Members of the Seymour Board of Finance, the group of volunteers who review spending and revenue projections.
SEYMOUR – Budget season is officially underway with the police department submitting spending plans last week for review by the town’s board of finance.
The budget is the document that determines how much you’ll pay in taxes for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Members of the Seymour Board of Finance held their first budget workshops Feb. 3 and Feb. 5.
The board will continue meeting with town department heads to discuss their individual budget requests throughout February and March. The meetings will take place at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at Seymour Town Hall. Click here to see agendas published to the town’s website.
The meetings are open to the public, with opportunities for residents to speak during two public comment sessions, one at the start and one at the end of each meeting.
The meetings are also being live-streamed through the town’s YouTube channel.
Seymour Police Budget
Seymour Police Chief John Bucherati proposed a $4.8 million police budget for fiscal year 2025 – 2026 that carries a 2.3 percent spending increase.
The proposed police budget is $108,973 more than the current budget.
Watch the chief’s budget proposal here:
Among the new spending: a 2.5 percent raise for the department’s 38 uniformed officers, $79,000 for a new police cruiser, an additional $25,000 in overtime, nearly $11,000 to hire an additional crossing guard, $10,000 increase in gas and $9,000 increase in maintenance and repairs, according to Bucherati.
He also detailed areas where the department cut back.
Bucherati said the budget eliminates one of the two deputy police chief positions (saving $96,058), cuts the chief’s assistant position from full-time to part-time (saving $26,854) and reduces the number of school resource officers from two to one (saving $85,533).
“This is a responsible budget put forth by the police department,” Bucherati said. “Through automation and consolidation of tasks, some significant savings were realized, and we are still able to move the department forward with new technology to make our officer’s jobs easier and safer.
The Process
Once all the department heads submit their budget requests and following the presentation of First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis’ budget (scheduled for 7 p.m. March 3), the board will begin budget deliberations.
Once the board approves a budget, it will go to a public hearing and ultimately be sent to voters at the annual budget referendum later this spring.
Last year, voters approved a $66.4 million town and school budget, which carried a 0.88 mill increase. The town side of the budget was $26.6 million, and the Seymour Board of Education budget was $39.7 million.
The Schools
Last month the school board approved a $42.9 million budget, which represents a $3.1 million, or 7.9 percent, increase over the current budget.
School officials are scheduled to present their budget to the finance board at a workshop set for 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at town hall.
The Schedule
The finance board’s schedule for the remaining budget workshops is as follows:
*Feb. 12, 7 p.m.: Town Clerk, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, Registrar of Voters, Library
*Feb. 19, 7 p.m.: Community Services, Fire Department, Communications/Emergency Management, Fire Marshall, Town IT
*Feb. 24, 7 p.m.: Building Compliance, Culture and Arts, Seymour Events, Finance Department, Town Revenues
*Feb. 26, 7 p.m.: Board of Education
*March 3, 7 p.m.: First Selectwoman’s budget
