Ellington proposed budget goes to annual meeting Tuesday

Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

May 10—ELLINGTON — The proposed $63.6 million spending plan for 2021-22 — which includes a decrease in the tax rate — goes to a town budget meeting Tuesday.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Ellington High School and can also be accessed online via Zoom.

The Board of Finance recently revised the budget proposal, increasing it by $112,767 to $63.6 million. The revised proposal represents an increase of $72,903 over the current year's spending.

However, the tax rate in the proposed budget is decreasing by 1 mill to 31.6 mills. A mill represents $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in assessed property value.

Because the tax rate is proposed to decrease, if residents approve the budget at the town meeting there will be no referendum.

In April, the selectmen approved a proposed budget of $63.556,497, which represented a less than 0.1% decrease or $39,864 less than current spending.

The Finance Board's adjustments bumped the budget up to $63,669,264, representing an increase of around 0.1% over current spending.

After the adjustments, the general government budget now totals $19.8 million, the Board of Education portion is $41.5 million, and the fund for capital improvements is $2.2 million.

The adjustments come from rearranging and adding funds in the proposed budget, including adding $133,355 to the town's debt service fund to pay for the Fire Department's new truck, as well as $42,562 for a replacement tractor for the Public Works Department.

To combat this increase, the board reduced the rate of salary increases for town employees from the proposed 3% to 2.75%, the latter of which is the same percent increase as salaries last year. This adjustment will reduce proposed funds by $29,544.

The Finance Board also reduced money allocated for health insurance by $29,149, adjusting the expected increase in health insurance from 15% to 10%.

At one of the Finance Board's budget deliberation meetings, this one on April 15, Assistant Finance Officer Felicia LaPlante said that in the past two years, insurance claims have gone down. Finance Board member Michael Purcaro said he didn't think that a 15% increase was necessary because the town's health insurance account is in good condition.