Selectmen Ready For Three-Boards Upcoming Budget Meeting

At their meeting Feb. 9, First Selectman Willie Fritz and his board gave their final "OK" to the trimmed $14.5 million town budget prior to its debut next week to the Boards of Finance and Education.

The joint meeting will be held Feb. 15, 7 p.m., at Andrews Memorial Town Hall in Clinton.

Fritz said the proposed town budget for fiscal '11-'12 represents a 2.25 percent increase over the current budget. The Board of Education's proposed budget at $31.5 million represents a 1.71 percent increase over the current year.

Combined, the town and school budget at $46 million represent an increase of $848,247 or 1.88 percent over the current year.

Cuts and reductions in the overall budget came about as a result of the refinancing of bonds (loans) to which the town will realize a $59,000 savings this year and savings beyond 2011.

The big news, however, was a zero increase in the town's healthcare costs by its current provider, Anthem.

Because of these savings and others, officials can restore some, but not all, of the town services that were cut during last year's budget negotiations and two failed town budget referendum votes.

Services and personnel slated to be restored include some part-time employees who will return such as the lifeguard through Park & Recreation and a part-timer for the town clerk's office; marine patrol; and one crossing guard.

Fritz said the proposed tax rate or mill rate could be 22.93 (an increase of .52 over the current rate) or 22.87 (a .46 increase over the current mill rate) depending upon the rate of collection of town taxes. The current mill rate is 22.41 (tax rate of .02241).

An example of how to compute your taxes from the current mill rate:  If the full (100%) value of your home is $200,000, the assessed value at 70% is $140,000 (200,000 x .70 = 140,000). If the mill rate is 22.41, your annual taxes are $3,137.40 (140,000 x .02241 = 3,137.40).