June 7, 2012
Budget Update
Last week, the town meeting unanimously passed both the town and school budgets on to a June 12th referendum. All questions regarding bonding have been removed from the ballot so the only two questions are the town and school budgets.
The proposed combined budget is now lower than the current year’s budget. This is the first time in at least 20 years that the combined budget has been decreased. The reductions made on both the town and school budgets will impact the services we deliver and further reductions will cause even more dramatic changes.
The hours of the library are being reduced from 56 hours per week to 49. The Economic Development Coordinator position has been eliminated. Some programming at the Senior Center and Social Services has been reduced. The originally proposed road maintenance budget will be decreased by$50,000. All told, the proposed town budget will be reduced by over $860,000 compared to this year’s budget. This is a 6.6% decrease in spending versus the current fiscal year budget.
If the proposed budget is not passed, there will be further reductions. We have reached a point where these further reductions could dramatically impact the services that residents receive. This is your community and the boards will make the tough decisions if that is what we are asked to do. However, please consider the ramifications of this path. I think it’s important to all of us to have a community we all are proud to call home.
The budget now moves to the voters for a referendum on June 12th from 6AM – 8PM. Voting for all districts will occur at Town Hall. All of the budget information is on the town website at www.colchesterct.gov. Please take some time to read the information for yourself and always feel free to contact me or another elected official with any questions.
Ignore Misinformation
Unfortunately, some people have been making false claims about the budget and your taxes. This is regrettable and not conducive to a good dialogue on such an important matter. Claims that there is a large budget increase or a large tax increase are simply not true.
The facts are very simple. The combined proposed budget is decreasing and 65% of all residential real estate will see a tax decrease. Please don’t be fooled by misinformation. You have the ability to go to the town website and see exactly what will happen to your real estate taxes. You can also contact town hall with any questions.
My hope is that everyone votes knowing the correct information. I believe that every voter is capable of making a decision on what they think is best for themselves and the town as long as they take the time to read the facts.
- Gregg Schuster First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at |
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