Seymour residents could see a 1 mill tax increase next year if a draft budget from the Board of Finance is approved.
The $50.69 million proposal for 2011 – 2012 — if approved by voters — would mean residents with homes assessed at $200,000 would see a tax bill increase of about $200 next year.
The Board of Finance ironed out the line items in the budget proposal at a workshop Wednesday night, whittling the spending plan down to a 1 mill increase.
On Tuesday, the board plans to vote to set the date for a public hearing, according to Finance Director Doug Thomas.
The public hearing would likely take place the first week of April.
After that, the Board of Finance could make some more changes before sending the proposal to voters at a referendum.
Under the proposal, the tax rate would be 27.78, up from 26.78.
The budget-to-budget spending increase is 2.68 percent.
Click play on the video to see discussion during the second half of the workshop. Video is provided by resident Frank Loda, and can also be viewed at this link.
More For Schools, But ‘Still Disappointing’
The $50.69 million budget proposal includes $29.8 million for the Board of Education.
That’s more than the Board of Finance discussed at a workshop last week, but still less than what the Board of Education had asked for in order to fund all its base programs and a few new items.
In all, the proposal represents an increase for the Board of Education of about $722,000 — or about 2.48 percent.
The board had asked for a 3.9 percent increase, citing years of flat funding and rising costs across the board.
Board of Education member Bruce Baker said the Board of Finance appears to set the town side of the budget, then give the schools whatever is left over.
“The kids in town are second-class citizens,” Baker said. “So we get what’s left of an arbitrary 1 mill number.”
“While it’s nice to get a little more, it’s also disappointing,” Baker said during the public comment at the meeting.
Superintendent MaryAnne Mascolo urged the Board of Finance members to change their minds and present the Board of Education’s original $30.2 million request to voters at the public hearing and referendum next month.
‘No Other Recourse’
William Ferris, a parent who offered to pay for the budget referendum if the Board of Finance passed along the school budget as-is, echoed Mascolo’s statements.
And, Ferris said, he won’t ever vote in favor of a town budget again until residents get to vote on an original Board of Education budget proposal.
“There’s no other recourse here,” Ferris said at the meeting Wednesday. “I don’t understand what the fear is of letting us vote on it.”
Board of Finance Chairman Robert Koskelowski said his decision’s aren’t anti-education. He said voting against the town budget as retribution doesn’t help the town work together or move forward in tough economic times.
“I’m going to try to do the best I can for this town,” Koskelowski said at the end of the meeting. “And you’re going to be disappointed in me and some of the decisions I’m going to make. But it’s nothing against education. Believe me, I support education.”
