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Iino: Other Expenses

As Killingworth ponders whether the town should buy the Venuti property for $6.25 million, I am frequently asked about other expenses the town will face in the next few years.

Because we have significantly improved the capital planning of the town over the last eight years, I can report on what the biggest items are likely to be. We continually reevaluate the condition of our assets and the needs and desires of the town, so the plan evolves, but it represents a comprehensive schedule of the capital investments we expect to make through 2028.

Killingworth’s roads are our largest asset, and about a third of our town roads were built in the 1980s and ’90s. These roads are now reaching the point when major reclamation is needed, and so we have about $1 million per year in road projects—reclaiming, resurfacing, and sealing—over the next four years. After that, according to our town engineer’s analysis, that burden should lighten considerably.

The Killingworth Volunteer Fire Company (KVFC) main fire station was built nearly 50 years ago and needs major renovation to meet the needs of the next 50 years. The Board of Selectmen has asked KVFC to conduct a thorough needs assessment on which we can base a renovation plan. For now, we have included $1.5 million in the capital improvement plan for Fiscal Year 2020-’21. The needs assessment will allow us to refine that number.

In addition, the capital plan includes almost half a million dollars to re-chassis and replace fire trucks that will age out in 2019-’20, and in 2024-’25, we have about three-quarters of a million dollars to replace a pumper truck.

In 2001, a modular section was added to Town Hall. It was supposed to be a temporary solution to the growing space needs of the town government, and it was supposed to last for five years. In 2012, the town rejected a plan to replace the modules with a permanent structure. The modules are now well past their intended life, and they are in bad condition. However, because of the heavy capital demands over the next four years, our current plan is to make repairs that will allow that section of the building to function for another five years. The capital plan includes $2 million for a permanent replacement in 2022-’23.

These are the largest capital items in the Multi-Year Capital Improvement Plan approved by the Town Meeting last spring. (You can find it on the Finance Department page at TownofKillingworth.com.) Including smaller capital projects, our annual capital needs range from $1.6- to $3.1 million per year over the next five years.

Another expense could be loss of state funding: Connecticut remains in fiscal crisis. Even after reductions during the last few years, Killingworth is receiving $1.9 million in state education funding this year. Loss of that funding would add significantly to the property tax rate.

Remember, these numbers are more than a guess but less than a guarantee. Unknown unknowns are out there.