Preston Board of Finance makes cuts to proposed budgets
Preston — The Board of Finance cut $20,000 from the proposed 2018-19 school budget and $12,000 from the town budget after lengthy discussion Tuesday night in a joint meeting of the finance, selectmen and education boards in the wake of last week’s referendum defeat of both budgets.
Board of Finance Chairwoman Melissa Lennon said residents and town officials gave mixed opinions and recommendations on whether and how much to cut the budgets. The town government budget failed by 26 votes and the education budget failed by 112 votes.
“The feedback from residents ranged from supporting no cuts, to supporting a small cut, to supporting a large cut for both budgets,” Lennon said in an email following the two-hour meeting Tuesday night. “We also had feedback that ranged from the use of no surplus, to a small amount of surplus, to using everything available.”
The Board of Finance decided to use $450,000 from the town surplus fund to help balance the budget, Lennon said, with the projected tax rate at 26.21 mills, a 0.41-mill increase from the flat budget projection.
The new proposed town government budget totals $3.484 million, a 0.98 percent increase, and the school budget totals $11.9 million, a 1.85 percent increase.
Both budgets will be discussed at a town meeting June 28, and town officials are planning to schedule a second referendum for July 10.
Lennon said the town expects to receive $427,708 in the state Mashantucket-Mohegan slot revenue grant, and the final budget shortfall from loss of state grants will be lower than expected. Lennon said the town budgeted to use $375,000 from surplus this year, and might need another $95,700 to balance the budget.
First Selectman Robert Congdon agreed with the use of town surplus funds to offset a portion of the tax increase, saying: “that’s what it’s there for.” Preston has a policy of keeping a surplus in reserve equaling 9.5 percent of the total town budget, and the current surplus is about $1 million above that cushion.
The Board of Selectmen expects to return about $60,000 in unused funds from the town budget. Board of Education Chairman Sean Nugent said the school board has committed to returning Special Education Excess Cost Sharing state grant funds to the town, about $94,000, this year, a one-time payment, Nugent said.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
