Montville — The 2016-17 budget proposal Mayor Ronald McDaniel presented to the Town Council Monday night would increase the town's tax rate by less than one mill, mostly to pay for road and drainage improvement projects and replacement for aging equipment, he said.

The $59.8 million budget represents a more than $1.5 million increase over the current year's budget, and focuses on capital improvement projects, McDaniel said in his presentation to the council.

The proposal would increase the tax rate to 31.06 mills, a 0.97-mill increase over the current 30.09 mill rate.

McDaniel's proposal includes $37.9 million in school funding, a cut of about $425,000 from the amount Superintendent of Schools Brian Levesque proposed — and the Board of Education approved — in February. 

Levesque’s proposal of a $38,314,631 budget included the elimination of seven teaching positions and the middle school French program.

Levesque said Monday he hoped the council's Finance Committee would reconsider the cuts, which he said would require the district to lay off additional staff members.

"I really did put forward a budget that we really need to provide our kids with the high quality that we're used to in Montville," he said. "Those cuts are going to be devastating."

The budget adds funding for a full-time firefighter at the Chesterfield Fire Company and one dispatcher who would join the three-full time emergency dispatchers who handle fire and medical calls for the town.

The additional dispatcher would allow for two dispatchers, instead of one, to be on duty during mosts shifts, McDaniel said.

McDaniel also proposed increasing the hours of a part-time information technology position to full time.

The budget proposal did not include funding for two additional police officers that Montville police Lt. Leonard Bunnell had requested.

Bunnell's request would have brought the total number of budgeted officers in the department from 26 to 28.

Bunnell requested the additional officers before the town's voters shot down a proposal that would have moved the town out of the resident state trooper program and established an independent police department.

McDaniel said in his presentation that his budget assumes no major cuts to municipal aid at the state level.

"The budget ... assumes that the General Assembly and governor will be true to their word and hold harmless our municipal aid package," he said. "That being said, we all know what's going on in Hartford."

The Town Council plans to hold public hearings for the school board budget at 6 p.m. April 26 and the general government budget at 6 p.m. April 27. Both hearings will be held at Montville High School. 

The council's Finance Committee will meet with department heads over the next several weeks to evaluate their spending proposals.

m.shanahan@theday.com