Groton City Council approves budget with no tax increase
Groton — The City Council on Monday unanimously approved a fiscal year 2021 budget that keeps the tax rate at 4.3 mills.
Next year’s $17,914,446 spending plan is $1,513,003 less than the current year’s adopted plan.
City Mayor Keith Hedrick said the city has reduced the tax rate for the last three years. This budget will maintain taxes at their current rate despite negotiated salary increases and hikes in nondepartmental costs, such as workers compensation and insurance.
The city is anticipating a decrease in building permit revenue next year, after an uptick this year due to construction at Electric Boat, he said. The city’s grand list also decreased due to legal rulings in Pfizer’s favor.
The spending plan takes $1.85 million from the city’s fund balance but maintains a healthy reserve, Hedrick has said.
The City Council had the final vote on the budget. A freeman’s meeting for residents to vote on the budget will not be held this year due to social distancing requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hedrick said Gov. Ned Lamont's executive order, which suspends in-person meeting requirements, directs municipalities to not hold public referendum votes during the pandemic.
City Councilor Gweneviere Depot said at Monday’s council meeting that while she disliked that the city has to approve the budget without holding a freeman’s meeting, she and the mayor’s office pushed out information about the budget through multiple channels and solicited input from the public. She said she did not receive any comments or questions and people seem to be satisfied with the budget presented.
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