North Stonington — On Monday, residents will have the opportunity to get an in-depth look at the town’s proposed 2018-19 budget at a public hearing.

At 7 p.m. at North Stonington Elementary School, town officials will present the 2018-19 budget of $19.9 million, which consists of a $5.07 million general government operating budget and $13.5 million education budget. The proposed budget also allocates $1.02 million for debt and $319,593 for capital projects.

The total budget represents a 3.48 percent increase overall from last year's spending plan, including a 1.44 percent increase in the general government operating budget and a 4.97 percent increase in the education budget.

If residents ultimately approve any kind of increase in the education budget, it would represent a serious departure from historical precedent. Since 2007 the town has approved increasing the education budget at referendum by more than 1 percent only on three occasions.

“Overall, we are really thrilled with the budget we put forth,” First Selectman Mike Urgo said. “I hope people will just take the time to really participate in the process.”

“We need the people’s input,” he added.

The overall increase in the proposed budget is driven by a couple of factors.

The proposed budget suggests making a $750,000 payment on the debt for the school modernization project. Previously in their version of budget, the Board of Selectmen suggested only making the minimum payment of $53,000 on the debt for the school project.

In the current fiscal year, the town made a $500,000 principal payment on the school project.

Another factor that heavily contributed to the budget’s overall increase is the 4.97 percent hike in the education budget. Originally the Board of Education proposed a 6.61 percent increase that included hikes in spending on several items the district elected to spend nearly no money on this school year during the spending freeze, such as instructional supplies, library books and textbooks.

The budget also calls for reductions in some areas, including a decrease in public works spending driven by reductions in the highway department. The highway department is switching to hiring two seasonal part-time workers, instead of having one permanent part-time and one permanent full-time positions.

Urgo said the proposed budget will not cut any services.

“My biggest priority was making sure we were funding things appropriately,” said Urgo, citing the schools as a specific area that frequently has been underfunded. “It’s very clear there’s not extra in the [education] budget.”

“They’re at the point where those days of zeroes aren’t happening anymore,” he added.

Even if residents ultimately are unsatisfied with the budget, at the very least this year they are getting the opportunity to express their opinion on it much sooner.

With the 2017-18 budget season, town officials waited until November to bring town and education budgets before residents for a vote, due to concerns with the state's budget issues. Ultimately, the town approved a general government budget toward the end of November, while an education budget wasn’t approved until a second referendum in mid-December.

However, this year in previous meetings members of the Board of Selectmen have suggested aiming for a referendum on the budgets about the end of May or early June. One schedule put forth at a meeting suggested a date of May 21 and another suggested June 4.

This past week Urgo said he was uncomfortable forecasting a referendum date because a lot will depend on the feedback officials get from residents at the budget hearing.

c.clark@theday.com