Seymour’s Board of Finance voted unanimously Monday to send a $53.2 million budget proposal, based on a 33.46 mill rate, to a May 9 referendum.
The budget proposal represents a 2.88 percent increase in total spending over the current budget, and a 1.91 percent increase in the mill rate if the budget is approved. The spending plan is more than $500,000 lower than the one the board presented to voters at a public hearing last week.
The biggest change the finance board made Monday was to remove $377,000 that had been included in the budget to pay for police officers at schools — an adjustment requested by the school board’s chairman.
The town’s mill rate would go from 32.83 to 33.46 if the budget were approved as it is.
That means a person who owns a house assessed at $230,000 would see their property taxes go from $7,550.90 to $7,695.80, an increase of $144.90.
The town’s annual budget meeting, where taxpayers can comment on the final budget before it goes to a vote, is scheduled for April 30.
Funding For Officers Removed
The finance board voted not to include $377,000 that had been originally included in the budget to fund four school resource officers.
There will be an advisory question on the ballot notifying voters that the funding for the SROs isn’t in the budget, and asking them to indicate “yes” or “no” regarding funding the positions.
But as an advisory question, it would not bind the town to a specific course of action.
The question could show the finance board “how we proceed down the road,” said Trish Danka, the board’s chairman.
School board members have said they don’t want the town to spend $377,000 to hire a full-time school resource officer for each of the town’s four schools.
Board of Education Chairman Yashu Putorti made a statement to that effect at the April 10 budget public hearing.
The Board of Education wants to wait until the town-wide security committee -— formed in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December -— has a full recommendation before it starts making major changes, Putorti said.
Click here to read more.
Several finance board members said on Monday they wanted the money for the SROs removed, because there was no security plan in place.
Also, school officials reasoned that over-funding the security area might jeopardize receiving state funding, Danka said.
Other Changes
In addition to cutting the funding for the SROs, the board also agreed on $155,021 in cuts from various other line items, including public works overtime and snowplowing, and police and public works department salary line items.
The cuts, many of which were recommended by First Selectman Kurt Miller, don’t take into account contract negotiations, Miller said.
The board opted to add $3,000 back into the public library technology line item, based on feedback from the budget public hearing.
The proposed $31 million school budget reflects a $61,000 reduction in the area of health insurance.
Residents will vote on the town and school budgets separately at referendum.
