Can government spending decline next year even though health insurance increases are projected to increase by 10 percent? That feat is the promise of the town government budget adopted by the Board of Selectmen recently. The proposed $14.8 million budget is $459,969 less than the current year's $15.2 million town government budget. If approved, it would drop town government spending by 3.01 percent next year.

"The premise of this budget is to have no budget increase. We did not lose the state [town aid] revenues this year, but we will next year. What I'm looking to do is to mitigate any costs going forward. This budget sets up the base for the next three or four years out," said First Selectman Michael Pace.

Pace said his goal is to have a lower mill rate next year than this year.

"The budget does not cut programs, there are no give-backs, no lay-offs. We're looking at delivering services at a reduced unit cost. We're not cutting maintenance. There's the same amount going into capital reserve funds," continued Pace. "I also tried to put dollars in the budget for the municipal building sinking fund."

Pace said he wants to add funds to the municipal building sinking fund to allow the town to pay cash for soft costs like architectural fees associated with a new police station.

"The soft costs are what we're saving for," said Pace.

The town budget does add funding to support one more police patrolmen instead of the three that the police department had requested. Police Commission Chairman Christina Burnham feels that's insufficient.

"We have left one [new] position in the budget that we want to hire in January. We want to be clear to you we still believe we need to add one [patrolman] per shift," Burnham said.

Pace's overall proposal reflects his plan to flat-fund the Board of Education (BOE) at a zero percent increase. This could be challenging. The education budget the BOE adopted last week represents a 1.47 percent increase over this year and already reflects a zero percent wage increase (without step advancement) for the district's certified teachers next year (see "Proposed Schools Budget Up 1.47 Percent" on page 13).

If the Board of Finance decides to flat-fund the BOE as proposed by the selectmen, the town and schools net spending will be 1.24 percent lower next year than this year.

The selectmen's town budget reductions were spread across many areas. Through a bond refunding sale, the town will pay a lower interest rate to municipal bond investors next year, helping to reduce the town's annual debt payments next year by $199,719.

Other savings were achieved in a new financing structure for the town's Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) as it moves next year from septic upgrade planning to construction. Pace described two funding budgets for the WPCA work next year: the WPCA operating budget and the annual draw-down plan for the state-approved WPCA Clean Water Funds.

"The town referendum [establishing the Wastewater Management District] was for $43 million-our [town government] share is a $10 million loan through the Clean Water Funds and a $10 million grant from the Clean Water Funds; another

$23 million is from residents'" payments of their share of each septic upgrade's costs, said Pace.

In the financing plan for the Wastewater Management District's septic upgrade projects, each property owner pays 50 percent of the cost to upgrade his or her septic systems, the town pays 25 percent, and 25 percent is paid by a Clean Water Fund grant. Gratia Lewis, the WPCA's financial coordinator, said that the average cost of a conventional septic upgrade now is about $7,300.

At the selectmen's meeting this month, Lewis said, "This [budget] year is different in terms of the fact we're starting construction. The operating budget [for the WPCA] reflects those things which are not eligible for reimbursement by the Clean Water Fund."

Next year's WPCA operating budget is $20,000 lower than the current budget at $144,192 compared to this year's $161,784.

In summing up the town's proposed budget before the selectmen's unanimous vote to adopt, Pace said, "I'm looking for no new taxes next year."