You’ve already heard about the budget multiple times, but last night, First Selectman Bill Morrisson gave the Board of Finance (BOF) a look at the town side of the budget. On Wednesday, March 20, the BOF is holding a public hearing at the Stafford Community Center at 6:30 p.m. The public will get its first look at this year’s proposed budget.
People will have the opportunity to ask questions and give their opinions on the budget's current state. The BOF will consider the feedback before making recommendations. After last night’s BOF meeting, it seems certain cuts will be recommended, so here’s what you need to know before attending the budget hearing.
Town Budget
Proposed ‘24-’25 budget - $16,579,589.50
Increase from ‘23-’24 - $1,388,819.50
Percent Increase - 9.14%
This number includes the library budget, which the select board does not actually have oversight of. This budget request also includes a big bump for the general highways department, which includes an $850,000 increase in the paving budget.
School Budget
Proposed ‘24-’25 budget - $31,420, 854.90
Increase from ‘23-’24 - $1,167,992.85
Percent Increase - 3.86%
This budget has already gone through a round of cuts at the request of the Board of Education. The most important thing to know about the school budget at this point is that 3.06% of the increase is for meeting contractual obligations. Just .80% is for things the schools would like to do – like replace equipment or hire two tutors (you can read more about how those tutors fit in here).
What’s at stake in this year’s budget?
After the budget presentations at the March 13 BOF meeting, Chair Steve Geryk pointed out that the only time the town raised the mill rate by more than one mill was when the Selectman set it because the town could not pass anything at a referendum. As it stands, the current budget would represent an increase of more than 2.5 mills.
In other words, if history is our guide, the town still needs to make significant cuts to pass the budget on the first try. Geryk estimates that cuts would need to be around $900,000. Because the schools constitute two-thirds of the budget and the town accounts for one-third, the schools are likely to bear the brunt of those cuts.
So, roughly $600,000 would need to be cut (or alternatively funded) from the school side of the budget. Geryk said the town has money from the sale of the Borough School that could offer about $200,000 from capital improvements to help fund some of the projects the schools need to undertake, bringing down the amount they need to cut.
The current proposed increase to the school budget is $1,167,992.85, which means a $600,000 cut would require cutting the increase by more than half. However, with 3.06% of the 3.86% increase request representing mandated increases, cuts of even $400,000 would likely mean making more cuts to the schools—not just putting off some of the nice-to-haves.
On the town side, the most straightforward and logical place to find $300,000 to cut is the paving budget. With a total of $1,000,000 dedicated to paving in this year’s budget, that would drop the total down to $700,000, with roughly $150,000 going toward routine maintenance like filling potholes and replacing curbs.
Now, you have the information you need to formulate questions before the budget hearing. See you there!