Seymour Schools Superintendent Susan Compton (left) and Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis (right).
SEYMOUR – Voters on Thursday (April 28) approved a $62.4 million town and school budget for fiscal year 2022 – 2023.
The $25.1 million town budget was approved 688 to 373.
The $37.2 million school budget was approved 589 to 475.
Those numbers included absentee ballots.
The combined town and school budget represents an increase of about $3.2 million, or roughly 5.4 percent, more than the 2021 – 2022 budget. It increased the mill rate from 34.71 mills to 35.59 mills.
That translates to an increase of about $132 more in taxes next fiscal year, which begins July 1, for a homeowner with a house assessed at $150,000.
Voter turnout was again low this year, with only about 10.2 percent of the town’s 11,260 voters casting ballots. But it was better than last year, when just 4.6 percent of registered voters cast votes.
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis was pleased the budgets were approved.
“I’m very happy it passed, it just shows the residents want to move the town forward, both on the school side and on the town side,” Drugonis said.
Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton was happy to see residents give their stamp of approval to the school budget.
“We are just so pleased and absolutely ecstatic and so thankful to the voters in supporting the school budget,” Compton said. “I cannot say enough about how everybody has put our students first. We are so grateful for how hard everyone has worked – the Board of Education, the entire school community – in doing what’s best to continue a quality school system”
Board of Education Chairman Chris Champagne expressed gratitude to the finance board.
“I’m happy that the Board of Finance gave us a chance to send the budget to the voters, and I’m glad the town came out and we got it done,” Champagne said.
The budget, in part, gives $4.5 million to the police department, which includes addition of a second deputy police chief; $1.8 million for public works; $1.5 million for waste collection; $462,000 for community services (recreation/senior center) and $435,097 for the fire department. It also includes 2.5 percent contractual raises across the board for town employees, except for Drugonis, who opted not to take a raise in her pay next year.
