On March 24, the Board of Finance moved the $7,708,432 Essex Board of Education and $8,632,452 town government proposed budgets for fiscal year 2020–’21 (FY21) to a public hearing slated for Thursday, April 16.

The hearing will be livestreamed online using Zoom with log-in details shared in an agenda on the town’s website. The remote videoconferencing is an effort on behalf of local officials to allow for public participation in the budget process during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

If the proposed budgets are approved, the town will spend $16,021,125 on education including the $7,708,432 Essex Board of Education and $8,312,693 Region 4 educational budgets, representing an increase of 1.41 percent compared with FY20.

The proposed budget total for the town, including the town’s contribution to the Region 4 educational budget, is $24,653,577.

This represents a 1.89 percent increase from Essex’s 2019–’20 (FY20) budget of $24,195,150 with a proposed 0.29 mill rate increase from 21.65 (up 1.3 percent) in FY20 to 21.94 in FY21.

Of the $8,632,452 selectman’s budget, which represents a 2.81 increase from FY20’s $8,396,635 approved budget, $1,253,879 is included for payment of debt service.

In terms of expenditures, “as might be expected, one of the major budget drivers is changes of salaries,” said Essex Finance Director Kelly Sterner.

With the major differences being general wage increases, included in the proposed budget are step increases, a longevity payment and additional work hours, according to Sterner.

Sterner says the town is also preparing for the financial ramifications of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re definitely concerned that it is going to have a cash flow impact on us,” said Sterner. “We’ve been very fortunate as far as our taxpayers being responsible, but we recognize this is a very unique situation.”

With property taxes typically due on July 1 with a grace period until Aug. 1, the timing of when individuals need to pay may be an issue, says Sterner.

Property taxes account for approximately 90 percent of the town’s annual revenue, according to the town’s 2018–’19 audited financial statements.

The town has set aside a set amount of money to be used in emergency situations. In 2018–’19, the unassigned fund balance for the General Fund was $3,507,542 or 14.5 percent of expenditures. This represents 1.7 months of General Fund operating expenditures, according to the town’s 2018–’19 audited financial statements.

“Fortunately, Essex has a very strong fund balance,” said Sterner. “We’ve been really good about building that. This is why we do it, so that we are able to rely on that fund balance to get us through.”

The town is considering several options to potentially weather an economic downturn including exploring borrowing options, in an effort to be proactive, according to Sterner.

To access any meeting agenda being held remotely, residents can click on the large green button titled “Minutes and Agendas” on the town’s website www.essexct.gov.