Wallingford Council Overrides Mayor’s Budget Veto

WALLINGFORD, CT — The Wallingford Town Council voted 7-2 Tuesday night to override Mayor William Dickinson Jr.’s veto of the council’s budget. As a result, the council’s approved budget that keeps the tax rate flat at 29.19 mills will go into effect for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

The council achieved a zero-percent tax increase by reducing Dickinson's proposed budget by $1.28 million through a series of amendments, the Meriden Record-Journal previously reported. Dickinson's proposed budget called for a 1.06-percent tax increase.

Dickinson's budget would have increased the mill rate by .31 mills and represented an increase of $57 in taxes for the average residential property owner, the Record-Journal reported.

Dickinson notified council members last week that he was vetoing the budget. Republican Councilor Chris Shortell made the motion during Tuesday's meeting to overturn Dickinson’s veto.

Chairman Vincent Cervoni and Vice Chairman Tom Laffin, both Republicans, voted against overriding the mayor’s veto.

Laffin said that his heart is in favor of the no tax increase, but he was uncomfortable with the source and quantity of the funds that were being moved with an “already large dependence on the general fund” and potentially a poor grand list return.

“Yes, people are hurting,” Laffin said. “The zero is a great thing. It’s even important at a time like this. It’s just the details run contrary to that individual philosophy.”

Cervoni said he didn’t like using money from the town’s Electric Division’s payment-in-lieu-of taxes (PILOT) to help reach the zero-percent increase.

Councilor Joe Marrone, a Republican, said he was proud of what the council accomplished.

“I think this is the first year that we really passed a bipartisan agreement in excess of what the mayor has done,” Marrone said. “I’m just really proud of what we accomplished. I also think that it’s mildly ironic that the Republican chair and vice chair have to spend so much time explaining why it is they are voting for a tax increase.”