Middlefield residents to vote on budgets Monday

MIDDLEFIELD — Town residents will vote on proposed budgets for general government, education and capital spending during the annual town meeting on Monday.

The meeting will be held at the Middlefield Community Center, 405 Main St., at 7 p.m., with qualified citizens being able to vote to approve the 2024-2025 town and school budgets, as well as the appointment of electors to the Board of Education Finance Committee and the DurhamMiddlefield Interlocal Agreement Advisory Board.

Additionally, there is a motion to withdraw Middlefield from the Middletown Transit District, and appropriate $60,824 for a final payment on a street sweeper purchased in 2023.

All residents can appear at the meeting and be heard, according to notice of the meeting from First Selectman Robert C. Yamartino. Written communications for those unable to attend can be sent to Yamartino at P.O. Box 179, 393 Jackson Hill Road.

The biggest item on the agenda is approval of the budget, which the Finance Board submitted on May 6. The proposed tax rate is 28.06 mills, a slight decrease from this year’s tax rate of 28.24.

A mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment.

The calculated tax burden for the average home in town, with an appraised value of $288,126 and assessed at $201,668, would be $5,659 per year, or $35 less than the current year’s budget.

The grand list, which is the valuation of all taxable property in a given town, sits at $528,517,538, up 0.12 percent from the previous year.

School district spending remains relatively flat in the proposed budget, rising by just 0.1 percent, or $10,754 total, bringing the overall education budget to $13,498,799. The town’s municipal operations, including debt service and capital spending, would see a more significant

change, with a 9.5 percent increase in spending over the current year. This increases the town budget by $409,813 to $4,716,632.

Total spending, including education and outside agencies like the Levi Coe Library, would increase by 2.8 percent under the proposed budget, from

$18,456,779 to $18,970,434.

According to Town Clerk Tonya Hogan, because of the lack of major appointments, such as for the Board of Education, attendance may be lighter at the meeting this year.

During years where those appointments are made, she said it was typically standing room only in the hall where the meeting is scheduled to take place. She anticipated

some 80 to 100 people to attend.

“It’s kind of just a very simple meeting and hopefully more people will participate. I don’t know, I have a sneaking suspicion that turnout might be lower than usual, but then again, you never ever know,” Hogan said.

For those who do attend, the votes are taken by raised hands and written ballots. Both Democratic

and Republican representatives are likely to put forward candidates for positions on the Board of Education Finance Committee and the Durham-Middlefield Interlocal Agreement Advisory Board.

Hogan wasn’t able to provide any specific names, she said, as typically candidates are presented at the meeting itself — giving a brief explanation of their qualifications and

reason for wanting to take a position before a vote is taken.

This meeting will also see the official dissolution of the Middletown Transit District, which is in the process of being incorporated into the Estuary Transit District, which already serves Middlefield, Middletown, and the surrounding area. According to Hogan, it’s more of a formality and there would be

no disruptions to ongoing schedules.

“The attorneys for the transit district have drafted a resolution to adopt to remove ourselves from that district so that it may be dissolved and then go forward with the Estuary Transit District,” Hogan said.

More information about the meeting and the budget can be found online at the town’s website.