Wilton residents will weigh in on the town's proposed $112.1 million operating budget for 2011-12 at the Annual Town Meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wilton High School. Registered voters will then vote on the Board of Finance proposal which includes a 3.4 percent tax increase to 20.85 mills immediately after the meeting and on Saturday, May 6, also at Wilton High School.
Approval would mean about a tax hike of $414 for the average homeowner based on an assessed property value of $600,000, according to Board of Finance Chairman Warren Serenbetz Jr. He said the education portion of the proposal represents about two-thirds of the overall town budget, though the Board of Education was forced to slash $770,000 last week from its original plan.
The municipal side of the original proposal was reduced $330,000, according to First Selectman William F. Brennan. Brennan, Serenbetz and Superintendent of Schools Gary Richards said the budget is a fair one that they hope voters will approve.
"This was a very difficult, challenging budget to put together after last year when some of our top officials and municipal workers agreed to a wage freeze," Brennan said. "But this year, we are looking at a modest 2 percent hike for municipal employees. With very little help from the state, we had no choice but to raise taxes a little more than last year.
"I urge people to come out to the Town Meeting and vote to approve the budget," he said. "We kept the budget as low as possible while still maintaining vital town services and the high standards of our school system."
Serenbetz agreed. "Residents will come out and let us know how they feel on Tuesday night," he said. "We reduced the budget as much as possible without sacrificing anything in the way of programs and educational quality."
Richards said although he was disappointed the school board's proposal was reduced, he was satisfied it "will not impact our very high educational quality."
Voters can either approve the proposed budget or reject it for being too high or too low.
Will you vote to approve the proposed budget? Or do you think it should include more or less spending? Leave a comment below.
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