Taxpayers Called To Second Budget Vote May 18

By John Voket

Town officials including First Selectman Pat Llodra are hoping that more than two out of every ten taxpayers turn out to the middle school gym between 6 am and 8 pm next Tuesday, May 18, to help determine the financial course the town will take during the next fiscal year.

Qualified taxpayers can approve or reject a revised spending plan that projects a 2.4 percent tax increase to cover a bottom line of $104,184,615. That figure represents requests of $66,994,734 for the school district, $27,895,856 for municipal operations, and $9,294,025 to cover debt service on existing bonds, which is included on the municipal side of the budget ledger.

The second local budget referendum was set after the initial attempt failed by 51 votes April 27 with around with around 22 percent of eligible residents participating. After the polls closed that evening, Mrs Llodra said she was saddened by the low turnout, adding that the opportunity for taxpayers to rule on their own town’s budget is “not just a right, but a responsibility.”

“The big message I have for all of us eligible to vote is we all have the responsibility to guide this town. And the way we guide the town is at the ballot box,” Mrs Llodra said. “It is unfair to put the burden of that decision on two out of every ten people. Those two out of ten should not have the responsibility of deciding the fate of the community; we all share in that.”

Individuals who cannot appear at the polls to cast a ballot in person may qualify to cast an absentee ballot; applications are available up to referendum day at the town clerk’s office in the Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills.

Proposed expenditures on the municipal side of the budget include $8,056,974 for general government operations that underwrite administrative and other operations from the selectmen, tax collector, and town clerk, to the local cultural arts commission, the pension fund, and the town’s technology department.

Public safety, including emergency communications, support of all town fire companies, the local police department, canine control, ambulance, paramedic, and lake authority patrols requests total $6,579,994. The public works department, which includes all highway, landfill, public building, and car pool maintenance requests, totals $7,763,100.

The health and welfare portion of the spending plan encompasses more than two dozen agencies and line items from social services to regional domestic violence outreach, the Newtown Parade Committee, Kevin’s Community Center, the Children’s Adventure Center, and the regional health district.

The land use agency requests $457,952; Parks & Recreation requests $1,839,860; the Fairfield Hills Authority request is $385,000; there is $609,000 in a general contingency line; and the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers requests $170,000.

Full details on all town-side aspects of the plan are available at newtown-ct.gov, and the detailed school district spending plan is online at newtown.k12.ct.us. Budget summaries are also available for review during business hours at the Municipal Center.