May 24, 2012
Budget Update
As you know, voters did not pass the proposed budgets a couple weeks ago. One of the great facets of our system of government is that ultimately, the citizens get to directly vote on the level of spending and taxes at the local level. In fact, the local budget vote is really the only time in this state where the voter has a direct say on what the government budget should be.
A lot of work went into these budgets both from staff and from volunteer board members. We all try to put forward what we think represents the will of the community. Sometimes though, we miss the mark and clearly this was one of those occasions.
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been working on making reductions to the overall budget. The new proposed budget cuts approximately $683,000 from the previously proposed combined budgets. If passed, this will bring the combined town and school budget to a level of spending lower than the current year’s budget.
This is a significant change as it marks the first time in at least 20 years that the combined budget has actually decreased. This does not come without some reductions in services though. Many items were cut from the town and school budgets, but I would like to point out a few of them.
First, we are reducing the hours of the library. The operating hours of Cragin Memorial Library will go from 56 hours per week to 49. Another cut is the elimination of the Economic Development Coordinator position. We will also not fund some programming at the Senior Center and Social Services. Finally, we will be maintaining our current level of spending on our road maintenance by eliminating a $50,000 increase.
These are just some of the cuts we have made to decrease the level of spending. Additionally, we will not be asking any bond questions on the next vote. If the next budget does not pass and more cuts are required, we will likely be discussing transformative cuts. This could include elimination of certain services, mergers of departments, and other sharp reductions.
The next step is a Town Meeting on May 31st followed by a referendum on June 12th. As always, we will be putting all budget information on the town website and I urge everyone to see the numbers for yourself. Also, always feel free to contact me or another elected official with any questions. We all want everyone to have the right information when they go to vote.
Revaluation Explained
Although voters were clearly concerned over the level of spending, there was also a good deal of misunderstanding surrounding the impact of revaluation. I talked with many people who thought their taxes were going up when in fact, their taxes were actually going down. Due to revaluation, the vast majority of residential real estate decreased in assessed value. This necessitates an increase in the mill rate just to maintain the current level of spending. Although the mill rate increases, that does not mean your taxes will increase. I urge everyone to do the comparison to see the actual impact to your taxes. If you need assistance, please feel free to contact the Tax Assessor or Tax Collector’s office.
Over the next couple of weeks we will be providing as much information as possible to the public on the new proposed budget and I hope everyone will stay engaged in the process.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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