Tax Refund Resolution Apparently Takes Effect Without Stewart Signature

A City Council resolution with a provision to refund $1,807,753 in surplus to taxpayers appears to have taken effect without Republican Mayor Erin Stewart’s signature, according to Ald. Carlo Carlozzi (D-5).

The resolution includes an amendment proposed by Carlozzi, on October 23, 2019, “that $1,807,753 of the fiscal year 19 surplus be refunded to the taxpayers in the form of a credit of the second installment that is due January, 2020.”

While Republicans had initially criticized Carlozzi’s amendment, which was seconded by Ald. Francisco Santiago (D-5), the amendment was ultimately approved unanimously.

Yet, after that, Carlozzi said the, “The Mayor’s supporters skewered me with criticism on FB despite the unanimous voice vote of the council.”

Under the City Charter, the mayor has ten days to approve or veto items approved by the Council before they take effect without her signature. The tenth day after the tax refund resolution was approved was November 2nd.

But, according to Council Democrats, Stewart withheld signing the measure, prompting the City Council’s President, Ald. Eva Magnuszewski (D-AL), to call a special Council meeting for November 4, 2019, to, “in order to override any potential veto the Mayor may submit in trying to withhold taxpayer refunds.”

That meeting was cancelled after city Corporation Counsel Gennaro Bizzarro, a Stewart appointee, issued an opinion, that has been heavilly derided, that called into question whether the meeting had been properly called.

Bizzarro, a Republican, is the State Senator for the 6th Senatorial District, which includes New Britain, in addition to being the Corporation Counsel for the city.

On November 5th, Carlozzi missed re-election by a small margin.

But, Carlozzi has now announced,

The Mayor held onto the resolution for a very long time and finally returned it on Wednesday Nov 6th, the day after the election without her signature and without a VETO. What this means, the tax payers in the City of New Britain WILL GET A TAX CREDIT on the Jan 2020 tax bills. I want to say THANK YOU to the Democratic Majority caucus for supporting this resolution and providing a little something back to the overburdened taxpayers of our city.

Carlozzi says that, “The tax credit will amount to approximately $70.00 per $100,000 of assessed property.”

Carlozzi’s amendment takes up an issue that Council Democrats have been pressing since 2018.

The budget year that the city is presently in is fiscal year 2020, which goes from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. The surplus Carlozzi’s amendment would return to taxpayers was for the budget year before that, 2019, which began on July 1, 2018 and ended this past June 30, 2019.

The tax rate in Stewart’s proposed budget for the 2019 budget year was criticized for being, a “huge tax increase.” While the mill rate remained the same, the budget was coming after a property tax revaluation that, Stewart had announced, had resulted in an overall 6.27% increase in the taxable valuation of property in the city. Overall, the valuation of single family homes went up by 6.32% and apartment buildings of nine or more units increased overall by 17.88%, while condominiums’ valuations went down by 6.73%.

Keeping the mill rate the same would translate property valuation increases into tax increases.

Democrats on the City Council had responded in 2018 by approving a budget that cut $1,745,844 from the City Hall budget and lowered the mill rate of 50.50 proposed by Stewart to 49.97. The Democrats’ budget also increased education funding by $429,171. Stewart had proposed no increase in school funding.

But Stewart vetoed the the Democrats’ budget which, under New Britain’s City Charter, resulted in Stewart’s proposed budget taking effect as the approved city budget, including any tax increases taxpayers faced.

Carlozzi’s amendment took up the budget debate from 2018, returning to taxpayers money that Democrats say the city should not have taxed.

“I am very proud of my very last act on the 2017 to 2019 session of the Common Council,” Carlozzi said.

To his critics on the tax refund issue he added, “By the way, to those who do not want their tax credits, please go ahead and pay your full tax installment in January 2020. I am sure the city will be happy to keep your tax credits and return it to the general fund to spend on something else.”

Carlozzi says he, “will not be able to vote on these financial matters for the next two years. But after 10 years on the council, I will not stop my push to control spending, bonding and call for the elimination of duplication in personnel and services from city hall.”