The Board of Finance cut $1,071,806 from the proposed town budget and $900,000 from the proposed school budget at its final budget meeting for the year on March 5.

The proposed budget now totals $49,866,665 for the town and $91,744,644 for the schools, for an overall bottom line of $141,611,309. The spending increases stand at roughly 5% each for the town and school budgets.

Cuts made by the finance board include reducing road improvements by $150,000; reduce the Parks & Recreation turf tractor line item by $17,500; reduce the Parks & Recreation seasonal staff by $2,250; reduce curbside recycling by $411,650; reduce recycling prepay bags by $60,000; reduce the library line item by $43,238; reduce the Newtown Youth & Family Services line item by $93,237; reduce Edmond Town Hall line item by $40,000; reduce a conference room large monitor upgrade by $3,800; reduce the tracked software line item by $13,000; reduce the activity support line item under Economic Development by $8,300; reduce the Social Services-Human Services salary reserve by $5,000; reduce the Public Works maintenance budget municipal building window refurbishment line item by $40,000; reduce health insurance retiree premiums with OPED trust funds by $74,531; and reduce Newtown Ambulance additional requested paramedic line item by $100,000.

The Board of Finance made one addition — $150,000 for fire department personal protection equipment (PPE).

Finance Board Vice-Chairman Jim Gaston said that the current budget faces “significant challenges,” and that in his 20 years on the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance, it was the “hardest budget I’ve seen.”

“The reason it’s so hard is it’s a more than perfect storm, with state funding reduced, large insurance claims, the Sewer & Water had been undercharging for years, and a major commercial taxpayer in town went bankrupt,” said Gaston.

Concerning the reduced increases to Edmond Town Hall, the C.H. Booth Library, and Newtown Youth & Family Services, Gaston noted that each of those groups are agencies that have their own fund balances, and fund balances are for “rainy days.”

“Well, it’s raining,” said Gaston. “It’s raining hard.”

The Board of Finance also removed $1,050,000 from revenues for the sale of 3 Main Street after a debate with First Selectman Jeff Capeci. Capeci asserted that the end of the proposed budget cycle is June 2026 and he felt certain that the building would be sold before then. However, finance board members felt that the sale could take too long, especially since there has been no formal bids, with member Barney Molloy calling the line item “too speculative.”

“I’ll only vote for a budget that’s balanced,” said Molloy.

The Board of Finance also moved to return excess revenue from the Parks & Recreation special revenue fund to the general fund in the amount of $48,000; and excess Parks & Recreation teen center fund balance to the general fund in the amount of $35,000.

The finance board initially recommended a $1 million cut to the education budget, but in the end the board landed on a $900,000 cut.

Molloy supported the cut stating he felt in a $92 million budget “there are places to economize.”

BOF member Bryce Chinault noted that last year, the education budget went down on its first referendum and said the board needs to be mindful of additional tax increases.

According to Capeci at a Board of Selectmen meeting in January, the Town faces a number of “major headwinds” in the budget including motor vehicle valuation changes and total exemption for permanently disabled residents, meaning a $785,000 loss in revenue, the general fund balance reported at 9.4% in the fiscal year 2024 financials means a $1.2 million loss of fund balance revenue, other revenue reductions totaling $455,000, a $1.5 million for Town and $2.4 million for school employee health benefits increase, the Capital Non-Recurring Fund fully expended by the five-year CIP meaning no available capital funds, a significant Town need for public safety enhancements and contractually obligated expenses not budgeted for in prior cycles.

The motor vehicle changes come from a 2024 State of Connecticut bill that changed how motor vehicles are valuated, changing it to being set by the original Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price and going down by a set percentage after each year. Capeci said this cost Newtown $30 million in motor vehicle valuation, which translated into nearly a $900,000 decrease in tax revenue.

Increases in medical costs for fiscal year 2024 exceeded normal medical costs in previous years and “had eaten away from the fund,” according to Capeci. This has required the town to use $2.5 million of the fund balance to pay for insurance costs.

Capeci said a “same services budget is impossible” this year, due to the aforementioned challenges.

Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.