Town Heads To Third Budget Vote
Town Heads To Third Budget Vote
By John Voket
Following their own special meeting last Monday, May 24, during which selectmen called a special town meeting, qualified residents are now empowered to move the third townwide budget vote to a machine referendum.
That endorsement will be called for on Tuesday, June 1, at 8 am, at the Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills. That special town meeting will mark the final step in a protracted, charter mandated process to set the time and date of the third Town of Newtown budget referendum.
That single question vote will ask taxpayers to endorse or reject a proposed 2010-2011 spending plan in the amount of $104,284,615. If approved at the special town meeting, the referendum will occur one week later, Tuesday, June 8, between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm at the Newtown Middle School.
The latest budget proposal reflects a $200,000 restoration of funds to the school districtâs requested increase for the next fiscal year. Following the second round budget referendum failure May 8 by 97 votes, the legislative council decided to restore the fractional amount to the districtâs $67 million request.
The motion to restore the school funds will shift $100,000 from the town-side budgetâs contingency fund. The additional amount will come from slightly increased taxation, nudging the tax increase that failed in the second referendum slightly higher. The latest proposal increases proposed taxation in the coming year from 2.4 to 2.5 percent, if it is approved in the third round of voting June 8.