05/01/2015 - updated 05/05/2015

Councilors set budget hearing, want no tax-rate increase for schools

The School Board will hold a budget workshop at 7 p.m. Monday, May 4, 2015 in the High School library to decide how it will meet the Town Council Finance Committee's recommendation that the school budget add no increase to current property taxes. The meeting will be videotaped. [view video]

Town councilors, meeting as the Finance Committee, voted 5-1 on April 27 to recommend a $110,539 reduction in the amount to be raised by taxes to fund the 2015-16 school budget proposal of $23.6 million. The proposal is up $407,014, or 1.8 percent over this year's school budget.

The council will hold a public hearing on combined town, county, Community Services and school budget, as amended, on May 11. The school budget is subject to approval by the Town Council and by a townwide vote. The vote is scheduled for June 9.

At the April 27 meeting the council also accepted the Finance Committee's recommendations to set for public hearing a town budget of $9.8 million, up $570,819 or 6.2 percent over this year; a county assessment of $1.2 million, up $62,620 or 5.6 percent over this year; and, a Community Services budget of $533,790, up $68,790 or 14.8 percent over this year.

The proposed tax rate for combined budgets is $17.11 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, up 31 cents or 1.8 percent over this year. The town budget accounts for 24 cents of that increase, largely due to costs associated with renovation of the Thomas Memorial Library. Community Services accounts for 4 cents of the increase, and the county assessment accounts for 3 cents.

The town has not yet published a pro forma - a summary of proposed expenditures, revenues and amounts to be raised by taxes - pending the School Board's decisions on achieving the no-tax-increase budget. Adjustments to expenditures, revenues and fees may be considered. The school budget currently accounts for $12.19 cents of the $16.80 tax rate.