The Seymour Board of Selectmen has officially passed the town’s proposed $54.6 million budget on to voters.
Now the fate of the 2014 – 2015 spending proposal will be up to the people, who can vote in a daylong referendum May 1 at the Seymour Community Center.
Budget Details
The budget proposal — at $54,641,581 — would raise town spending by $1.65 million, or 3.12 percent.
If approved by voters, the proposal would increase the tax rate by 1.15 mills — from the current 33.23 mills to 34.38 mills.
That means a house assessed at $150,000 would see an annual tax increase of about $172 in 2014 – 2015.
Schools Budget
Of that total proposal, $31.8 million is proposed for the school system.
That represents a 2.89 percent increase over current spending.
The schools had originally requested $32 million, but their initial proposal was trimmed by the Board of Finance.
The budget referendum asks two questions:
- Should the general town government budget of $22.8 million be adopted?
- Should the school budget of $31.8 million be adopted?
If one or both questions fails to pass, the Board of Finance will revise the proposal and the town will hold another referendum. This has happened several times, particularly with the school budget, in recent years.
In 2013 it took three tries to pass the budgets. In 2012 it took three tries to pass the town budget and four tries to pass the school budget.
Annual Town Meeting
The Annual Town Meeting, by charter, needs at least 50 citizens to meet a quorum.
Only about 25 people showed up Monday at the Seymour Middle School, many of them public officials on various boards and commissions.
So the Board of Selectmen convened to vote to send the budget to a referendum.
Polls will be open May 1 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the community center on Pine Street.
