The town will hold the Annual Budget meeting in person at the Community Center on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m. with three items on the meeting call, including a decision to send the town and education budgets to referendum on Tuesday, April 12 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The first item on the agenda for the April 5 Annual Budget Meeting is to consider and act upon the proposed budget.

The proposed 2022-’23 combined town and schools budget is $109,913,544, a $4,743,785 or 4.51 percent increase over the $105,169,759 2021-’22 budget.

A substantial portion of the increase in the operating expenses is due to increased health insurance costs for teachers and town employees.

Of the proposed $109,913,544 in operating expenses, the Board of Finance expects that the town will need to receive $102,944,037 from the taxpayers with the difference coming from other sources such as state funding. While the size of the budget has grown by 4.51 percent, the town’s Grand List of Taxable Properties grew by approximately 2.15 percent, which means the Board of Finance would raise the current 32.62 mill rate by 0.63 mills, which translates to an increase to the taxpayers of 1.9 percent above last year’s tax rate.

Item 2 on the meeting agenda is to discuss a resolution on a number of spending and capital projects including, renovations to various town schools, appropriations of bonds, grant authorizations for the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education.

Item 3 on the meeting agenda is to discuss authorization of $10 million for the acquisition of as yet undetermined parcels of land. This money would not be utilized or included in budgets until a purchase of land/property is actually approved.

Ahead of the April 12 budget referendum, residents can ensure they are registered to vote and know where they should vote by contacting the Registrars of Voters at 203-453-8028.

Polling Places

District 1: Calvin Leete School, 280 South Union Street

District 2: Abraham Baldwin Middle School, 68 Bullard Drive

District 3: Guilford Fire Department Headquarters, 390 Church Street

District 4: Melissa Jones School, 181 Ledge Hill Road

District 5: A.W. Cox School, 143 Three Mile Course