City Council

SECOND BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH May 12, 2025 The Second Budget Public Hearing 25-2026 fiscal year budget was held May 12, 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. Michael Turner, Will Rd., spoke in support to the Senior Center and that the receptionist position needs to remain. He feels that Dodd Stadium and the Ice Rink need to go but keep the Senior Center in tack. Carol Erickson, 66 Sholes Ave., stated she is on a fixed income and doesn’t want the taxes to go up. Carol Chappell, 141 Roosevelt Ave., spoke of a certified letter she sent in February to the Mayor that she requested the full Council to get copies of it. She has not received any responses. She would like an audit done to see where the money is going. John Rynkiewicz, 23 Michelle Dr., spoke of his home having to be completely renovated due to water damage and his property assessment was increased. He doesn’t understand why as it is the same as it was. He wants to be notified by mail of Council meetings. Jennifer Kayser, 18 Maplewood Ct., wants the budget cut. Her taxes are up 45%. She wants the Council to be fiscally responsible. The high taxes are crippling the city. Katherine Rose, 124 Baltic Rd., stated the taxes are crazy. Youth and Family Services is doing a great job. Deb Kievits, 611 Norwich Ave., spoke about Bully Busters having been going strong for 44 years. She also praised Youth and Family Services for partnering with her organization. William Blake, 169 Corning Rd., spoke against raising any taxes. He requested looking into cutting the purchasing of new vehicles and fix what we have. Taxes go up every year. The CCD and TCD need to be looked at as fire protection is the same across the city. Roberta Paro, 246A Yantic St., thanked the Council for their good faith efforts. She supports the Board of Education, Public Works and Public Safety. Keep things reasonable that we can afford. William Denkinger, 29 Lincoln Ave., stated taxes have gone up about 46%. High taxes are what is going to make us fail. Victoria Obrosta, 170 Broadway, the real estate taxes are too high. She compared house values in Mystic being much higher than Norwich and they are paying half of what people are paying here. The taxes must be cut to become competitive with places like Mystic. People are working for basic needs the high taxes will drive them out. 1 SECOND BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH May 12, 2025 Amanda Morales, 27 Tanglewood Dr., has been living here since 1991. When she came here, we had an active shopping mall we had a movie theater. Everything is gone and her taxes have gone up $200.00 a month. She stated that with all of the social service agencies here we can’t revitalize Norwich. Why aren’t neighboring towns bearing any of that burden? Barbara Burgess, 20 Michelle Dr., is happy with the Reid and Hughes project and the marina and is even excited about the possibility of the Police Station going into the old Chelsea Groton Bank. These projects are all fantastic as long as we don’t have a budget that requires a high mill rate to afford them. Julie Cagle, 40 Woodrow Ave., supports the Recreation Dept., and Youth and Family Services. When those two departments merged it was a good thing, and they are showing remarkable growth. Susan Gunn, 29 Lincoln Ave., feels the tax burden is widespread and Norwich is at a much higher rate than the national average. Evan Blum, 387 N Main St., the tax problem is affecting everyone. He requested a meeting with the Council to make some suggestions to help offset the tax burden. He feels there is no creativity to solve the problems, and he has some ideas. Give the people some relief. Linda Theodoru, 37 Taftville-Occum Rd., acknowledges that the Council is in the same boat as the rest of the residents. She asked how can the taxes be reduced? Mark Kulos, 327 Broadway, feels the budget issues are not necessarily mismanagement. We need commercial business here to grow our tax base. The proposed Board of Education budget needs to go back to what the City Manager proposed or the Board of Education will be back in August begging for more money. Kevin Saythany, 27 Brook St., requested that we safeguard our future. The City Managers’ budget is the most responsible at this time. Otherwise, we will be playing catch up next year. Arnold Alina, 55 Elizabeth St., doesn’t want the Recreation Program Coordinator position cut. He feels families are our future. He feels the city has grown and stated there is a lot to do here in Norwich. Deb Morceau, 92 Fifth St., spoke of her personal struggles being close to retirement age and not being able to afford to. Nick Casiano, 27 Maplewood Ct., stated that although people don’t want to pay more taxes, they want more services. The person responsible for the Board of Education spending wants to continue to raise their budget. Pietro “Rocky” Camardella, 79 Lambert Dr., he has been here since the mid 1980’s and sees the same things keep happening. High taxes are pushing people away. This is enough. Larry Rice, 41 Will Rd., spoke about the Special Education expenses not being paid by the state or the federal government. He suggested writing a letter to Washington – Linda McMahon about what can be done as he has already written to her. He also said there was an 86-year-old lady that has a 2 SECOND BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH May 12, 2025 $6000.00 lien on her house for property taxes that she can’t afford. He said there are about 600 people in Norwich with the same problem. Janis Sawicki, 39 Andrea Ln., said death and taxes are a guaranty in life. She is in support of children getting a good education so they can grow up to be productive. Jose Ceron, 613 E Main St., has worked hard to buy his own home and feels the more he makes the more is taken. Businesses don’t stay here; the taxes are too high. Justice Sebastian, Laurel Hill Rd., stated that the city formerly had a lot of art culture and manufacturing this is a direct contradiction to what we have now. There is nothing being put out, just high taxes. Businesses don’t want to stay here, something needs to be looked at. Name not discernable, 575 Boswell Ave., please keep the program coordinator. It will have a negative impact if it gets cut. Joanne Martin, 2 Westledge Dr., feels the fear and danger expressed over this budget is being fueled by political rhetoric and it is very concerning. She requested that the Council work together to bring businesses here and bring our taxes down. Name not discernable, 10 Grosvenor Pl., loves her home and wants to stay here but can’t afford to with higher taxes. Kate Reinhart, 93 Union St., has moved here from Utah and loves the architecture and history of Norwich but the high taxes are concerning. She has elderly neighbors and is concerned for them as well. Marissa Kolodnicki, 53 Briar Hill Rd., stated her taxes have risen 47%. She also experienced a tragedy on her street where her child was hit by a car. He is ok but she feels that the city is failing the neighborhood due to budget cuts making the street unsafe. Joanne Philbrick, 10 Elm Ave., reminisced about coming back to Norwich 21 years ago with excitement and hope. But now she is only saddened and infuriated. Clean up this city. Wayne West, 18 Town St., stated that the children aren’t learning. He questioned, what is he paying taxes for? He promised to do everything he could do to stop what is going on. Ben Haith, no address given, stated he loves people and will continue working for the people on his ancestral journey. We are all of God’s miracles. Brittney Howard, 42 Donahue Dr., spoke in concern of unsafe drivers. She wants to see the downtown rejuvenated. She is also concerned about the possibility of the Police Station going into the Chelsea Groton Bank building and losing the only public parking there is downtown. Christy Milligan, 96 Mckinley Ave, loves her neighborhood but is concerned about the speeding on her street as her parked car has been hit twice. 3 SECOND BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH May 12, 2025 Carline Charmelus, 19 Jordan Dr., President of the NAACP, she asked for a fair budget. Education, Human Services and Public Safety are important. Attract businesses to alleviate the tax burden on the citizens. Sally Obrien, 48 Lincoln Ave., concerned about the foreclosures and homeless situations in the city. People are fleeing to other cities The need for government services and education is important. Maybe we could install speed cameras and bring in some real revenue like other states do. John Blackburn, 15 Alice St., stated that people are concerned about the good of the children they also need a home. Raising taxes needs to stop. The Council needs to hold the line on taxes so people can afford to live here. Emailed comment for the record. 4 SECOND BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING OF THE CITY OF NORWICH May 12, 2025 Public Hearing adjourned at 9:17 PM. City Clerk 5