This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/22/2018 03:45 PMThe town’s $24,098,258 budget for fiscal year 2018-’19 was unanimously approved by the approximately 50 residents voting in the annual Town Budget Meeting on May 15. The approved budget shows an increase of $19,991 or 0.08% over the current budget.
“This is our fourth unanimously approved budget at a town meeting. We’ve had unanimously approved budgets for four years or more” said Essex First Selectman Norman Needleman.
Following the town meeting and vote, the Board of Finance voted to reduce the mill rate 0.11 mills or 0.5 percent from last years 21.96 mills to the current 21.85 mills for the fiscal year 2018-’19.
For the fiscal year 2018-’19 the Grand List grew $5,611,602 or 0.54 percent and will provide an additional $122,600 in tax revenue at the new mill rate.
“I think this year we saw the largest amount of organic growth in the Grand List” said Needleman. “This year our spending as virtually flat and we had organic growth in the Grand List and that’s really what was reflected in the reduction of the mill rate.”
Needleman also noted the affect of declining enrollment, which has led to a flattening of education spending.
“I think the message is that we’ve always been prudent. We were prudent before the financial collapse. We were prudent after the financial collapse. We were prudent for 8 or 10 years,” Needleman said. “I think it starts treating other people’s tax money like its your own.”
A copy of the approved budget document will be available on the town’s website, essexct.gov.