December 8, 2011
Budget Process Underway
The process has already begun for putting together the 2012-2013 budget for the town. Department heads begin the process by building budgets for their individual department and submitting it to me for review. Once the budget gets to me, I review and make changes based on what the relative priorities are for each line item.
When I have completed making revisions to the town budget, I then submit it to the Board of Finance. Per our charter, the Board of Finance has the final say on both the town and school budgets before being submitted to the voters.
As with any budget, tough choices will have to be made. Some worthy initiatives may not get funded or we may choose to reduce some services. The ultimate goal is to present a budget that meets our needs while moving to community forward. Inevitably, we begin with a budget with what we want, then move to a budget of what we need, and finally settle on a budget that we can afford.
The budget process is most effective when citizens provide input. There will be multiple opportunities for you to discuss your thoughts on the budget and what we should be funding as a community. I hope everyone will take the opportunity to get involved at some point.
Revaluation Underway
Every town is mandated by the state to revalue all properties every five years. Currently, all properties have been assessed based on relative sales in 2006. Now, properties will be assessed based on sales in 2011. This may mean an assessment drop for many properties. The actual taxes levied are a function of the property assessment and the mill rate so no property owner will know their new tax bill until the town approves a budget.
As we go through this process, town employees and contracted data collectors have been physically inspecting properties throughout Colchester. It is quite a job to inspect over 6,000 properties but things have gone very smoothly.
We are nearly at the end of the data collection process and property owners should be notified soon of their new assessment. I urge all property owners to carefully review the data submitted to them and immediately notify the Assessor’s office of any errors.
If you disagree with your assessment, there is a process to go through to have it reviewed. The town has a three member elected Board of Assessment Appeals that will hear all appeals filed by the established deadline. Please take advantage of this process if you believe your assessment is incorrect as everyone wants to ensure that fair assessments are implemented.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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