Norwich City Council approves budget with 6 percent tax increase
Norwich – The City Council voted 5-2 along party lines Monday to approve a $121.1 million combined school and city budget that calls for a 2.35-mill tax increase citywide. That comes to a 6 percent tax increase citywide.
In all the budget is $2.6 million more than the current budget.
The council approved several last-minute cuts in the city government portion of the budget totaling $264,943 before approving the overall package. Those cuts included $219,000 submitted by individual departments and an additional elimination of a fire code clerk position proposed by Mayor Deberey Hinchey.
Two weeks ago, the council agreed to add $1.7 million to the school budget that Acting City Manager John Bilda had proposed, bringing the new total to $74 million -- still $1.8 million lower than the Board of Education initially requested.
The citywide tax rate would rise to 40.9 mills, and property owners in the central city paid fire district will pay an additional 7.16 mills, down slightly from this year’s 7.38 mills. Taxpayers in the five volunteer fire districts will pay an additional 0.49 mills to cover volunteer firefighter pensions.
In the four votes to approve the budget and set the three tax rates, aldermen voted 5-2, with the five Democrats – Hinchey and aldermen William Eyberse, Terell Wilson, Mark Bettencourt and Council President Pro Tempore Francois, “Pete,” Desaulniers – voting in favor and the two Republicans, Sofee Noblick and William Nash voting against the budget.
“I cannot in all good conscience support this budget,” Noblick said. “This tax increase is too high.”
Hinchey, however, said the city needed to invest in the public school system. She recalled that five years ago the city increased the police force, reviving community policing and now the schools need that same commitment.
The board’s budget expenditure committee will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday and the full board at 5:30 to adopt a final budget. The plan will include converting Teachers’ Memorial Middle School into an all-sixth grade school in the upper two stories to save money. The lower level will house the city’s elementary special education school now at the Hickory Street School.
School officials hope with more space for the special education program, several students now at high-cost private programs can return to Norwich.
Superintendent Abby Dolliver said the budget will require cutting about five or six teaching positions and another seven or eight para-educators. Some of those people could be recalled in different positions if the state approves the city’s Alliance District grant, she said.
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