May 3, 2012
Budget Referendum Tuesday
Last week, the Town Meeting voted to send both the town and school budgets to referendum on Tuesday, May 8th from 6AM – 8PM. All districts will vote at Town Hall. After months of work, hard decisions, and votes, the final decision on this budget now rests with the voters.
The proposed town budget, which includes debt and capital, is a 3.87% decrease versus this year’s budget. The major reason for the decrease is a large drop in debt service. Another reason for the decrease is a decline in our cost of health insurance. Although there is a big drop in debt service, we must be mindful there is also a drop in revenue associated with that debt service, specifically school construction grants. If you were to remove debt and capital from the proposed town budget and look solely at operations, there is a .92% increase versus this year’s budget.
This budget is our proposed community blueprint for the next fiscal year. As always, we are not able to fund every initiative or service that we feel would benefit the community. All boards had to make difficult decisions to put forth budgets that we believe represent the will of the community.
It is very important that every citizen make an informed decision on both the town and the school budgets. To that end, we have put a lot of information on our websites and made multiple presentations over the last few months. If you have any questions, please reach out to staff members or your elected officials. We are here to answer your questions and ensure you understand the reasons behind our decisions.
Bond Questions
In addition to the budget questions, there will be three bond questions on the ballot. The first question is on bonding approximately $3.2 million for road repair. Over many years, the road maintenance budget has been cut back dramatically. When I took office, I immediately proposed increases in this area and we are now maintaining the roads at a more comfortable level. However, a decade of underfunding has taken a toll on the roads and this bond will bring the roads to a level where we can maintain them going forward.
The second bond question is for approximately $1.2 million to refurbish our heavy rescue vehicle and to purchase a new fire truck. The twenty year old heavy rescue vehicle responds to motor vehicle accidents and other emergencies that require technical rescue. The proposed new fire truck would replace one of our aging fire trucks which has exceeded its service life.
The last bond question is to purchase a 75 acre farm for $540,000. It is the goal of Colchester to preserve farms and open space for a number of reasons. We want to preserve our rural character and control residential growth. Additionally, parcels this size can be easily developed which brings more housing, families, and students to town. It is a wise investment to control this growth and avoid potential expenses. It is our hope to purchase this farm, place an easement on the property forever eliminating the development potential, and then resell it to a farmer willing to preserve the land.
If anyone has questions on any of these items, please feel free to look up the information on the town website or contact Town Hall.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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