Selectman and education officials to present budgets to Board of Finance
John Pirro, Staff Writer
Published 07:40 p.m., Wednesday, March 2, 2011
NEW FAIRFIELD -- Selectman and school officials will present their 2011-12 budget requests to the Board of Finance on Saturday.
The $47.56 million proposal includes a $38.3 million request by the Board of Education, up some $1.8 million from the current fiscal year, and $9.252 million on the town side, a cut of about $300,000.
The finance board will meet weekly to begin whittling away at the proposals before the two packages are submitted to taxpayers, Finance Director Jay Waterman said, which means the estimated tax rate of 24.31 mills -- up 1.03 mills from the current level -- will also come down.
"I don't know how much they can whittle on the town side," said First Selectman John Hodge, noting the budget request from the Board of Selectman represents a .17 percent decrease from the plan taxpayers approved last year.
The town plan makes cuts in appropriations for several departments, including the town clerk, assessor, library, police, fire, and social and senior services.
Payments to intergovernmental agencies and for property and casualty insurance are also lower than the current year. The decreases are partially offset by hikes in spending for the Board of Selectmen, building inspector, and the health and finance departments.
"We've cut the town budget by almost a half-million dollars in the last four years," Hodge said, while at the same time increasing the town's annual surplus.
Part of the reason is the town has taken in some $4.7 million in grants over the same period, he said. "For a town our size, that's a lot."
Contracted services and higher utility costs are responsible for most of the increases in the education budget, Waterman said.
The meeting is set to begin at 9 a.m. in the Community Room of the Senior Center.
Contact John Pirro at jpirro@newstimes.com or 203-731-3342.
