SEYMOUR – In an effort to give the public more chances to be involved in the annual budget process, members of the finance board this year scheduled two public hearings on the proposed spending plan.
That’s never happened before.
The first hearing was held Wednesday (March 4) at Seymour Town Hall, but just two people attended.
The proposed 2026-2027 budget isn’t finished, so there’s no tax bill information just yet.
Seymour Finance Board Chairman Richard Demko said the purpose of the hearing was to simply give residents an opportunity to weigh in on what they’ve heard so far.
In Seymour, town departments and the board of education hand in budget requests to the board of finance for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2026 and ends June 30, 2027.
The finance board holds a series of meetings where they ask questions about the funding requests before settling on a recommended budget.
In Seymour, the people have the ultimate say during a public vote on the town budget and the school budget in the spring.
Right now – without making any changes or tweaks – the finance board is looking at a total spending request of $72.6 million. That’s $29.3 million on the town side and $43.3 million for the school budget. Those numbers are very likely to change as the members of the finance board take out their pencils.
The total current budget is $68.2 million.
The finance board is scheduled to review the Seymour Board of Education budget at 7 p.m. Monday (March 9) at town hall.
The school board has requested $1.9 million, or 4.7 percent, spending increase from the current school budget. Click here for a previous Valley Indy story.
The proposed school budget includes increases of $738,069 and $183,669 in certified and non-certified staff pay raises.
The increases were part of a three-year teacher’s contract approved in December 2024, with 2.5 percent raises each year of the contract.
Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis is scheduled to present her budget to the finance board at 7 p.m. March 16 at town hall.
A second budget public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 19 at town hall. Drugonis encouraged residents to attend and get their questions answered.
“Now is the time to ask the department heads why does the police department have X amount of money in their budget, why does EMD (Emergency Management Department) have this amount of money in their budget,” Drugonis said. “People want to know if there’s fluff or why there’s fluff or why there’s not fluff; now is the time to ask.”
A complete list of the finance board’s public meetings can be found on the town’s website. Check out the town’s YouTube page to watch board of finance and Board of Selectpersons livestreams.