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04/02/2019 03:39 PMCombining proposed spending plans for the town and its schools, the total proposed Essex town budget for the next fiscal year is $24,195,736, an increase of $97,475 or 0.4 percent over the current fiscal year’s budget. Residents will have the opportunity to voice any questions or concerns they have about the proposal at the upcoming Wednesday, April 24, public hearing which will take place, at the Town Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Essex’s budget is broken down into three separate segments: the town budget, the Essex Board of Education budget, and Essex’s portion of the Region 4 Board of Education budget.
The proposed town budget is $8,396,634, an increase of $320,631 or 3.97 percent from the current $8,076,003 budget. The Essex Board of Education proposal is $7,463,976, a $91,756 or 1.24 percent increase over the current $7,372,220 budget. Essex’s portion of the Region 4 Board of Education budget is $8,335,126, a drop of $314,909 or 3.64 percent from the current $8,650,035, largely due to a decrease in the number of Essex students in Region 4 schools.
“Given that we just had a reevaluation in town and the Grand List went up, we could possibly have a reduction in the mill rate,” said Finance Director Kelly Sterner.
The mill rate, which is currently 21.85, is set by the Board of Finance and will not be confirmed for the next fiscal year until the budget is voted on sometime in May.
“There are still a lot of moving parts,” said Sterner, “But we are on our way.”
In the town portion of the budget, the increase is driven in part by debt payments on the 2017 general obligation bond, which is coming up next fiscal year. That $6 million bond was used for numerous projects in town including repairs to the Essex Elementary School roof, the Walnut Street Bridge project, renovations at the Town Hall, and other projects.
For the Essex Board of Education budget, the largest increase is in wages and fringe benefits, primarily health insurance premiums. According to Sterner, in the past the town has been self-insured, but is now considering moving to a health care consortium. In the proposed budget, healthcare costs are up 15 percent.
“In general things are looking good,” said Sterner. “We worked very hard on this budget and I think we have a responsible budget that maintains our town services and serves the town well.”
“We have done a lot of hard work here in Essex, feathering in our debt carefully, and I think we are in good shape for the future,” First Selectman Norm Needleman said. “There is a good chance that the mill rate will go down, by what percentage we are not sure yet, but to me, down is down, so that will be a very good thing for our residents and the fact that we are able to do this for the second year, while still improving town services is a tribute to the hard work of everyone involved especially, Kelly, the Board of Finance, the Board of Selectman, the Board of Education, and all the boards and commissions in town. Everyone has done an amazing job.”