Come join us the 2nd Monday of every month. Our monthly meetings are held at the DRTC Headquarters 31 Mill Plain Rd Danbury, CT 06811 at 7:00 pm.
A BIT ABOUT US
Working Towards a Better Tomorrow
Here at Danbury Republican Town Committee, we see the value in everyone. We want to be a catalyst for positive change, and since our beginnings, we’ve been driven by the same ideas we initially founded our Political Party Organization upon: support, empowerment, and progress.
Learn more about our mission, our vision, and how we go about making the changes we want to see.
DANBURY - A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE - RATED #1 CITY IN CONNECTICUT
Connecticut
> Best city to live: Danbury
> Population: 85,008
> Median home value: $297,600
> Poverty rate: 8.9% (lowest 25%)
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 31.3%
Located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Danbury is one of the most expensive places in the United States. Goods and services cost an average of 30.8% more in the area than they do nationwide. Though the median household income in Danbury is nearly $13,000 higher than it is nationwide, the bigger paychecks are not enough to offset the area’s high cost of living.
Despite the high cost of living, based on a range of socioeconomic measures, Danbury is the most livable city in Connecticut and one of the most livable in the United States. Danbury boasts a higher concentration of restaurants, sports teams, and theater companies than is typical nationwide. For physically active residents, the city also has a relatively high concentration of recreation centers, golf courses, and nature parks.
HOW TO KEEP DANBURY A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE
* EDUCATION: Key for us to keep our city great. Republicans finally got the state to chip in their fair share to Danbury, which we will see in upcoming years. We support Charter Schools and excellence in education and serving the communities in need the most...unfortunately we have seen this blocked and our students become political pawns. We are running to help our children and not drive a political career
* FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY: The republicans voted for smart spending and refinancing of our high interest rate debt, which saved the city $2M and allowed us to borrow at under 1% because we received our very first AAA debt rating ever (we almost lost as the democrats voted to spend and not refinance)
* PAVING OUR ROADS: We pave 15 miles a year and will continue to work hard to fix our roads. Our infrastructure is critical to our continued success
* SAFETY: While the democrats voted to limit and defund our police, we know that the key to a great city is the safety of every citizen. We support our first responders and the safety of our citizens. We don't play politics with the safety of our residents
* IMPROVING DOWNTOWN - we have already budgeted to make Downtown an amazing place to spend time
* COMMUNITY: We just finished the new Danbury High School multi purpose stadium, serving all of the community. Completed Rogers Park for everyone, have a $99M Career Academy and so much more.
* LOW TAXES: We have and will continue to represent you in keeping our taxes low, bringing in businesses to help our economy grow and making sure Danbury remains one of the best places to live in the state
WE WORK YOU FOR YOU Danbury
Keep Our Taxes Low
While Connecticut is known for high property taxes when compared to the rest of the country, the mill rate varies greatly within the state – from 11.59 mills to 74.29 mills for the 2021 fiscal year. Danbury's mill rate is 27.6 which is lower than 72% of all the mill rates across the state. Danbury's median home value is higher than 73% of other municipalities in CT. The fiscal responsibility of the Republicans is what helps Danbury maintain the quality of life and low taxes to which we have become accustomed.
What are Mill Rates?
Mill rates are used to calculate property taxes, with each municipality in charge of setting the mill rate. This applies to both real estate (homes) and personal property (cars). The mill levy is calculated by determining how much revenue each jurisdiction will require from taxes to fund its budget for public services. Public services may include things such as public schools, maintaining parks, and continuing other jurisdiction services.
When a jurisdiction generates a figure for its required revenue, it divides the revenue by the total taxable property within an area. The rate of each jurisdiction is then added together to find the mill levy for the entire area.
How to Calculate the Property Tax
Multiply the assessment of the property by the mill rate and divide by 1,000.
For example, a property with an assessed value of $200,000 located in a municipality with a mill rate of 30 mills would have a property tax bill of $6,000 per year. ($200,000 x 30 mills) ÷ 1,000 = $6,000
Below are the Connecticut mill rates by municipality for the 2021 fiscal year, sorted highest to lowest. As you can Danbury ranks 122 of 168.
MUNICIPALITY FY 2021 Mill Rate
Hartford 74.29 85. Coventry 31.17
Waterbury 60.21 86. Easton 31
Bridgeport 53.99 87. Colebrook 30.9
Hamden 51.98 88. Barkhamsted 30.77
New Britain 50.5 89. North Haven 30.72
East Hartford 49.92 90. New Hartford 30.63
Naugatuck 47.75 91. Southington 30.63
Torrington 46.17 92. New Fairfield 30.58
New Haven 43.88 93. East Haddam 30.44
Derby 43.869 94. Cromwell 30.33
Scotland 42.65 95. Deep River 29.99
Norwich 42.06 96. Willington 29.99
West Hartford 41.8 97. Brookfield 29.65
Woodbridge 41.53 98. North Stonington 29.5
Meriden 40.86 99. Columbia 29.33
Wethersfield 40.69 100. Voluntown 29.21
Plymouth 40.63 101. Wallingford 29.19
Stratford 39.64 102. Woodbury 29.17
Vernon 39.63 103. Griswold 29.1
Granby 39.61 104. Southbury 29.1
Newington 39.28 105. Union 28.99
Bolton 38.86 106. Branford 28.92
Bristol 38.35 107. Brooklyn 28.92
New London 38.19 108. New Milford 28.68
South Windsor 37.88 109. Suffield 28.64
Ansonia 37.8 110. Chester 28.62
West Haven 37.48 111. East Lyme 28.36
Simsbury 37.09 112. Madison 28.35
Glastonbury 36.9 113. Plainfield 28.33
Ashford 36.836 114. North Canaan 28.25
Windham 36.8 115. Lebanon 28.2
Bethany 36.56 116. Ridgefield 28.12
Manchester 36.52 117. Harwinton 28
Hebron 36.33 118. Farmington 27.97
Marlborough 36.27 119. Waterford 27.87
Thomaston 36.13 120. Litchfield 27.7
Tolland 36.05 121. Milford 27.68
Seymour 36 122. DANBURY 27.6
Beacon Falls 35.9 123. Hartland 27.5
Middletown 35.8 124. Wilton 27.4616
Durham 35.78 125. Somers 27.37
Sprague 35.7558 126. Bozrah 27
Andover 35.61 127. Preston 26.9
Monroe 35.48 128. Fairfield 26.79
Middlebury 35.1 129. Pomfret 26.76
Bloomfield 35.01 130. Killingworth 26.72
Ledyard 34.97 131. Bethlehem 26.71
Stafford 34.93 132. Canterbury 26.4
Newtown 34.76 133. Norfolk 25.98
Trumbull 34.74 134. Windsor Locks 25.83
East Windsor 34.72 135. Canaan 25.7
Plainville 34.62 136. Eastford 25.61
Portland 34.38 137. Hampton 25.5
East Haven 34.25 138. Morris 25.17
Enfield 34.23 139. Groton 25.11
Berlin 33.93 140. Westbrook 25
Bethel 33.74 141. Killingly 24.64
Rocky Hill 33.6 142. Woodstock 24.5
North Branford 33.58 143. Thompson 24.23
Winchester 33.54 144. Norwalk 23.956
Burlington 33.3 145. Oxford 23.84
Cheshire 33.22 146. Stonington 23.36
East Granby 33.2 147. Lisbon 23.23
Watertown 33.19 148. Franklin 23.22
East Hampton 33.14 149. Old Lyme 23.2
Wolcott 33.14 150. Shelton 22.42
Windsor 33.11 151. Essex 21.81
Avon 32.9 152. Putnam 20.84
Colchester 32.84 153. Old Saybrook 20.05
Redding 32.84 154. Lyme 19.95
Orange 32.74 155. Goshen 19.6
Ellington 32.6 156. Sherman 19.11
Canton 32.59 157. Kent 18.61
Chaplin 32.5 158. New Canaan 18.164
Montville 32.38 159. Bridgewater 17.5
Weston 32.37 160. Westport 16.71
Guilford 32.31 161. Cornwall 16.7
Middlefield 32.23 162. Darien 16.33
Salem 32.2 163. Roxbury 15.8
Sterling 31.94 164. Sharon 14.4
Haddam 31.69 165. Warren 14.25
Prospect 31.6 166. Washington 14.25
Mansfield 31.38 167. Salisbury 11.6
Clinton 31.25 168. Greenwich 11.59
169. Stamford *25.53-26.35 has multiple mill rates
DANBURY REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE AT A GLANCE
A Distinct Identity
Welcome to the official online home of the Danbury Republicans! We are dedicated to fighting for fiscal responsibility, limited government, an environment which encourages job creation and job growth, and making sure that America remains the greatest torch for freedom in the world! Here in Danbury, led by Mayor Joseph Cavo, we have put these Republican principles into action.
Danbury Republican Town Committee knows that our strength lies not only in the words we stand by, but most importantly through the actions of our initiatives. Our Political Party Organization realized that by working together we could overcome our challenges much more efficiently, and that is why we ultimately decided to launch Danbury Republican Town Committee.
Michael Safranek, Committee Chairman
Email: danburyrtc@yahoo.com
DANBURY CITY GOVERNMENT
Dean Esposito
MAYOR
203-797-4511
mayor@danbury-ct.gov
Daniel Jowdy
TREASURER
203-797-4652
Janice R. Giegler
TOWN CLERK
203-797-4531
j.giegler@danbury-ct.gov
Joan Bielizna
REGISTRAR (D)
203-797-4550
j.bielizna@danbury-ct.gov
Mary Ann Doran
REGISTRAR (R)
203-797-4550
m.doran@danbury-ct.gov
Dianne E. Yamin
JUDGE OF PROBATE
203-797-4521
CITY COUNCIL
The City of Danbury’s legislative branch is known as the City Council. The City Council is responsible for governing the management of the city, which includes regulating the operations of all departments and boards. The City Council has the power to create new ordinances, and change or abolish them, in order to provide for a more efficient, safe and economically sound city. The Council consists of twenty-one members, all are residents of Danbury. There are two elected officials from each ward and seven at-large members, all of whom serve a term of two years. The current Danbury City Council consists of 14 Republicans and 7 Democrats.
AT LARGE
Emile G. Buzaid, Jr. (R) e.buzaid@danbury-ct.gov
Joseph M. Cavo (R) j.cavo@danbury-ct.gov
Jason “Jay” Eriquez (R) j.eriquez@danbury-ct.gov
Michael J. Halas (R) m.halas@danbury-ct.gov
Michael J. Esposito (R) m.esposito@danbury-ct.gov
Warren M. Levy (R) w.levy@danbury-ct.gov
Colleen A. Stanley (R) c.stanley@danbury-ct.gov
1ST WARD
Irving M. Fox (R) i.fox@danbury-ct.gov
Michael J. Masi (R) m.masi@danbury-ct.gov
2ND WARD
Vinny DiGilio (R) v.digilio@danbury-ct.gov
Elmer Palma (R) e.palma@danbury-ct.gov
3RD WARD
Jack Knapp (R) j.knapp@danbury-ct.gov
Mike Henry (R) m.henry@danbury-ct.gov
4TH WARD
Farley Santos (D) f.santos@danbury-ct.gov
Joseph W. Britton (D) j.britton@danbury-ct.gov
5TH WARD
Duane E. Perkins (D) d.perkins@danbury-ct.gov
Fred Visconti (D) f.visconti@danbury-ct.gov
6TH WARD
Benjamin Chianese (D) b.chianese@danbury-ct.gov
Paul T. Rotello (D) p.rotello@danbury-ct.gov
7TH WARD
Nancy Cammisa (R) n.cammisa@danbury-ct.gov
Richard W. Molinaro (D) r.molinaro@danbury-ct.gov
Accomplishments
Each month the City Council is charged with voting on various agenda items. Council members spend countless volunteer hours reviewing these items to make informed decisions for the citizens, taxpayers, and stakeholders of the City of Danbury. Despite the state governments continued fiscal upheaval, the City Council was able to pass a balanced $257,000,000 budget while being able to decrease the mill rate by 1.35 mills. The budget also addressed our continued our commitment to our children’s education with a 4% increase to ensure that Danbury’s next generation of leaders receives the funding that they require to remain competitive. With this budget, we have been able to position Danbury on an extremely sound financial footing for years to come as evidenced by our recently awarded credit rating. Throughout the year the Council approves appointments to boards and commissions, and promotions to city departments.
Mission
As the legislative body of the City, the City Council is empowered to enact, amend or repeal ordinances. The City Council approves the appropriation of funds, adopts the City’s Operating and Capital Budgets, sets the mill rate, and has overall legislative oversight over the City of Danbury. The City Council shall be vested with the legislative power of the City. The Council, by majority vote with the Mayor’s approval or 2/3 vote with the Mayor’s disapproval, shall have the power to enact, amend or repeal ordinances and to create or abolish by ordinance, boards, commissions, departments, and offices. Every ordinance shall be published within 10 days after enactment. Upon a petition of not less than 15% of the electors of the City filed with the Town Clerk within 30 days after publication of any ordinance, asking that the ordinance be submitted to the voters of the City at the next regular or special meeting, the ordinance shall be submitted and it shall not become effective unless a majority of the voters at such a meeting vote in favor. An ordinance stated to be a public emergency measure shall become effective immediately after publication and no public hearing is required. For a detailed description of the City Council’s responsibilities please refer to the section of the City Charter listed as “The City Council.”
