Groton — City residents and property owners will be asked to vote on the proposed $16 million budget for 2018-19 at the annual budget meeting tonight.

The meeting will be begin at 7 p.m. at the Municipal Building located at 295 Meridian St.

The budget is $898,552 less than the budget that 27 people approved at the annual meeting last year.

When the mayor and council approved the 2018-19 budget at its May 21 meeting, Finance Director Ron Yuhas said the proposed tax rate would be 4.58 mills, down from 5.22. This means property taxes will go down by $64 for every $100,000 of assessed value.

The budget was originally supposed to lower the tax rate to 4.5, but Mayor Keith Hedrick said there was a loss of $90,000 in taxes after the Board of Assessment Appeals process was completed.

Along with the decrease in the tax rate is a shift in funding of the Water Pollution Control Authority from a tax-based system to a fee-based one. All city residents who use Groton Utilities for water will incur monthly charges based on the amount of water used.

According to a May 18 letter Groton Utilities mailed to account holders, the fee is $0.054 multiplied by the number of cubic feet of water used, plus a monthly service charge. The service charge ranges from $9.40 per month for a meter size of five-eighths of an inch, to $1,081 per month for a meter size of 10 inches.

e.moser@theday.com