Bridgeport Passes Budget; Mil Rate Up 30%

In an uncannily well-timed announcement on the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Joe Ganim announced the signing of a $552 million dollar budget for the city of Bridgeport.  Included in that budget is the new mil rate for real estate and personal property taxes of 54.37, a nearly 30% increase from the prior rate.  The actual tax an individual would pay would be subject to the revaluation that went into effect this year after being delayed by the Finch administration.  Ganim claims that only 35% of homeowners will actually se an increase in their tax bill as the revaluation will largely offset the increase in the mil rate. The budget had to deal with an approximately $20 million deficit also inherited from the Finch era as well as cuts in the state budget that impacted Bridgeport.