Waterford RTM passes final budget with 0.25 mill tax increase
Waterford — The Representative Town Meeting, the 22-member body charged with conducting a final review of the town’s budget each year, decided on final numbers for spending on general government, education and capital projects in fiscal year 2018 Thursday night.
On the last day of four budget hearings, the RTM passed slightly under $32.2 million in spending for general government operations, $11.4 million in capital and debt spending and a nearly $47.3 million school budget.
Overall, the town and school district budgets will require a tax rate of 27.03, an increase of a quarter of a mill, or less than one percent, over the current year. A mill equals $1.00 in taxes for each $1,000 of assessed value on a property.
That represents a $39.37 tax increase on the average Waterford home valued at $157,500, according to Board of Finance member John “Bill” Sheehan.
The relatively low increase over last year largely was attributed to a $1.2 million revenue boost from the grand list, or the total amount of taxable property in the town, mostly due to improvements at the Millstone Power Station.
Waterford school officials and a crowd of district teachers filled the Town Hall auditorium to defend a 3 percent spending increase Thursday. Most of that increase represents union-negotiated salaried and fixed costs, Giard told the board Thursday.
The RTM approved the school budget without changes, prompting a round of applause from the audience.
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