is the second year Mayor Dan Drew proposed a grant writer be added to the city payroll, funded at $75,000. The Democratic caucus recommended eliminating it and instead hiring a part-time person or group who specializes in securing funds for municipalities.

As far as the board of education, Klattenberg said, in all his years on the council, "every year we've received back from them zero to few dollars. This is the first time ever we've had returned to the general fund a surplus of this magnitude."

The school's nearly $4 millon increase, much less than requested, will be used to limit class size and fund student programs. Board of Ed member Ryan Kennedy says the increase is good news — and bad. "It's potentially less damaging … It's the bare minimum that they could possibly go." 

He says it still leaves nine positions that must be eliminated to keep the education budget in the black. "They'll follow the union protocol," Kennedy said on whom to lay off. "The last one in is the first one out."

The mayor's salary of just over $78,000 will increase $6,667 annually, primarily because the compensation has remained steady since 2007, and brings it up to that of comparable municipalities leadership. 

The Middletown Fire District budget, setting the mil rate at 6.1, passed unanimously 11-1 , as did the water pollution control for water and sewer, sanitation, and special business district budgets.

• Council to Vote on Mayor's Budget Wednesday