After nearly three hours and several motions and adjustments, the Legislative Council on Wednesday evening, April 6, approved final budget requests for the town and school district.

Preliminary numbers were confirmed Thursday morning to The Newtown Bee by Council Chairman Jeff Capeci and Finance Director Robert Tait.

According to the officials, during final deliberations, the municipal budget request was reduced by $11,157 from the Lake Authority budget line, and the library by was reduced by $24,531. The final approved bottom line for the municipal request is $46,891,399.

During deliberations, the council also shifted $100,000 from a debt service fund balance to the debt service budget line to mitigate increasing taxation. Residents are reminded that all debt service is part of the municipal budget including on bonding for all school district capital projects.

Capeci said following a motion to cut the school district proposal by $557,000, that motion was further amended with the final approved reduction to the school district at $300,000 — sending a final school district request to the voters totaling $82,134,639.

While by Charter, Newtown budget voters are asked to endorse or reject the municipal and school budget requests separately, final combined budget requests total $129,026,038, which was approved by a 10-2 vote.

The resulting tax increase if both requests are approved by voters at referendum April 26 will be 0.07 percent, with a 34.67 mill rate — increasing from the current 34.65. A mill represents one dollar for every $1,000 in taxable property.

Full coverage of the meeting will be available in the April 15 print edition of The Newtown Bee.

Town Clerk Debbie Halstead will have absentee budget ballots available for qualified voters beginning Monday, April 11.

Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.