Your Pre-Referendum Budget FAQs Answered
- Theresa Cramer
- Apr 1
- 11 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Most people don’t have time to sort through complicated budget documents or endless social media comment threads, which may or may not contain the facts you actually need to be an informed voter. So, we have rounded up the facts and the answers to some of the FAQs we have seen floating around this budget season all in one place. We will be adding new topics and answers as they arise, so check back in before the April 8 referendum.
Let’s start with the basic numbers:
Stafford Schools: Requested $32,788,741.33 for a 5.48% increase
Stafford BOS: Requested $16,433,874.50 for a .95% increase
Why and when did the assessor’s salary increase?
Under former First Selectman Sal Titus, the assessor received a $30,000 increase at the recommendation of Human Resources. This was actually done in increments, as you can see in the screenshot below from a document from February 2023. The town raised the Assessor's salary to keep an experienced employee.
Additionally, questions have arisen about the “addition” of an Assistant Assessor. The Assistant Assessor position is not new. It has always been in the budget but was moved from another account to the Assessors’ budget. The First Selectman and his team are working to place budget items in the correct departments, so several other town employees' salaries have been moved.
Added Context: There is a shortage of qualified assessors in Connecticut, making it incredibly hard to hire them, especially if you do not offer a competitive salary and benefits package. Stafford’s CFO, Yana Abramovich, told me, “For example, when I worked in East Hartford, we lost an assessor and were unable to fill the position for over two years. Currently, in East Hartford, the salary for the Assessor position ranges from $118,941 to $136,627 annually for a 35-hour workweek. The Deputy Assessor role offers a salary between $75,551 and $91,835 per year. To bridge the gap, a part-time assessor is currently handling the role, with total compensation for FY24 amounting to approximately $150K.” It’s well-known in the business world that retaining current employees is more cost-effective than replacing them, and Abramovich also pointed out that salary structures for municipal employees are changing for other reasons: “Historically, municipal employees received pensions, which provided long-term financial security and were a key component of overall compensation. However, with pensions now largely phased out or significantly reduced, the burden of retirement planning has shifted onto employees. As a result, salaries must be adjusted accordingly to remain competitive and attract qualified professionals.”
Are the town and the BOE audited? How often? How can I see the results?
Yes, all municipalities in Connecticut, including Stafford (and the school district), are audited yearly by an outside agency. Stafford has been working with Marcum, which CBIZ recently acquired. The results of the 2024 audit were presented at the February 12, 2025, Board of Finance Meeting. You can read the minutes here. In addition to auditing the books, Marcum/CBIZ makes recommendations for improving financial and accounting practices. In the past, they have recommended that Stafford increase its unassigned balance in the General Fund to align with its policies, which is considered a healthy target. Last year, Stafford added $1.2 million to the unassigned balance in the General Fund to bring the total up to $4.5 million, 9.9% of the operating budget. This is still lower than the 10-14% that the town’s policies call for. The audit also identified unspent funds in the school budget, which was moved to the district’s non-lapsing fund and will help pay down this year’s deficit.
Added Context: The school district’s deficit is separate from the $1.2 million of the General Fund used to shore up the self-insurance fund. The BOE is looking into conducting a forensic audit of the self-insurance fund.
Why did the grants and community development line item increase?
The Grants & Community Development line item increased by $4,598, or 3.99%, for a total of $119,749. This includes a contractual salary increase for the Director of Grants and Community Development, an increase in FICA, and a 12% increase in the costs for Health Insurance. In addition to these items, this department’s budget includes stationery and forms and a small amount for conferences and meetings.
Added Context: This department has brought $3,734,168.04 to the town over the past three years. Additionally, staff was responsible for reporting and compliance with the $3,519,740.29 received through ARPA. It's also worth noting that this department handles brownfield remediation projects (including securing funding), which is crucial to revitalizing unused spaces and bringing in new businesses and economic activity. Here is a list of the grants acquired and projects facilitated by this department (not including ARPA-funded initiatives):
Levinthal Run Roadway Reconstruction (FY22 CT STEAP)
Olympic Park Renovation & Improvement Project (FY20 CT STEAP)
Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment (US EPA FY20)
Cleanup of the former Earl M. Witt School (US EPA FY22)
Community Center & Kealy Field Paving project (FY24 CT STEAP)
Control of Variable Leaf Milfoil on Stateline Pond (CT DEEP)
Historic Designation Report - RFP No. 22-202 (CT SHPO)
Neglected Cemetery (Old Stafford) (CT OPM)
Levinthal Run Multi-Use Path Construction Project (CT TRIP)
EOC Audiovisual Equipment Acquisition and Installation (CT EMPG)
ADA Improvements to Town Hall (US CF/CD/USDA)
FY24 Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment (US EPA)
How much will this budget raise my taxes?
You may have seen signs around town stating that if this budget is approved, it will cost each family $500. We don’t know where that calculation came from, but it’s not that simple. Once a budget is approved, a backward calculation is made based on the grand list. Using the approved budget and the value of the grand list, the town calculates how many mills are necessary to raise the appropriate amount of money.
The impact this has on your budget depends entirely on the assessed value of your property. To find the assessed value of your property, go to https://gis.vgsi.com/staffordct/ and enter your address. You will see two figures. One is the Appraisal. This is the estimated market value of your home. The second is the Assessment. This is 70% of your Appraisal value.
The only way to know how much your taxes will increase is to calculate based on your property’s Assessment value. In Stafford, property is taxed at 70% of its Appraised value. (The calculations are slightly different for cars because of the way that is capped by the state, so we’ll stay focused on real estate.)
Here’s where things get complicated.
A mill equals $1.00 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. To calculate the property tax, divide your property’s assessed value by 1,000 and multiply the result by the mill rate.
To calculate property taxes based on the mill rate, you use the formula:
Property Tax = (Assessed Value / 1,000) X Mill Rate
Here’s how it works using a 40.82 mill rate and a median assessed house value of $156,170 (as in the figure above):
Divide the assessed value by 1,000: Ex. $156,170 / 1,000 = $156.17
Multiply the result by the mill rate (40.82): Ex. 156.17 X 40.82 = $6,374.85
So, the property tax for a $156,170 house with a 40.82 mill rate would be $6,374.85. If you want to see the difference from one year to the next, do the same calculations using the current mill rate: 38.59.
Divide the assessed value by 1,000: Ex. $156,170 / 1,000 = $156.17
Multiply the result by the mill rate (38.59): Ex. $156.17 X 38.59 = $6,026.60
So, for a home that is assessed at $156,170, the difference in taxes between this year and next year would be $6,374.85 - $6,026.60 = $348.22
UPDATE: Here's a handy chart to give you an idea of roughly how much your taxes could change without doing all that pesky math.
What do the administrative positions in the school district do?
Some residents have questioned the need for supervisors, managers, and other administrative staff in the schools. This is not a complete list, but here is an attempt to explain what some of the administrative and non-teaching positions do:
Director of Finance and Operations – Responsible for all fiscal transactions for the district, oversees the district budget and the two finance staff (Accounts Payable and Payroll/Benefits Coordinator, who handles payroll processing for approximately. 300 employees). Also coordinates all transportation for the district.
Director of School Facilities - Supervises all custodial and maintenance staff and oversees maintenance and repairs in all school buildings.
Director of Pupil Services – Ensures that the 20% of students who are identified as having special needs are receiving the services they’re required to receive by law. This includes ensuring those laws are followed, PPTs are appropriately held, and that staff fill out paperwork correctly. Additionally, this position recently implemented the change to an entirely new system mandated by the state, which required training staff and ensuring everyone knew how to use it correctly. Handles 504 compliance. Writes the IDEA grant for the district to bring in funds for special education.
Non-Certified special services office staff – This is the Pupil Services secretary.
Library Media Specialist – These are the school librarians at Stafford Elementary, Stafford Middle School, and Stafford High School.
IT Director & Technicians – The district typically has an IT director and two tech positions. (One of the tech positions is currently vacant and has not been replaced to help reduce the deficit.) They support all the technology in the district for teachers, students, Chromebooks, iPads, projectors, platforms, etc. They also oversee the website and School Messenger, and broadcast BOE meetings.
Chief Academic Officer - Ensures the district meets all state standards and mandates related to curriculum (such as the unfunded Science of Reading mandate), instruction, and assessment, Pre-K through Grade 12. Plans and implements professional development. Writes and manages grants like all the Title (I, II, and IV) grants, Perkins, After School (which is STEAM at SES), and is responsible for Portrait of the Graduate requirements set by the state and ELL requirements.
Curriculum and Instruction Clerk – this is the secretary for the Chief Academic Officer
Tax abatements: What are they, and why are they given?
The topic of tax exemptions has come up several times over the past year. We’ve reported on some of them, so let’s do a brief overview.
The Borough School
This abatement was actually implemented by the town, so let’s start here. Back in December, this motion was approved at Town Meeting: "I move that the Town of Stafford authorize the First Selectman to enter into an agreement pursuant to CGS 12-65b approving a three-year assessment reduction on property known as 36 Prospect Street as follows: a 75% reduction of the assessed value for the 2024 Grand List, a 50% reduction of the assessed value for the 2025 Grand List and a 25% reduction of the assessed value for the 2026 Grand List."
Before Bluebird Construction bought the building, the town owned it. Before that, a non-profit owned it. So, this building has not been on the tax rolls for more than 15 years. In other words, any taxes collected is an increase. However, there was plenty of disagreement about whether or not this should have been approved. Some felt that the tax abatement was a good way to spur investment in town, especially for affordable housing. Others felt the property owner should have worked out these details during the purchase negotiations.
In-home Daycare
Around the same time as the Borough School abatement was on the agenda, so was another abatement that would have benefited in-home daycare providers. Essentially, state legislation allows towns to abate property taxes up to 100% for in-home daycare owners. This would only be a temporary abatement for a limited number of years. Ultimately, the selectmen voted not to implement this tax abatement.
At the time, we reported, “Tami L. Rossi, Stafford’s assessor, said that five properties in town would be eligible for this abatement and ran the numbers on a few different scenarios. If the town abated 100% of the property taxes for all of these providers, it would represent a loss of $24,462 per year. A 50% abatement would be a loss of $12,231 per year. She also pointed out that some towns have opted to simply make it a flat amount of $1,000 per dwelling, which would mean a $5,000 loss per year.”
Veteran’s Exception
This tax abatement, approved at the state level, give veterans who are 100% permanently disabled a 100% tax abatement. Both of Stafford’s State level elected officials, Senator Jeff Gordon and Representative Kurt Vail, advocated for this legislation. Unlike the daycare abatement, it is not optional. Here are the details:
“Connecticut residents who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, or Space Force and have a service-connected permanent and total disability rating, as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (U.S. DVA), are eligible for the exemption. The law fully exempts from property tax either (1) a dwelling the veteran owns and lives in as his or her primary residence or, (2) if the veteran does not own a dwelling, one motor vehicle he or she owns and keeps in this state.”
In Stafford, there are 32 qualifying veterans, and at the current mill rate of 38.59 the loss in tax dollars would be $163,536.70, according to numbers I received from the assessor’s office earlier this year.
Firefighters/EMTs & Crumbling Foundations
These are not new, and one is not an abatement at all.
According to the assessor’s office, there are 73 residences on the 2024 grand list that qualify for tax adjustment due to a crumbling foundation. This accounts for a total reduction in the assessment of $4,482,000. This number changes yearly as foundations are repaired and new ones are added to the list. For instance, there are three new properties ($157,645) that were added to the 2024 Grand List and 19 foundations that were repaired, and the reduction ($1,239,070) removed for the 2024 Grand List. This is not an abatement but is an adjustment to reduce the assessment based on PA 16-45.
Volunteer firefighters, and EMTs, on the other hand, do get an abatement. According to the Tax Collector’s office there are 85 firefighter/EMTs that qualified for an abatement for fiscal year 2024/2025. To earn this abatement, they must have at least 75 hours of service in a calendar year prior to the bills being generated. This can range from $500 to $1,000, but the total amount abated for 2024/2025 is $66,822.77.
When does budget season start, and when can my voice be heard?
The discussion about the school and town budgets starts further back in the year than you might think. However, if the budget does not pass on Tuesday, April 8, the discussion will begin again at the Board of Finance meeting scheduled for that evening. The agenda says it will begin at 8:35 p.m., following the adjourned town meeting. This is where the conversation around what to do next happens, and there's a Zoom link.
Both the schools and the town begin discussing budgets in October/November. Information is presented at meetings and discussed as the selectmen and the superintendent assemble the budgets. All meetings are open to the public; there was even a special budget workshop BOE meeting this year.
After the budgets have been created and approved, they are submitted to the Board of Finance for review. The Board of Finance reviews the budget and holds a Public Hearing where the town and school budgets are presented, and Stafford residents can ask questions or comment. Immediately following the public hearing, the Board of Finance votes to either move the budgets to a town referendum or request changes/reductions to the budgets.
Once the budgets are finalized, a date for the referendum is set. The Board of Selectmen schedules a town meeting at least one week before the budget referendum to officially add the budget approval to the call. Per state statute, the Board of Selectmen can vote to move the budget to a referendum instead of voting on the budget in a town meeting, allowing more residents to vote (which is done annually per tradition).
Here is the schedule that was followed this year when developing the budgets:
October 2024 – Budget requests compiled from staff; staffing proposals submitted.
Oct 21, 2024 – BOE Budget Committee reviews budget timeline and key factors.
Nov 8, 2024 – School and department budgets submitted to Finance.
November 2024 – Interim Superintendent, Finance, and HR review school and department budgets.
Nov 14, 2024 – Town department budgets due to First Selectman.
Dec 16, 2024 – BOE Budget Committee discusses mandated/contractual increases.
Jan 13, 2025 – BOE public budget workshop; priorities and long-term planning.
Jan 16, 2025 – Board of Selectmen finalizes the town budget proposal.
Jan 22, 2025 – Library, WPCF, Fire, EMS, and Police present budgets to the Board of Finance.
Jan 27, 2025 – BOE reviews and votes on the Interim Superintendent’s Proposed Budget./Service District Commission holds public hearing and approves its budget.
Feb 3, 2025 – Board of Selectmen presents town budget to the Board of Finance.
Feb 10, 2025 – BOE final review and possible approval of the proposed budget.
Feb 19, 2025 – BOE presents budget to the Board of Finance.
March 12, 2025 – Public hearing on town and BOE budgets.
March 26, 2025 – Annual Town Meeting to vote on Service District and WPCA budgets.
April 8, 2025 – Town and BOE budget referendum vote.
