City Council

FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH April 16, 2025 The First Budget Public Hearing 25-2026 fiscal year budget was held April 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Present: Mayor Nystrom, President Pro Tem DeLucia, Ald. Singh, Ald. Gould, Ald. Bettencourt, and Ald. Hayes. Absent was Ald. Nash. City Manager John Salomone, Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll were also in attendance. Mayor Nystrom presided. Please be advised that meetings of the Norwich City Council can be viewed in their entirety on the City of Norwich website “norwichct.org”. Mayor Nystrom called for public comments on the budget. Sally Masse, 187 Old Canterbury Tpke., spoke about the proposal to cut position at the Senior Center expressing the fact that her position is an integral part of the organization. Luigi Chiaccheitta, 213 Baltic Rd., stated that the proposed budget will cause a tax increase. Further questioning being on a fixed income “where is the money going to come from”? Be responsible with the money the taxpayers are giving the city. Annabelle Reboli, 270 Broadway, read a letter written by her neighbor. She moved her from Utah is charmed by the community and loves Norwich but is struggling to pay the mortgage and food. Victoria Obrosta, 170 Broadway, spoke about moving to this country from the Ukraine and living in several other towns in the United States. She likes Norwich but it is becoming too expensive. Kelly Matisi, 222 Mckinley Ave. Ext. is relatively new to Norwich and likes it here but is concerned about the rising taxes. Many people who are on fixed incomes can’t afford to stay. She feels that people will be forced to leave. Robert Bell, 122 Boadway, stated he manages many rentals in Norwich. Several of the rentals have gone up 75% in taxes. He has relocated his business out of Norwich. He feels there are too many social service agencies in Norwich, we have a large population of homeless people. Brittany Howard, 42 Donahue Dr., stated that she is currently renting and wants to buy a home. With the tax situation as it is people can’t afford to come here. It is causing a domino effect. Reconsider the budget, this is a beautiful town. Wayne West, 18 Town St., as a long-time resident he sees the city going down. He feels it isn’t a safe place to live. He questioned the police protection. David Smith, 88 School St., the progression of the city is going in the wrong direction. He feels that the city needs to save until they can afford to do what needs to be done. Clean up the city. Speaker refused to give name and address, feels we have nothing to show for our taxes. The speaker asked, “When are things going to change?” “Change for the people not for yourselves.” We can vote you out. Joanne Philbrick, 10 Elm Ave., was inspired by the previous speakers. She feels the city has been on life support for the last 20 years. She wants to see accountability. People need to be listened to. 1 FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH April 16, 2025 “Rocky”, no address given, spoke about the town of Mansfield, CT Council meeting has a lawsuit for the enforcement of stating name and address to speak at their meetings. Demanded that the figures be looked at and take 3% percent off the budget. Rob Dempksy, 68 White Plains Rd., asked for the name and address policy be changed. He suggested that to reduce the budget we should cut 5% off from each department across the board. Tom Bonnano, 118 Central Ave., encouraged the Council to keep the school budget to the same level as last year. Keep the Board of Education at a reasonable budget. Luigi Chiaccheitta, 213 Baltic Rd., stated that revaluation raised our taxes. The state of Texas is going to sue for the rise in taxes through the Supreme Court. Questioned why you are raising the mill rate. People can’t afford more taxes. Jose Ceron, 613 E Main St., owns his own home but the times are such that the more I make the more you take. I am at a point where I need to decide if I can afford to stay or should I sell. John Blackburn 15 Alice St., thankful for what has been proposed with the Board of Education giving them only 1% increase. He would like to see a zero % increase as they overspent last year and that is their problem not ours. There being no further speakers. Upon motion of Ald. Gould, seconded by Ald. Hayes, on a roll call vote, it was unanimously voted to recess at 8:39 pm and continue the public hearing to 7:30 PM, April 17, 2025 . City Clerk 2