Seymour voters delivered a split decision at a budget referendum Thursday, approving the town’s spending plan for 2015 – 2016 but rejecting the school budget.
The $23.3 million town budget passed by a vote of 621 – 563.
The $32.7 million school budget was rejected 642 – 542.
Click the video to see election moderator Wesley Nelson read the results in the town’s polling place, the Community Center on Pine Street (Note: the numbers from the video do not include absentee voters).
Roughly 12.5 percent, or 1,187 people, of the town’s 9,423 registered voters cast ballots. That’s down slightly from the first budget vote last year, when voters rejected both budgets.
“Pathetic,” said Cindy Dion, a resident who had come to hear the results. She hoped the school budget would pass.
The Valley Indy asked readers why the school budget failed. Click the box to read what people wrote:
Excuse me, Seymour. Why was the school budget rejected tonight?
Posted by Valley Independent Sentinel on Thursday, April 30, 2015
Board of Education Chairman Yashu Putorti blamed the school budget’s defeat on the disappointing turnout.
“Our goal was to get more ‘yes’ votes out, that’s what we tried to do,” Putorti said. “This is the lowest turnout for a first-time vote that I can recall, and only 539 ‘yes’ votes. Where are all the parents with kids in the school system, that hopefully support the school system?”
He said there are typically about 600 to 700 ‘no’ votes on the school budget at any referendum, regardless of the amount proposed for schools.
School officials had hoped to turn out parents by marketing their spending plan aggressively, including a webinar hosted by the Valley Indy explaining the budget.
“We have 2,300 students in the district … and we get 539 votes?” Putorti said. “It’s very discouraging. It tells me the people aren’t coming out to speak their mind.”
Finance board Chairman Bill Sawicki said the school budget will be the subject of a special meeting Tuesday (May 5) at 7 p.m. in Town Hall.
After the finance board makes adjustments, the school budget will once again be put to voters at a referendum May 14.
Putorti said the school board will decide on where specifically to cut its budget once residents approve a dollar amount for next year.
First Selectman Kurt Miller said he was “quite happy” the town’s side of the budget passed muster with residents who cast ballots.
“The amount the municipal side did increase was for needed infrastructure and road projects,” Miller said.
“I do understand and recognize that taxes in Seymour are high and residents are hurting,” he said. “We worked very hard to keep the increase as low as we possibly could.”
If both budgets had been adopted, the property tax rate would have increased by 0.63 mill, for a mill rate of 34.67.
That means for a house assessed at $150,000, taxes would have gone up $94.50 year-over-year, from $5,106 to $5,200.50.
Voters approved the municipal side of the budget, where spending will increase 2.82 percent, but rejected the school budget, where spending would have increased 2.99 percent.
The total budget was $55.9 million.
