Ansonia City Hall Upgrades Phone System

ANSONIA - Mayor David Cassetti has announced a major technology upgrade to make city departments more accessible and allow our staff to utilize modern communications technology. The I.T. Department has been working hard to migrate all phone systems to a new Mitel VOIP system.  This will enhance the ability to speak with departments, access real time information and expand the capabilities of the office staff.  The City will also find savings in monthly phone costs once the deployment is complete.  The Ansonia Board of Education currently utilizes this phone system and City departments will now be able to communicate directly with all Board of Education locations directly.  This is a further step in continuing to align the Board of Education and the City’s various technology platforms.

The first deployment to the new phone system took place Oct. 31 at City Hall.  All City Hall based Departments will be affected by this change.  We ask that the public please be patient as we complete our cut over to the new system.  Department main phone numbers will not change, however individual extensions will.  A complete list of Department numbers and direct extensions will be added to the City’s website.

On Wednesday, November 6^th, 2019 the following Departments will also transition to the new system: Public Works, Ansonia Library, Ansonia Nature Center and Ansonia Rescue Medical Services.

On Wednesday, November 14^th, 2019 the Police Department will transition to the new phone system.  The Police Dispatch number will remain 203 735-1885.

Residents may use City Hall’s main number, 203 736-5900 to reach any Department.  An auto attendant will prompt you to select the correct Department or you may press 0 to reach an attendant during normal business hours.

We apologize in advance for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience in this upgrade process.  Mayor Cassetti is pleased to also announce that future upgrades to the phone and data network, including public access in City Buildings to WIFI, will soon follow.

Mayor’s Office                  203 736-5900 Ext 6100

Tax Office                          203 736-5900 Ext 6110                  203 736-5910

Personnel                           203 736-5900 Ext 6115                 

Finance                               203 736-5900 Ext 6120                  203 736-5920

Economic Dev. / Grants  203 736-5900 Ext 6130

Information Tech.            203 736-5900 Ext 6135

WPCA                                  203 736-5900 Ext 6145                  203 736-5908

Assessor                             203 736-5900 Ext 6150                  203 736-5950

Building/Zoning/Blight    203 736-5900 Ext 6160                  203 736-5960     or           203 736-5990

Registrar                             203 736-5900 Ext 6170                  203 736-5970

Town Clerk                         203 736-5900 Ext 6180                  203 736-5980

(This is a press release from Ansonia City Hall)

Derby Public School Registration Now Open

DERBY- The Derby Board of Education is now accepting registration for all ages K-12.

We also have openings in our Little Raiders University Preschool program for students age 4.

 

Registration must be initiated online at: https://www.derbyps.org/district_offices/student_registration and then an appointment to finalize registration can be made by calling Jennifer at 203-446-3920. Appointments are made on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. 

 

(This is a press release from Derby Public Schools)

Ansonia Board of Education Member Says Facts Being Misrepresented

(The following is a letter from Ansonia Board of Education Member Vinnie Scarlata who is seeking re-election the board , as well as running as a petitioning candidate for the Board of Aldermen, 7th Ward):

It’s unfortunate that an administration desperate to stay in office is irresponsible enough to misrepresent figures to try crediting themselves unduly! Recent articles talk about $40,125 unspent by the BOE, proving that through its benevolence this administration has actually overfunded education and these unspent funds of $40,125 are proof! The person chosen to pitch this notion is running for a seat on the BOE and should have been the one person responsible enough to have at least asked the BOE the one question, “WHY”!!! Instead she became another pawn for Team Cassetti.

I posed this question to our BOE Business Manager and here is the truth of this matter! The following is copied from her email to me:
 

 

I am providing this information with regards to the BOE not expending 100% of the funds allocated during the 2016-17 school year.
 

The BOE has several factors which impacted spending during the 2016-2017 year:
 

- I will start with the resignation of the Business Manager and a permanent placement not being

appointed for several months. This means that budgeted salary and health care cost for a family

were not being incurred.
 

- The district realized significant savings in health care cost by changing to a HDHP. (High

Deductible Health Plan)
 

- The City transferred Excess Cost funds to the BOE to cover the increased cost of Special

Education services. This is significant because in the past the BOE was absorbing these rising cost

within their existing budget.
 

- The City transferred in-kind expenses for LAP insurance to the BOE, this was not budgeted for

by the BOE originally,
 

- The last winter was mild and very warm, this combination resulted in savings for fuel heating and

OT for custodians.
 

The net result of all the above resulted in the BOE not expending 100% of its allocated budgeted. Each of these accounts had a positive balance on June 30th 2017. These balances were used to off-set accounts that had negatives balances, they include tuition, transportation, purchased services, liability insurance and supplies. I did not use numbers above in an effort to keep it simple, but heat energy alone had an unexpended balance of $46,803. 
 

Once the audit is final and adjustments are made I will provide an updated year-end report to all BOE members that show expenditures by object and the final figures expended and unexpended for the 2016-17 year. Currently, I do not have the back up to support the $40,125 figure that was referenced in the VIS, I was told that the number is from the audit (I cannot confirm this number).
 

I have not received any communication from the auditor lately, so I cannot confirm that the figures are final (I have not been given a final figure for BOE). Additionally, I have not been apprised of any changes/adjustments resulting from the audit being completed that would change numbers I currently have.
 

So, Ansonia, there a lot of fluid parts to any BOE. A statement made referencing 3 lines in a budget document represents little if any relevance to the overall budget of education. One thing that is glaring, though, is where did Team Cassetti get its information from in the first place since the BOE has yet to receive its final audit figures?
 

 

Vincent Scarlata

Member Ansonia BOE

Ansonia School Board President Reacts to Proposed Tax Board Cuts

ANSONIA - It never ceases to amaze me how the Board of Apportionment and Taxation can approve such drastic educational budget cuts to Ansonia's children. My fellow Board members and I have worked so hard on presenting a transparent budget that is beyond fair and reasonable in today’s Educational realm in order to meet the needs of all of our students.   

We have worked tirelessly with our Team which includes the Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Business Manager, and all other educational stakeholders to draft a budget that is fair in all aspects. Our Team has also worked closely in joint sessions with the Board of Alderman as well as with the Mayor and his staff in an effort to be transparent. Mr. Bshara stated several times that he felt that the exchange of information from the Board of Education and the City has been commendable and has made the process transparent and easier in his opinion.    

As a result of these  meetings, a resolution was drafted where in summary, the Board of Education would  receive back from the City their entitled Excess Cost {as mandated by State Statute) to include in their budget and they would encumber some expenses from the city that have been used for school facilities  9i.e Liability Insurance, the new Portables Project,...).  In my opinion, the Board of Apportionment and Taxation showed no regard for this collaborative effort or resolution and took it upon themselves to once again cut the Education budget.  They went as far in no uncertain terms as to attempt to pit the Library closing against the Board of Education budget.  The two are distinct and separate entities and should be treated as such.

The Board of Education has never attempted to pit City entities against one another and it is inappropriate and unethical for any other City official to do so. Our Team has been working on what these cuts will do to us and I will mention them later in this article.  However, please allow me to clear up several misconceptions.  The first is the fact that only 40% of the Board of Education's budget comes from local funding as opposed to the other 60% which comes from state and federal grants.  Another common misconception is that the Board of Education is always the highest in terms of percent increase each year. This is simply not true!

As we have shared this year, our presented increase is only 2.6% which is directly in line with all other departments in the City (i.e. Police, Arms, Public Works...).  The truth and reality behind the Excess Cost reimbursement is that the City has kept that money and declared it as revenue for the past four years and in effect have only given $234,933 to the Board of Education.  Here is the entire four year breakdown:

 

BOE Expenditures in Relation to Special Education Costs and Excess Cost Reimbursement,Rev.Jan 13,2017
YEAR	TOTALBOE BUDGET	TOTAL Budget INCREASE  $$$	SPECIAL ED TRANSPORTATION	SPECIAL ED TUITION	TOTAL SPECIAL ED T&TCOSTS	ANNUAL SPECIAL ED. T&T INCREASE   $$$	EXCESS COST REVENUE (NET) TO THE CITY (BUDGET)	TOTAL BOE 4 YEAR BUDGET  INCREASE OFFSET BY  EXCESS COST REVENUE TO THE CITY
2012-13	27,000,000		925,566	2,966,885	3,892,451
2013-14	28,000,000	1,000,000	1,094,999	3,656,009	4,751,008	858,557	815,000
2014-15	28,897,207	897,207	1,391,307	4,120,313	5,511,620	760,612	950,000
2015-16**	30,053,095	1,155,888	1,453,766	4,512,942	5,966,708	455,088	960,551
2016-17 Est.	31,260,484	1,207,389	1,550,810	4,959,293	6,510,103	543,395	1,300,000
TOTALS 4 YEARS		4,260,484			22,739,439	2,617,652	4,025,551	234,933

 

NOTES:

1. Total 4 year BOE budget increase is $4,260,484.  Total City 4 year Budgeted Excess Cost Revenue (Net) is

$4,025,551.

2. Net impact of BOE budget just on Excess Cost revenue on taxation over 4 years is $234,933.

** FY 2015-16 City returned$ 503,482 in Excess Cost revenue to the BOE, thereby also reducing Sp. Ed

costs.

 

 

So while the resolution will indeed help this year and moving forward, additional cuts are detrimental and frankly unwarranted. The last misconception is with regards to the Alliance Grant which we have written and have received for the last four years. The basic understanding with this grant is that the initiatives set forth under this grant funding be continued and the funding be granted from the local budget.  Therefore, cuts from our budget will not allow for this to happen.

 

Furthermore, in terms of cuts which my Team feels are detrimental to all of our students would include the following:

 

-All day Kindergarten would be cut back to half day Kindergarten.  This is a direct result of us losing the Alliance Grant next year and since we are not granted the 2.6% increase, this would happen in order to save costs. However, interesting to note here that there was an agreement between the BOE and the City which stated that the City would pay for all day K once the Alliance Grant went away. Mr. King, the President of the Board of Apportionment and Taxation, even acknowledged that this agreement was in place when the BOE presented their budget to them.  Yet he and his Board voted to cut education, thus inherently voting to cut all day K.

 

-The staffing for the new Portables project at Mead.  These portables would allow the district to incur a cost savings by having some of our outplaced students return into district.  However, without the 2.6% increase, this cannot happen and as a direct result the Board of Education will continue  to encumber  these high costs for out of district placements.

 

-All sports.  While no one on our Team wants to see sports eliminated, there is simply no other option. In order to keep classroom sizes manageable and not to lay off more teachers or administrators) as we have in the past, there is simply no other way. We are currently almost at maximum student to teacher ratio in each of our classes and we are one of the highest per pupil to Administrator in the state, 200 students per Administrator as compared to similar size school districts.  For example Derby is at 145 students per Administrator and Seymour is at 152 students per Administrator.

 

In closing, I would like to say that the Board and I are hopeful that the Governor’s budget does give more money to Ansonia for Education, however, until that happens we have to plan accordingly.  As you have read, we have done everything in our power to present a fair, transparent, and equitable  budget for the largest employing entity  of the City of Ansonia(360 employees) however the Board of Apportionment does not seem to see it that way. It is our hope that once presented to the Board of Alderman that this budget will change and that we will be allocated the necessary funds for all children in Ansonia.

 

Respectfully written by:

 

 

William Nimons, President

 

Ansonia Board of Education