Ansonia Senior Center to hold free workshop Jan. 29 on retirement

 

Talk at Plumb Memorial Library in Shelton to focus on Social Security, stock market

Taxes, Social Security and Market Volatility in Retirement

Location: Plumb Memorial Library

Day/Time: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m.

Attend this workshop and learn:

When to claim Social Security

Financial strategies that could increase your retirement income

How to understand the current market and inflation

How to structure your retirement savings so that you never run out of money

Common misconceptions about retirement planning

Tools and methods available to develop a retirement tax strategy

Register online: https://sheltonlibrarysystem.org/.../20250930-taxes.../

or call (203) 924-1580 ext. 5102.

This is shared from the Shelton Library System Facebook page.

TEAM seeks VITA program assistance for 2024 tax season

 

Rochelle lauds legislation to support senior citizens

state Rep. Kara Rochelle State Rep. Kara Rochelle, D-Ansonia/Derby,  is highlighting critical legislation passed during the 2021 legislative session to help support seniors across the Valley and Connecticut.

Rochelle backed bills to cut taxes for seniors and increase funding for vital programs and services like Meals on Wheels and aging in place initiative. She advocated for legislation to strengthen the nursing home residents' Bill of Rights which also was made law this session. “Our older neighbors, friends, and loved ones deserve to age with dignity, independence, and support. The legislation we passed this session seeks to address gaps in care and improve seniors' overall quality of life. I'm proud to be a part of this effort and look forward to building on these measures in future sessions,” said Rep. Rochelle.

Here’s a closer look at the bills:

HB 6458, An Act Lowering the Age of Eligibility for Property Tax Relief for Senior Citizens and Establishing a Task Force to Protect Senior Citizens from Fraud, gives towns the ability to lower the age to provide property tax relief for seniors to 65, and as described, creates a task force to prevent seniors from fraud.

HB 6457, An Act Concerning Access to Recordings and Images from Technology Used by Nursing Home Residents for Virtual Visitation and Virtual Monitoring, expands the rights of nursing home residents and ensures their right to use technology to facilitate virtual visits with family and friends.

SB 975, An Act Strengthening the Bill of Rights for Long-Term Care Residents and Authorizing the Use of Resident Technology for Virtual Visitation and Virtual Monitoring, expands the nursing home patients' bill of rights to include a resident's right to treat their living quarters as their home, including purchasing and using virtual visitation and virtual monitoring technology.

SB 1046, An Act Concerning Long Term Care Insurance, puts in place strong consumer protections for long- term care insurance to prevent significant, unexpected rate increases and ensure affordable products are available.

The state budget continues to phase out the state income tax on pensions and annuities - exempting an additional 28 percent over the next 2 years, which will exempt in total 70 percent of this income from state taxes for most seniors.

The state budget also increases funding for nursing homes, aging in place initiative, Meals on Wheels and other services.

This is a press release from Rochelle's office.

Derby notifies residents of Aug. 1 tax deadline

Sharing a message from Derby City/Town Clerk Marc Garofalo:

"The Tax Collector has published the following notice on June 25, 2019, July 7, 2019, and July 27, 2019:

“Notice is hereby given to the taxpayers of the City of Derby that the Personal Property Taxes, the first half of Real Estate Taxes and the first half of Motor Vehicle on the October 1, 2018 Grand List are due and payable JULY 1, 2019. You have until AUGUST 1, 2019 to pay these taxes without penalty. ALL TAXES become delinquent August 2, 2019 and will be subject to interest from July 1, 2019 at the rate of one and one half percent per month. Failure to receive a bill does not invalidate the tax or any interest accrued. The Derby Tax office is located at 1 ELIZABETH ST and will be open Monday through Wednesday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm, Thursday 8:30 am - 6:00 pm and Friday 8:30 am - 12:30 pm.”

In short, the last day to pay your taxes that are due, without interest, is Thursday August 1, 2019.

City Hall will be open on August 1, 2019 from 8:30 am until 6:00 pm.

If your payment is made after August 1, 2019 at 6:00 pm then interest will be applied from July 1, 2019 to the date of payment.

If you mail your taxes and they are post marked on or before August 1, 2019 then no interest will be applied.

If your payment is post marked after August 1, 2019 then interest will be applied from July 1, 2019 to the date of payment.

Additionally, the night deposit box at City Hall is open and will be locked at 6:00 pm on Thursday August 1, 2019.

If you have deposited your tax payment in the night deposit box on or before Thursday August 1, 2019 at 6:00 pm then no interest will be applied.

Derby taxes may also be paid online.  Additional Fees will apply – Online payments can be made by clicking on the following link - https://derby-webtax.gemsnt.com/

All of the above information is pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes.

For more information visit the Tax Collector Page of the Derby website by clicking here - https://www.derbyct.gov/tax-collector

Klarides-Ditria opposes state budget's increase in taxes

HARTFORD – State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, R-Seymour, said today the two-year state budget passed in the House Monday increases taxes by nearly $2 billion and increases spending by $1 billion.

 “Legislative Democrats and the governor did nothing to cut spending, reduce the size of government, or create a sustainable pathway for future Connecticut budgets,” Klarides-Ditria said. “We still have major fiscal problems in this state and their only solution is to tax and spend more. It’s a shame that the new governor is taking the same path as past governors. We can’t continue to go down this same road.”

The budget crafted by legislative Democrats and the governor raises taxes on:

• Digital downloads
• Prepared food from grocery stores and restaurants
• Plastic bags
• Soda & Alcoholic beverages
• Bus fares
• Dry cleaning
• Parking
• Rideshare services
• Safety Apparel

In addition, the budget while eliminating the business entity tax increases business filing fees and changes the pass-through entity tax, which will result in a $50 million tax increase.

Klarides-Ditria said Republicans offered a number of amendments to help improve the state budget but they were all rejected by House Democrats.

The Republican amendments included the following:

• Preserve the property tax credits businesses receive operating as LLCs. The Democrats, just a year removed from implementing the credit, reduced it costing taxpayers $50 million in income taxes;
• Block the re-financing of the teachers’ pension fund that will cost the next generation of taxpayers $27 billion more because the payments will be stretched out for an additional 14 years;
• Block the diversion of $171 million over the next two years in new car sales revenue from the STF to the general fund.

The budget passed 86 to 65 and now awaits action by the Senate.

This is a press release from Klarides-Ditria's office.

JA teams with Ansonia Charger Club to teach financial literacy

Megan Kozlowski and her mom, Michelle Kozlowski. participate in Ansonia Charger Club's Financial Literacy Night with Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut. 

Photo credit: Junior Achievement of Western CT.

April is Financial Literacy Month and last month Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut teamed up with local organizations to help students learn about careers, budgeting, taxes, smart credit use and insurance. 

Teachers, administrators, college students and business professionals volunteered their time to teach important financial literacy concepts to students that will help them make informed decisions as future members of the workforce

On April 5, JAWCT brought Financial Literacy Night to Ansonia Middle School students and families thanks to the Ansonia Boys and Girls Charger Club and the Avangrid Foundation, the charitable arm of AVANGRID, Inc., parent company of United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas. 

Webster Bank employees facilitated lessons on budgeting, career and college readiness, and personal branding. Volunteers from many local companies, including Bank of NY Mellon, Better Packages, Bigelow Tea, JP Morgan Chase, Odyssey Logistics & Technology, People's United Bank, Webster Bank, and Wells Fargo discussed career and education decisions with students and how those decisions will impact their future. 

Students walked away with a better understanding of personal finance and the ability to share this information with their families.

Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut was founded in 1947, and reaches over 22,500 on an annual basis throughout the Greater Danbury, Bridgeport, and Valley areas. 

Visit www.jawct.org for more information.

This is a press release from Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut.

Opinion: Ansonia alderman backs budget plan

Mayor's proposal would offer tax relief 

By Lorie Vaccaro

Second Ward Alderman

City of Ansonia

On Tuesday the Ansonia Board of Aldermen will be holding a vote on the 2015-16 budget. 
It’s a proposal I proudly support as Chairman of the Finance Sub-committee and one that fulfills Mayor Dave Cassetti’s election promise of delivering tax relief to residents and business owners. 

Lorie Vaccaro

I want to take this opportunity to share some of the details with Ansonia residents.  

If the budget is approved, taxpayers will see a one-mill tax cut, the second tax reduction in two years.  What does a one-mill tax reduction mean for Ansonia residents? It represents a 3 percent decrease in property taxes.  
In plain language, a house assessed at $200,000 would see property taxes would decrease by about $210.

Yet this budget is more than a one-trick-pony.  Beyond the tax relief, it provides for capital improvements such as the lease of a street sweeper for public works and a replacement vehicle for the fire department, along with upgrades to the animal shelter and planning costs related to a new safety facility.

The proposal also makes contributions to the City’s underfunded pension plan.  In fact, this marks the first year in over a decade that the budget will address the chronically ignored fund.

This is all a result of responsible and strategic fiscal planning on the part of Mayor Cassetti and his finance team.  Consultation with Ansonia’s outside auditing firm has revealed that the City’s general fund is being maintained at an unacceptably high level.  The proposed budget therefore leverages the overfunded reserves to provide tax relief and move Ansonia forward.  

Specifically, our auditors hold that a city’s reserves should be set at about 8 to 10 percent of the overall budget. However, the 2013-14 budget, as set by the prior administration, resulted in general reserve that represents 19 percent of the overall budget!  Moreover, the reserves have been set at an average of 16 percent of the overall budget over the past six years.  

The budget proposal also includes (for the first time) a forward-looking capital improvement plan and forecast of next year’s surplus.
In other words, it’s a well-researched plan built on solid ground.

Vaccaro is chairman of the Finance Sub-committee of the Board of Aldermen.

Gentile backs special ed reform goals

Keeping taxable property on a town’s grand list when acquired by a non-profit college or hospital, separate local property tax bills for board of education and town budgets, requiring regional common school calendars, and incentives for towns are among the various legislative proposals put forth by Speaker of the House Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, and the MORE (Municipal Opportunities & Regional efficiencies) Commission this year.

Linda M. Gentile

Deputy Speaker of the House Linda M. Gentile, D-Ansonia, is particularly pleased with the goals focusing on special education in the state.

“Special education costs are particularly high in Ansonia and Derby,” Gentile said. “If we can get a handle on those costs through working cooperatively it’s a success for all involved.”

Special Education Reform goals include:

• Providing a more efficient system and providing more accessibility to quality special education by regionalizing services and programs.
• Centralizing and coordinating transition services under one state agency.
• Re-purposing Regional Education Service Centers (RESCs) into regional special education districts.

Sharkey re-established the bipartisan, bicameral MORE panel in 2013, and charged them with helping cities and towns reduce their costs and increase efficiencies, particularly through regional cooperation, with a goal of ultimately reducing local property taxes.

This post is taken from a press release on Gentile's website.