This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
04/28/2020 01:30 PMA public hearing on the proposed town and education budgets will be held by the Town Council virtually on Wednesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. via the teleconference application GoToMeeting. Interested parties can make their opinion on the budget heard at that time or prior to the hearing in writing.
People can connect to the meeting with a computer, smartphone, or tablet at 6 p.m. on May 6. The link to the hearing is on the town’s website (clintonct.org) in the agendas and minutes section. Navigate to “Town Council,” then to “Town Council Budget Hearing held via GoToMeeting Teleconference.” To listen in by phone, people can also dial into the hearing by dialing 571-317-3122 and using access code 938-572-013.
Written comments can also be submitted to the town via email by writing to budget@clintonct.org. Emails must be submitted to the Town Council by 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. Writers should know that all emails submitted to the council will also appear online for the public to read in the posted agenda for the meeting.
Following the hearing on May 6, the Town Council will digest the feedback from the public then meet again on Monday, May 11 to amend the budget.
A virtual public hearing is not the norm in Clinton. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and executive orders from Governor Ned Lamont that prohibit large groups of people from gathering, the town could not hold an in-person public hearing, which is annually a big draw in town.
Under those executive orders there will be no budget referendum this year, a fact that rankled some members of the community. Instead of a referendum, the Town Council will meet again on Wednesday, May 27 to officially adopt the budget and set the mill rate for the next fiscal year.
Expect Changes
At a special meeting on March 3, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve a proposed town budget of $19,996,702, a $1,390,392 or 7.47 percent increase over current spending, and a proposed education budget of $37,103,275, a $593,319 or 1.63 percent increase. The combined budget was $57,099,976, a $1,983,710 or 3.59 percent increase.
The resulting tax rate was anticipated to rise 0.69 percent (about a $45 increase on the average Clinton citizen’s tax bill); the discrepancy between the spending increase and tax increase was due to $825,000 of the budget being paid from the fund balance—sometimes called the rainy-day fund—rather than from current tax collections.
While that proposed budget will be the starting point discussed at the public hearing and by the Town Council at subsequent meetings, given the unforeseen economic impacts of the COVID outbreak, Town Manager Karl Kilduff said that changes to that budget are going to be made following the public hearing.
“I am still working on the plan for the council. The environment that the budget needs to respond to and some of our assumptions have changed—assumptions for both revenues and expenditures. In light of the new economic uncertainty brought about by COVID-19, I am trying to re-prioritize expenses and look for prudent delays to reach the goal of a zero-percent tax increase.,” said Kilduff.
As part of the governor’s March 21 Executive Order 7I, the legislative bodies of each municipality in the state were given the authority to set their own budgets. This meant that the Town Council could set the budget instead of letting the public vote on the proposed town and education budgets like is normally done. As part of the executive order, the town was required to give the public a chance to weigh in on the budget.
While the referendum may be canceled, citizens still have the power to make their voices heard and tell the town’s elected officials their thoughts.
Information on the proposed budget can be viewed online on the town’s website www.clintonct.org.