Printer Friendly Version - North Branford $52.26M Budget Passes Following May 8 Referendum Vote

North Branford Town Council members are shown here meeting on May 1. The council, which is also the town's Finance Board, will next act to officially pass the $52.26M 2018-19 town budget and set the new mill rate, which goes down slightly (less than 0.11 mills) to 33.39 mills. The new fiscal year begins July 1, 2018.Pam Johnson/The Sound

Following the May 8 Budget Referendum Question vote, North Branford's $52.26 million 2018-19 town budget passes as presented by the Town Council. The new budget will reduce the current mill rate slightly, down to 33.39 mills.

The town's two polling places had a healthy turnout of 8.1 percent of the electorate, but it was a bit lower than last year's budget referendum vote, which drew 8.9 percent, noted Town Clerk Lisa Valenti. While poll response has been increasing in recent years, by town charter, at least 15 percent of the electorate needs to vote for the results to be actionable by Town Council; otherwise the council's recommended budget is adopted.

The official question was "Shall the Town Council Recommended Budget of $52,269,377, which will require a mill rate of 33.39 mills, be adopted?" On May 8, among the 782 residents who voted, 322 rejected the budget as too low; 299 rejected the budget as too high and 161 accepted the budget as presented. Polls were open from noon – 8 p.m.

North Branford currently has 9620 registered voters who report to one of two polling places based on residential address. District One has 5,255 registered voters with its polling place at Jerome Harrison Elementary School. District Two has 4,365 electors who vote at Stanley T. Williams Community Center.

On May 8, District One pulled in 393 (7.4 percent) among those eligible to vote and District Two had a response of 389 (8.9 percent) of all eligible voters.

The $52.26 million 2018-19 town budget includes $31,647,175 for the Board of Education (BOE); $15,446,826 for Town Government (police, fire, public works, and other town operations); $705,000 to be funded for Capital Improvements; $400,000 from the town's General Fund Balance for Capital Improvements; and $4,070,376 for Debt Service (bond repayments).

The $31.64 schools budget includes an annual increase of $650,000. The 2018-19 Town Government budget of $15.44 million carries an increase of more than 3.5 percent over the 2017-18 budget.

With the 2018-19 town budget, the town's mill rate will go down slightly from 33.51 to 33.39 mills next year. The budget aligns with North Branford's July 1 - June 30 fiscal calendar. The town's new fiscal year begins July 1, 2018.