Council Passes Budget with Tax Increase

On Monday, Milford City Council passed a balanced budget with a one cent per $100 of assessed value as opposed to the originally proposed 2.5 cent increase. The total budget for FY2027 is $76.2 million, up slightly from the $75.4 million budget passed for FY2026.

“First, I want to thank our finance team, especially, Lou, Kevin and Sandra, for all the work that they’ve done and our department heads and their teams for all the work they put in for this budget proposal to get this to where it is this evening,” City Manager Chris Coleman said. “As you will recall, the initial budget called for a 2.5 cent increase. This budget also has an increase, but only one cent as council has done in the past. It does include some deferrals that are being asked for and I want to certainly thank all the departments that did that, both on the CIP and the operating side.”

Coleman made it clear that deferring the positions did not mean they were not needed, but that they could be deferred to future year planning. One of these positions was a part-time red light camera position which would have been civilian, not a sworn officer. Initially, the city was told the state would cover the cost of the position, but there was a change to the legislation.

“I had a conversation with the Secretary of Homeland Security at our police graduation on Friday and the understanding Is that revenues generated in the municipality are going to remain in those municipalities,” Chief Cecilia Ashe said. “What they were making reference to in the legislation is speed cameras. However, I still believe that until it is passed and we see the writing on the paper and it is signed, we defer it and just wait for the legislation to work its way through the process.”

If the state allows municipalities to keep red-light camera revenue, Ashe and Coleman wanted to be sure council was aware this position would be brought before council in the future. Ashe also agreed to adding just one officer to her force this year as opposed to three that she originally requested. City Finance Director Lou Vitola explained some of the expenses that had been cut from the budget.

“There were two- or three-years’ worth of streets ambitiously scheduled for 2027 and we have pushed those out,” Vitola said. “Some sidewalks, curbing and ADA additions were pushed to later. Years. The irrigation project at PD, that was another one that would have been nice to have, but not truly a need. Some of the bike path, streetscape projects, those are general fund heavy, but these are in various stages of design. We can bid them out and then consider them for funding in the future.”

Personnel changes include the one additional officer as well as a grant-funded Behavioral Health Unit specialist along with a part-time parks and recreation coordinator. Parks & Recreation will also have a summer intern. A full-time accounting position and an additional staff member in the clerk’s office were included in the budget. A full-time billing position and a program manager to fill the vacant engineer position was also funded. There were also additional positions added in electric, water and sewer in the FY2027 budget.

Community organizations supported by the city were also part of the budget. Carlisle Fire Company requested an increase of $145,000 from FY2026 and Vitola explained with funding constraints that increase was not possible.

“Over the last 20 years, the city has provided the Carlisle Fire Company with $3.2 million in direct support from the general fund and $1.6 million in enhancement funds,” an explanation memo in the budget packet stated. “In the last five years, the annually recurring funding was augmented to include $65,000 per year I support of EMS operations and educational support and $12,500 in the form of residency incentives for local volunteers. Further commitments for direct funding will remain a challenge for the general fund in the coming years.”

The Milford Public Library requested a $2,000 increase from last year, but the city only increased their funding by $1,000 to limit the increase to a level equal to the fire company and the museum. The Milford Museum requested a $10,000 increase, but the budget only provided them with an increase of $1,500. The library will now receive $30,000 and the museum $41,500. Downtown Milford Inc. did not request an increase from the previous year and the budget includes the same funding as last year at $50,000. The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford also did not request in an increase and will receive $35,000 for the Riverwalk Freedom Festival, the same as FY2026.

“I think all department heads have kind of reviewed everything and made concessions, particularly the police chief,” Mayor Todd Culotta said. “I don’t like tax increases, no one does. However, in our case, we are very fiscally responsible. We are a city that’s in good financial health and all things considered, with how much things would cost more now, a one cent increase per $100 property value is very fair.”

Culotta pointed out that there aren’t empty, dilapidated houses and there is investment in the city. He reminded council that some of their peers in other cities Milford’s size have had to double tax rates.

“This process has been a continuous improvement trajectory for at least the last several years,” Councilman Jason James said. “I know costs are going up everywhere and our constituents are seeing food gas and every other facet of life cost more. Anything we can do to mitigate that is beneficial and I say mitigate because we cannot avoid it all as the cost to the city to provide goods and services is going up as well.”

Councilman Danny Perez asked if Vitola felt the current budget would help manage growth in the city. Vitola felt that it was a step toward meeting the infrastructure needs that come with growth. He also felt that this was a more sustainable budget than the first presented to council. Council voted to approve the budget with a roll call vote. Councilman Dan Marabello voted yes as it was a balanced budget, and considerable thought had gone into its preparation. Councilwoman Madula Kalesis voted yes as it made sense, and it would help the city remain strong moving forward.

“I vote yes because it is steering this ship toward sustainability,” Councilwoman Nadia Zychal said. “And it’s doing so in a very reasonable way.”

Councilwoman Nina Pletcher also voted yes, stating that it was an excellent effort on everyone’s’ part and she appreciated staff for listening to council’s comments and concerns. Councilman Danny Perez also voted yes commending the finance department for excellent work.

“I vote yes on adopting this resolution for this budget, and I’d like to thank the work that has been done by our new city manager,” James said. “This was his first go-round with this council and his staff and thank you to the finance team for being attentive to council needs as we do our best to represent our constituents.”

Councilwoman Katrina Wilson also voted yes for the budget.

“I would like to say thank you to each individual department for their give and take as they had to go through this budget as well as the deliberation that took place for the council,” Wilson said. “Years ago, we used to say we were healthy, but not wealthy, so we are still standing true to who we are.”