Naugatuck Headed to a Budget Referendum; Petitioners Angered at Tax Increase

Dozens of volunteers, who “have had enough with the ever-increasing spending in the Borough and Board of Education budgets” have petitioned, gathered, and submitted more signatures than are required by the Borough Charter to force the Borough and Board of Education budgets into a referendum, said the petition’s organizer Matthew Katra.

By doing so, Naugatuck residents are asking to have a say on both the 2015-2016 Town and Board of Education budgets, Katra said Wednesday.

“Naugatuck voters have seen a drastic increase in Borough spending year-after-year under Mayor Robert Mezzo and his administration,” Katra wrote in his prepared statement. “It is time for this Mayor and the other local officials to finally listen to the residents of this Borough and start making the hard choice to decrease spending.”

“Many neighboring towns have faced the same state mandates and are also held to abide by the same binding arbitration rules as Naugatuck; however, those towns have found smart ways to stop their mill rates from soaring up like Naugatuck’s has,” Katra added. “One of the main differences between our Borough and other towns in this respect is that those towns have leaders who are willing to listen to the voters and stop spending at a time when we cannot afford to be spending. This is exactly why the Mayor and his administration have to decrease spending, immediately.

“This Mayor and his administration have stymied fiscal growth in the Borough by continually increasing taxes and spending as though the Borough still had industries to rely on as a tax base. Well we do not and it is time we start making hard choices for the sake of the remaining residents in the Borough. This is the time for Naugatuck leaders to represent what the residents are clamoring for—decreased spending and a lower mill rate,” Katra said.

We will update this post.