With uncertainties ahead due to economic changes impacted by COVID-19, North Branford has adopted 2020-21 Town Budget of $53,891,545. The new bottom line represents an annual spending increase of $636,112 or 1.2 percent. North Branford's new mill rate will increase slightly, up 0.12 mills from the current rate of 33.46 mills to 33.58 mills.

During virtual meetings recorded and produced as live feed videos by Totoket TV, the council held budget hearings and workshops April 21  through April 23. The only public comment the council heard was a letter from the police commission asking the council to reinstate the police department's request for $7.5 million in capital improvement plan to fund a new police building. The money is not in the budget.

On April 23, the Town Council, which is also North Branford's Finance Board, enacted Gov. Ned Lamont's COVID-19 Executive Order allowing town governments to adopt 2020-21 budgets without a public referendum vote.

During virtual meetings recorded and produced as live feed videos by Totoket TV, the council held budget hearings and workshops April 21  through April 23.  The council's final budget, adopted by unanimous vote on April 23, cut an additional $1,235,439 from the combined budget proposed by Town Manager Mike Paulhus and the Board of Education (BOE) on April 21.

The new budget provides $16,285,572 for town government operations, an increase of 4.14 percent or $647,002 over 2019-20 budget appropriations. The new budget provides $32,435,714 for Board of Education (BOE) operating expenses, a spending increase of $166,489 or 0.52% over 2019-20 BOE appropriations.

The council sliced $257,590 from the Town Manager's proposed government operations budget of $16,543,162. The council initially workshopped the BOE's $33,144,863 proposed budget down to $32,185,714;  removing $959,149.  The council then voted April 23 to increase the BOE budget by $250,000, to a new total of $32,435,714.

However, through actions taken on April 23, the council was also able to return over $760,000 to the BOE's budget through other means. The council first voted to allow the BOE, by state statute, to move two percent of its 2019-20 budget, or $643,715 into the BOE's 2020-21 budget for educational spending purposes. In addition, the council voted to allocate to the BOE $121,594 to be received this year from the state's excess Special Education fund grant.

In other council decisions made on April 23, due to the uncertainty of the coming budget year, the Council decided to increase the new Town Budget's debt service savings by $140,000; taking $140,000 that had been set aside to help the town build a buffer to avoid a possible spike in debt service due to future bonding issues.

In addition, the council approved increasing borrowing from the general fund by $300,000 to help offset taxation needed to help generate revenue; bringing the total borrowed from the general fund to be used as 2020-21 budget revenue funding to $650,000.

After initially cutting back on school capital improvement project requests, the Council worked with Superintendent of Schools Scott Schoonmaker to fund $100,000 for the installation of two air conditioning cooling towers and compressors at Jerome Harrison Elementary School in the new fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021.  The Council also worked with Schoonmaker on his request to earmark the BOE's return to the Town of approximately $77,000 in 2018-19 funds to be put toward a school/town software package with an estimated cost of $144,000. Schoonmaker pointed out the Town had already paid $25,000 for a study which determined the software package would best align the finance departments of the Town and the BOE, should they transition to the same location in the future.

Additionally, the Council approved appropriating $100,000 from the fund balance for brickwork repair to the exterior of North Branford Intermediate School and North Branford Auditorium. The money will be added to the estimated total capital improvement plan cost of $700,000.