Budget hikes, state aid cuts pose challenge for Stonington
Stonington — The release of the proposed town budget and recently announced cuts in state aid mean the Board of Finance will face a challenge trying to avoid a substantial tax rate increase this fall.
The proposed town budget of $22.1 million is up $954,038 from last year, or almost 4.5 percent, the proposed school budget of $38.1 million is up $1.09 million, or 2.9 percent, and the $8.1 million needed for debt service is jumping a whopping $1.78 million, or 28 percent, as payments on the elementary school project come online.
While there are $9 million in capital improvement requests compared to the $3.1 million in the current budget, the Board of Finance is expected to substantially cut back that proposed budget.
Meanwhile, the town faces a $1.6 million decrease in state aid under Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget.
Excluding any increase in capital spending, the increases in the town and school budgets and debt payments, coupled with the decrease in state aid, mean the Board of Finance is facing a tax rate increase of about 2.1 mills compared to the current budget. The exact tax rate could be lower than it is now due to the new revaluation taking effect.
The Board of Finance has begun its budget review sessions as it examines the requests from each department and outside agencies. Those will continue over the next two months, culminating on March 28 and 29, when the board will meet to finalize a proposed budget to send to public hearings. After that, the board will approve a budget to send to a referendum vote this spring.
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