Voters green-light local budgets
Redding, Region 12 and Bethel spending plans pass; Danbury council deliberating
Voters approved all of the area budgets in several referendums held in the Danbury area on Tuesday.
All of Redding’s budgets and capital requests passed, as did the Region 12 budget and the Bethel town budget. Danbury City Council was still deliberating at deadline.
Salaries and pensions tended to be the biggest budget drivers across the board, with special education contributing to the school budget increases.
Redding
Voters approved the nearly $51 mil
lion budget by 1,086 yes votes and 622 no votes.
“I’m very pleased to see the voters approved not only the budgets, but the capital projects, in particular the radio upgrade for the police, fire and EMS,” First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton said.
This budget is about
$1.73 million more than the current budget and includes increases in the selectmen, school board and Region 9 portions.
It includes nearly $15 million for the selectmen and $22.1 million for the Redding Board of Education, which covers the elementary and middle schools.
Redding’s share of the Region 9 budget is $13.9 million, which is about
$505,000 more than the current year, though the overall budget is the same. This is because the cost is split proportionally between Easton and Redding based on the number of students each town sends to Joel Barlow High School.
“I am pleased to see the support our two communities of Easton and Redding have shown for our schools' operating budgets as well as the capital improvements to our buildings and grounds,” said Superintendent of Schools Thomas McMorran. “The process this year was exacting and careful, with attention paid to ensuring the funding was well aligned with the needs of the programs.”
Voters approved spending up to $2.5 million for the police and fire radio upgrades and $400,000 for the Station Road bridge project. These projects will be paid for with borrowed money and possibly money from the state. The Joel Barlow High School improvements also passed.
Region 12
Region 12 voters passed the $22.8 million budget, with a combined 688 yes votes to 494 no votes.
The budget also passed in each of the three towns.
Washington will pay $10.6 million for the budget, Roxbury will cover
$7.75 million and Bridgewater is responsible for
$4.45 million.
The overall budget is
4.57 percent higher than the current budget, largely due to the new agriscience academy program that starts this fall. The program will generate revenue though, offsetting the bulk of the increase.
Another budget driver is the upgrades to the district’s buildings, totaling about $434,000, up from the $21,900 included in the current budget.
Bethel
The town budget was approved 1,286 to 1,097 after a defeat last month.
“It’s a big relief because the Board of Finance was looking at some very difficult choices if it didn’t pass,” First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker said, adding compromises were in this budget.
The Finance Board had cut $385,000 after the first vote, bringing the new municipal operating budget to $31.6 million, which is 6.9 percent more than the current budget. The
$46.4 million school and
$1 million capital budgets were approved earlier this month for a combined $78 million budget.
This translates to a tax increase of 1.65 percent.
Debt from the police station and elementary school renovation projects is still the biggest budget driver, with the debt service increasing 25 percent from the previous year.
“We’re very happy to be able to get back to work to serve the public,” Knickerbocker said.
Danbury
At deadline Tuesday, Danbury City Council was still deliberating Mayor Mark Boughton’s $261.5 million budget at its regular meeting.
If approved, the budget keeps the tax rate level, though it is $4.5 million, or 1.8 percent more than the current budget.
It also includes $5.2 million for the schools, bringing the total school budget to $134.4 million.
The budget includes $4.5 million for road work, including paving, fixing potholes, installing guardrails and improving drainage. It also includes public safety items.