ESSEX

The Essex Board of Selectmen (BOS) adopted the new budget for the 2024-’25 fiscal year at the Annual Town Meeting on May 13, totaling $27,638,662 in expenditures. The Board of Finance established a new mill rate of 18.05.

The BOS’s budget for most town departments and services totals $9,660,797 in expenditures, making up approximately 35% of the overall budget. The remaining 65% of the budget is within the area of education, with both the Essex Board of Education and the town’s share in the Region 4 School District totaling $17,977,865 in expenditures. The overall budget is seeing a 4.21% increase from the current year’s budget, which is set to expire on Sunday, June 30. The town will run on the recently adopted budget starting on Monday, July 1.

A significant aspect of the budget is the drop in the town’s mill rate from 22.59 to 18.05 mills, maintaining Essex’s profile as having one of the lowest rates in the state. However, residents may not be on the receiving end of an overall decrease in taxes.

First Selectman Norm Needleman informed attendees at the meeting that 2024 marks a “different budget year for us.” This year marks a period for the revaluation of real estate properties in Essex, which is not alone in witnessing a “substantial increase in the value of all property in the state,” particularly residential properties.

“In Essex, we saw a very vibrant residential real estate market,” Needleman said to meeting attendees. “What did happen in this [revalulation], which is consistent with the rest of the state, is residential real estate went up at a faster rate than commercial or industrial went up.”

Needleman said that “because of disparity in residential, commercial, industrial, there will be a slight shift in the burden towards residential” in town property taxes. The specifics of what tax bills will look like for residents is currently undetermined, said Needleman, adding that “one neighborhood can be up or down more than another neighborhood.”

The main drivers behind the budget include a 197% increase in animal control services, with an allocation of $46,000 in expenditures. This consists of one-third of an inter-local agreement between Essex, Deep River, and Chester for a shared animal control officer serving the Tri-Town region. Deep River and Chester will be paying the same dollar amount toward the agreement. Needleman said the possible co-signing of Westbrook onto the agreement could lower the town’s share, which may also “give us some flexibility to hire a backup” to serve a total of four towns.

Another driver is a request for $90,433 for the Tri-Town Youth Services Bureau as a substitute for an expired state grant “aimed at preventing or reducing youth substance abuse use, for which we have seen positive results in recent years,” bureau Executive Director Rob Bibbiani told the Valley Courier in a previous issue.

Needleman said this allocation would support hiring a new staff member at the bureau to work with Essex students on their mental health since the “pandemic took a really bad toll on all of our kids.”

Regarding the budget overall, Needleman stated that, “We budgeted revenue very conservatively in this town, which was a smart move.”

“I think we've come up with a very responsible budget,” he said.