To the Editor:

Taxes Increases? Ugh. But this year necessary.

None of us want to hear that property taxes are going up, especially these days with the threat of recession and job losses and general economic instability in the news. But sometimes, and I think this is one of those times, tax increases are necessary. Newtown offers a lot to its citizens. Our town has the reputation of being a great place to live. And it is. We benefit from excellent schools, beautiful parks, a safe environment and diverse community facilities. Our property taxes pay for all of these. If we want to continue to enjoy what our town provides, it’s up to us.

We are fortunate to have a multi-step budget process in Newtown. The budgets proposed by our Boards of Selectmen and Education are scrutinized first by the Finance Board, then by the Legislative Council. That budget process has cut over $1 million from the town budget and $900,000 from the Education budget, and both those budgets were lean to begin with.

We are still facing tax increases. Why? Town costs are skyrocketing. The biggest increase is health insurance for town employees which is going up almost 24%. Energy costs are expected to rise 20 to 60%. We all feel that bite and the Town faces the same problem. Salaries and wages must go up 2.3 to 3% by contract. At the same time, town revenue has shrunk for reasons out of the Town’s control. Changes at the state and federal levels mean less money for our town. And we lost a significant commercial taxpayer to bankruptcy.

Our town government has done much, perhaps too much, to protect us against tax increases in the past. Over the last ten years, the average annual tax increase (0.63%) lagged well behind inflation (2.9%). In some areas (health insurance for example), actual costs exceeded budgeted amounts for years (since 2019). Despite this, we got tax cuts in 2016 and 2022. An adjustment was probably due even without the current sharp spike in costs and reduction in revenue.

I didn’t pull these figures out of my hat. I am indebted to The Bee for keeping us informed and to Selectwoman Michelle Ku who has been posting great budget information on her Facebook page. Let’s all educate ourselves so we can make good decisions for our Town.

And let’s not feel put upon. Newtown taxes are not higher than surrounding towns. Our rate is in the middle even though our town is the largest (more roads to maintain and patrol, more sewer and water pipe miles) and does not have a big commercial base (which would help keep the residential tax rate down). Let’s pay our share to keep our town great.

Anne Renner

Sandy Hook