Politics & Government
Special Council Meeting Set Regarding Wallingford Mayor’s Budget Veto
The council will hold a special meeting for "discussion and possible action" regarding Mayor Vincent Cervoni's recent veto of the budget.
WALLINGFORD, CT — The Wallingford Town Council will hold a special meeting Thursday night for “discussion and possible action” regarding Mayor Vincent Cervoni’s recent veto of the adopted budget for 2024-25.
The item was placed on the agenda by Democratic Councilor Vincent Testa.
The special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on May 23 in the Robert F. Parisi Council Chambers.
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Cervoni notified the council last week that he was using veto powers in the Town Charter to reduce the council’s increased allocation to the Board of Education’s budget, and lower the mill rate in the process.
The Town Council approved, by a 6-3 vote, an amended town budget that added $2.3 million to the Board of Education’s allocation than was originally proposed by Cervoni.
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With the amended budget, the council also set the tax rate at 30.93 mills. Cervoni’s proposed budget carried a tax rate of 30.41 mills, which represented a 3.65 percent increase over the current mill rate of 29.34. A mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment.
Cervoni notified the council in a letter on Friday that he was reducing the council’s budget increase from $2.3 million to $1.1 million.
“While I appreciate the council’s efforts at resolving the projected education deficit, the result of the council’s action took the administration’s proposed tax increase of 3.65% and further increased it to 5.46%,” Cervoni wrote in the letter. “I am left with the task of balancing the needs of the Board of Education with the taxpayers’ ability to fund such a significant tax increase.
“The mill rate as proposed by the town council is 30.93. This was achieved by adding $2.3 million to the tax revenues to further fund the Board of Education. While I believe that such an increase is too significant for the taxpayers, I am mindful of the concerns expressed by and on behalf of the Board of Education.”
The council needs seven votes to override Cervoni’s veto. Republicans Craig Fishbein, Joe Marrone, and Christina Tatta voted against the amended budget.
Marrone, the council chairman, told the Record-Journal earlier this week that he thought Cervoni’s reduction to $1.1 million was a “reasonable compromise.”
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