The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Portland tax rate will increase
Selectmen approve $35M spending plan
PORTLAND – The town’s $35.25 million budget for fiscal year 2020-21 has come in with a tax increase.
The Board of Selectman completed action this week on the municipal budget for the the fiscal year that begins July 1, setting the tax rate at 34.48 mills, an increase of 0.57 mills.
The board’s action on the budget came after it vetted the education and general government budgets.
Because of restrictions imposed by Gov. Lamont as part of the effort to control the coronavirus, the public will not have the opportunity to vote on the budget.
The budget, which includes funding for education, general government, capital improvements and debt service — is some $590,000 higher than the current year’s spending total.
Spending on education totals $21.738 million, an increase of 2.46 percent over this year’s spending.
General government,
which is the non-education portion of the budget that also includes capital improvements and debt service, is up by 0.81 percent.
By far, First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield said, “This is the hardest budget that we have had to put together, because of COVID-19 and the unknowns going forward.”
Selectman Edward J. Sharr Jr., said the board had hoped it could avoid any increase in the tax rate, given the surging unemployment rate and the uncertainty about when the state will completely reopen.
However, there was no increase in the tax rate last year, Sharr said during budget workshop last week, adding that it just wasn’t possible to have back-toback years with no increase.
There also remains uncertainty about the level of state aid the town can expect in the coming year, Bransfield said Wednesday.
“The state has spent a large amount dealing with COVID-19,” she said, adding, “We don’t know what the level of state funding is going to be for Portland.”
Given that unknown and the need to maintain a reliable fund balance, Sharr reluctantly said it was necessary to make a minimal increase in the tax rate.
The fund balance is the town’s emergency reserve, which is needed to tide the town over in the event of a major calamity for at least two months.
“We’re trying to do as much as we can to hold down expenditures,” Director of Finance Tom E. Robinson said during last week’s budget workshop.
One of his main concerns is whether and when the Brownstone Exploration and Discovery Park will open for the season.
The park leases the north quarry from the town in exchange for a portion of the annual gate receipts.
In light of myriad concerns about funding sources, Selectman Louis J. Pear said, “We need to reduce our overhead.”
He suggested doing so by reducing the number of town-owned buildings, as a way to reduce the overhead costs.
The selectmen this week agreed to put to the old Fire House No. 2 on the market.
Most recently, the building at 634 Main St. was the home of the Cellar Savers Firefighting Museum and, around Christmas, the location of a must-see model-train display.
Bransfield praised her board colleagues, as well as the departments and school officials, for their efforts to develop a budget that provides the services the residents have come to expect while recognizing their ability to pay for them.
“It’s very hard to predict what things are going to look like going forward,” she said.
“And so, I think the selectmen, Tom Robinson and all the people in both the town and education department are to be praised for their efforts in balancing the residents’ needs and their ability to pay.”
jmill@middletownpress.com