Groton — The Town Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a fiscal year 2022 budget of $137,736,367, which includes a $7,282,383, or 5.6%, increase over the current year’s budget.

The council sent the proposed spending plan to the Representative Town Meeting for its review and set a tentative tax rate for next year of 25.99 mills, a 0.88-mill increase over the current rate of 25.11 mills. Finance Director Cindy Landry said the council will set a final tax rate once the RTM completes its budget review.

Town Manager John Burt at a public hearing last month had presented a proposed budget of $138,647,317, which was a $8,193,333, or 6.3%, increase over the current year’s budget. Burt said the increases are primarily due to bonds for the Groton 2020 school plan, as well as capital improvement projects, subdivision requests, benefits, new staffing positions and contributions to health and service agencies.

The budget proposal uses $2,851,000 of the town’s unassigned fund balance. The overall budget incorporates $77,438,090 for education, a 0% increase over the current education budget.

"The council balanced responsible spending with investment in the future, preserving the things we love about Groton — schools, libraries, parks — while taking steps to prepare our coastal community for the future," Town Mayor Patrice Granatosky said. "Council chose not to add any new bonding for roads, as was done in the past, and instead pavement management costs are included in the annual capital improvement plan."

The council has held a series of budget review meetings.

Burt said the changes to his budget proposal include reducing $8,000 under human resources for personal protective equipment since the town has a grant to purchase PPE, reducing funding for employee benefits to reflect the correct number, and reducing capital projects.

Burt said the council reduced capital projects by $420,000 by decreasing funding for open space acquisition from $25,000 to $10,000; decreasing funding for the Town Hall Complex from $470,000 to $125,000 to allow for more discussion on how the space will be used before moving forward with more renovations; and reducing funding for a project to evaluate and create a management plan for parking in Mystic from $75,000 to $15,000 “to allow for more discussion of strategies to relieve parking issues.” The council also then shifted $231,000 in projects to be funded by Local Capital Improvement Program grant funds rather than the general fund.

The council added $44,300 to the parks and recreation budget proposed under the town manager's budget, with $40,000 for scholarships for programs and $4,300 for a part-time chaperone at the Community Center for drop-in activities, Burt said. The council also added $9,926 more for outside service agencies, such as United Community and Family Services’ behavioral health services and Meals on Wheels/Thames Valley Council for Community Action, to fully fund the agencies’ requests for next year.

The RTM on Thursday was slated to begin a series of budget reviews and must finish its budget process by midnight May 25, according to a budget schedule.

k.drelich@theday.com