Ganim plays coy with tax hike in Bridgeport

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BRIDGEPORT — On the campaign trail last year, Joe Ganim left no doubt what he would do if voters returned him to City Hall.

“Stop Raising Taxes! Vote Joe Ganim,” read his lawn signs.

So Ganim’s proposed $560.3 million budget — his first since leaving office 13 years ago — holds the line on taxes, right?

Wrong.

Released April 4, Ganim’s plan increases taxes by $13.4 million. And it hikes the mill rate — the number used to calculate the taxes needed to pay for the budget — from 42.1 mills to 51.4 mills.

That means a potentially hefty tax increase for some property owners and businesses if the City Council does not reduce that number before finalizing the budget in early May.

A mill rate equals the amount of taxes needed to pay for the budget — $310,581,346 in Bridgeport’s case — divided by the assessed value of taxable properties in the city ($6 billion for Bridgeport), multiplied by 1,000.

Ganim’s budget would hike the city’s mill rate to 51.4 mills. That mill rate can then be divided by 1,000 and multiplied by an individual property assessment to get a ballpark idea of the average tax bill.

So, roughly speaking, a home valued at $200,000 in Bridgeport could have a new tax bill under Ganim of around $10,280.

In contrast, the mill rates under former Mayor Bill Finch, whom Ganim beat last year in part over voters’ weariness with rising taxes, rose from 39.6 to the current 42.1 since 2010.

And suddenly Ganim, the candidate who could not stop complaining about Bridgeport’s high taxes, is the mayor who does not have as much to say on the topic.

In fact, with budget public hearings scheduled this week — Tuesday and Thursday — the Ganim administration still claims it is too soon to discuss what his proposed budget means for the mill rate and for the average tax bill.

“It’s unfair to put out a number,” Ganim said recently after the Connecticut Post asked for his thoughts on the newspaper’s own calculations. He and his administration have continually complained there are too many unknowns, including what Bridgeport will receive from the state in financial aid.

But Ganim did not dispute the Post’s 51.4 mill rate number.

“We’re asking for that information and waiting for the administration to get it to us,” said City Council President Thomas McCarthy. “It’s something we need to have in order to make determinations on where the budget goes.”

Finch, at least in the last four budgets of his eight years in office, offered upfront estimates for the impact on residential and commercial taxes, despite grappling with similar fiscal unknowns like state aid and employee concessions.

So at the start of a budget season, taxpayers understood what was at stake in Finch’s budgets, and the City Council had numbers to whittle down before adopting a final budget and mill rate.

The best Ganim, who also campaigned on being more transparent than Finch, could offer about the impact of his proposed budget?

“Some people’s taxes will go down, some will stay the same, and some will go up,” Ganim told The Post.

He also refused to say what he considered a reasonable tax increase.

Those taxpayers whose bills might decrease or break even can thank the recent property revaluation. The total value of all taxable properties — the grand list - dropped $1 billion to $6 billion in Bridgeport.

Commercial values went down less, meaning the commercial sector in particular could shoulder new taxes.

But that goes back to Ganim the candidate, who frequently boasted to voters about not raising taxes for a decade during his prior tenure in City Hall.

“My tax record is pretty strong,” Ganim reiterated during his recent interview. “I campaigned on being the best person to reduce the tax burden. I never committed to cutting taxes.”

But in a pre-election column published in The Post, Ganim pledged: “If elected, I will lead the effort to cut property taxes.”

Councilwoman Eneida Martinez, who has been pleased with some of Ganim’s decisions since his return, acknowledged people who voted for Ganim likely did so assuming he would not raise taxes.

“That was one of their incentives, I believe,” Martinez said. “I think they thought it would be another 10 years without any tax increase.”

“The fact of the matter is people would be understandably outraged if they knew what in effect is being proposed,” said David Walker, the former U.S. Comptroller General who lives in the seaside Black Rock neighborhood where taxes are expected to rise. “This is directly contrary to what people expected and to what many people voted for.”

But, Martinez argued, “There are some things that are beyond his (Ganim’s) control.”

The mayor and his staff have claimed they inherited a $20 million deficit from Finch.

Paul Timpanelli, outgoing president of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, said it is not unusual for candidates to promise to cut taxes.

Finch during his first run for mayor in 2007 promised taxpayers a $600 rebate. It never happened.

“Then when they get into office, they discover that might not be possible,” Timpanelli said. “I’m not passing judgment. It’s just that reality hits you in the face.”