An image from last month's Seymour Board of Finance meeting.
SEYMOUR – The town’s budget process for 2022 – 2023 is about to start.
The Seymour Board of Finance will hold its first workshop at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 2) via Zoom. The agenda is available on the town’s website. Most of the workshops will be held virtually, for safety’s sake, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The first department on the hot seat will be the Board of Education. School officials unveiled a bombshell at its own budget workshop meeting on Jan. 24, saying the district is facing an $839,000 deficit, which they said was due to a miscalculation of employee benefits.
(FYI, the school board is scheduled to meet tonight (Monday, Jan. 31, 2022) at 7 p.m. for its own school budget meeting. CLICK HERE for an agenda.)
In Seymour, all town departments, plus the school board, present budgets to the board of finance. Ultimately voters get to weigh-in on the budgets during a referendum in the spring.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis, prior to each department submitting their requests, asked everyone to hold the line on their budgets.
“I asked for a flat budget from all departments,” Drugonis said. “We all are feeling the rise in inflation from our own homes to the municipalities. I am hoping for no tax increase, as my taxes go up, as well, because I live here, as well.”
Finance Board Chairman Bill Sawicki said the board is mindful of people struggling to make ends meet, due to inflation and uncertainty with the economy.
“Our board understands the economics that are currently in play,” Sawicki said. “We will do our best to balance protecting the taxpayers’ interests with continuing to move the town forward.”
Here’s a breakdown of the upcoming workshops (all, except for Drugonis’ presentation, are scheduled via Zoom):
Board of Education: Wednesday, Feb. 2 @ 7 p.m.
Police: Monday, Feb. 7 @7 p.m.
Public Works: Wednesday, Feb. 9 @7 p.m.
Parks: Wednesday, Feb. 9 @7:30 p.m.
Town Building: Wednesday, Feb. 9 @8 p.m.
Town Information Systems: Wednesday, Feb. 9 @8:15 p.m.
Seymour Events Committee: Monday, Feb. 14 @7 p.m.
Library: Monday, Feb. 14 @7:15 p.m.
Tax Collector: Monday, Feb. 14@7:30 p.m.
Town Clerk: Monday, Feb. 14 @7:45 p.m.
Fire Department: Wednesday, Feb. 16 @7 p.m.
Fire Marshall: Wednesday, Feb. 16 @7:30 p.m.
Communications/Emergency Mgt: Wednesday, Feb. 16 @8 p.m.
Recreation: Wednesday, Feb. 16 @8:15 p.m.
Tax Assessor: Wednesday, Feb. 23 @7 p.m.
Registars: Wednesday, Feb. 23 @7:15 p.m.
Building Compliance: Wednesday, Feb. 23 @7:30 p.m.
Culture and Arts: Wednesday, Feb. 23 @7:45 p.m.
Once the workshops are over, the board will begin budget deliberations starting Feb. 28, which are expected to run through March. Drugonis is scheduled to give her budget presentation to the board at 7 p.m., March 2, in person, at Seymour Town Hall.
A budget estimate and mill rate are due to the Town Clerk’s office by April 1. The board will then hold a town hearing on the proposed budget no later than April 10 and the annual town meeting before May 1. A town-wide referendum will then be scheduled later this spring for residents to cast their ballots on the budget.
Voters approved the current $59.2 million budget (with a 1.8 percent increase) for 2021 – 2022 last May during a daylong referendum that drew a dismally low turnout. Just 4.6 percent of the town’s 11,300 registered voters cast ballots, but it was enough to approve both the town and schools budgets on one try.
More information about the annual budget process can be found on the town’s website:
