Budget, bonding projects pass easily

Questions draw about 10 percent of eligible voters

With a little more than 10 percent of eligible voters turning out, the combined town and school budget for fiscal year 2020, as well as the four capital bonding projects on the ballot, passed after voting was completed on May 7 and 11.

The registrars of voters released the final results for Wilton’s budget vote.

On the budget, 892 voted yes, 395 voted no too high, 40 voted no too low.

On the capital bonding questions:

Road and Parking Lot Restoration — 1,077 yes; 239 no.

Town Hall Roof Replacement — 1,093 yes; 226 no.

School District Roof Replacement — 1,112 yes; 209 no.

Bridge Replacement Program — 1,054 yes; 262 no.

Although the budget passed handily, whenever turnout is below 15 percent, the budget automatically passes. The bonding questions must pass on the actual vote.

The budget number being voted on was $126,787,380. It included:

1. Board of Selectmen operating budget: $32,542,102.

2. Board of Education operating budget: $81,876,563.

3. Board of Selectmen capital budget: $959,897.

4. Debt service: $10,153,497.

5. Charter authority: $1,255,321. At the Annual Town Meeting on May 7, the Board of Education budget was targeted for discussion. There was a proposal to reduce it by $1.5 million. This motion was defeated.

Both the education and Board of Selectmen budget reflect zeropercent increases from the current fiscal year.

Bonding

The four capital bonding item questions on the ballot were:

1. $3,398,150 for road work and a parking lot restoration.

2. $350,000 for town hall roof replacement.

3. $600,000 for the school district roof replacement program.

4. $1,300,000 for bridge replacement.

The mill rate based on this budget is 28.5373, a 1.24 percent increase over last year.

The mill rate is the property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value, or 70 percent of market value. If a home is assessed at $700,000, the property taxes would be 700 multiplied by 28.5373 for a total of $19,976.11, compared to $19,731.25 for the current fiscal year.

There are 12,051 eligible voters and 1,322 cast ballots for a turnout of 10.97 percent. Those voting on May 7 after the Annual Town Meeting numbered 200 with the rest voting on Saturday. Twentyeight people voted by absentee ballot. There were also six nonelector property owners who cast votes.