Stonington — Residents here passed the proposed 2015-16 budget and its .89-mill tax rate increase by more than a 2-1 margin on Tuesday.

The 14 percent of registered voters who cast ballots supported the $61.2 million budget by a margin of 1,290-497.

The budget approval came just two weeks after voters overwhelmingly approved a $69 million project to expand and renovate Deans Mill and West Vine Street schools.

Until recently voters here had earned a reputation for rejecting budgets multiple times until they were cut to show little or no tax increase. But over the past three years, voters have passed budgets on the first vote that called for tax increases of .35 mills, .55 mills and now .89 mills.

Town and school officials attributed this year’s passage to the unified support of the budget by the boards of finance, education and selectmen.

After the results were announced Tuesday night in Town Hall, First Selectman George Crouse said that “passing a budget on the first vote is always an accomplishment, especially in Stonington. So I want to first thank the voters for their support and their confidence in the town’s leaders who brought this budget forward.”

Crouse said that beginning Wednesday the town will begin the work to fill several positions funded in the budget: the long vacant director of planning, an assistant building official, economic development consultant, grant-writing consultant and a grant-writing secretary.

“One of the things I have learned from 40 years of coaching is that when people work together towards a common goal, good things happen,” said Crouse, the longtime tennis coach at the high school.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas