Madison Budget Referendum Tuesday, May 14
Madison holds its annual budget referendum on Tuesday, May 14. The combined town and schools fiscal year 2019-’20 budget comes to $84,788,943, an increase in spending over last year of $1,721,742 or 2.07 percent.
Board of Finance (BOF) Chair Jean Fitzgerald asked that all residents come out and exercise their right to vote. The annual budget referendum is arguably the most influential vote a Madison resident can make, when it comes to daily life in town.
“Please take advantage of the opportunity to have your voice be heard and have a say in the planning and financial future of the town,” she said. “Regardless of what your vote is, take advantage of the opportunity to have a say in the outcome of the vote.”
The Town Budget
The town budget comes to $26,740,840, an increase in spending of $1,777,350 or 7.12 percent. The town budget includes contractual salary increases, an uptick in health insurance, an increased investment in capital as recommended by the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Committee, and a small jump in debt service due to the addition of the library renovation bonds.
In addition, the budget includes a $150,000 addition to the library operating budget, reflecting the town commitment to steadily restore the library operating budget in anticipation of the new building opening in 2020, and a $110,000 infusion into the Madison Ambulance Association, which is currently operating at a loss. The town budget has also jumped slightly from the first budget hearing, due to a $150,000 addition to the capital project fund.
The budget does not include projected revenues or expenditures for the Our Lady of Mercy Preparatory Academy (OLMPA) lease of Island Avenue School as the town does not yet have a signed lease.
The town is looking at a significant operating increase this year, but Selectman Bruce Wilson said previously that this level of increase is not going to become the norm. He said the town budget has had very small increases over the years in comparison to the Board of Education (BOE) and the selectmen wanted to take this year to try to catch up on projects and department needs that had been pushed out.
“We were counting on something like a million [dollars] lower from the schools—not that we were looking to spend all of that—and we were looking to take that tailwind from the BOE budget and use it to right size,” he said.
The Schools Budget
The BOE proposed budget, the district’s first with a closed Island Avenue School, comes to $58,048,103, a decrease in spending of $55,608 or 0.10 percent. The budget represents a decrease in spending for general education, school facilities, debt service, and flat funding for maintenance. Items driving an offsetting increase to the budget include special education and health insurance.
Coming into this budget, the administration promised the town would recognize a savings from the closure of Island Avenue Elementary School. The BOE voted in 2017 to close Island due to declining enrollment. Rough estimates at the time suggested the closure would yield a savings of anywhere from about $800,000 to $1 million, a savings that would be first recognized this coming fiscal year with the school formally slated for closure in June 2019.
The final number attributed to the closure of Island and reconfiguration of the district is $972,245, a 1.67 percent reduction off the base budget. When the BOE first approved its budget, some board members argued for a larger overall savings for the closure, but Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice said previously even though there is one fewer building and fewer staff, this budget still has fixed costs like contractual increases.
Revenue and the Mill Rate
Residents do not vote on the projected revenue budget, but those numbers are taken into account when the budget is built. Fitzgerald previously said the budget assumes flat funding in terms of state revenue this coming year.
“Right now we can only go with what we know from the state,” she said. “We have no final word on it, so what we are doing is assuming the same that we assumed last year…We assume little to nothing and then we deal with it accordingly so we don’t have any surprises and we are prepared for anything.”
The Grand List unofficially went up 1.15 percent, a jump from the historical average of 0.65 percent; that figure is not final until all assessment appeals are completed. Under the current assumptions, the mill rate would go up 0.32 mills or 1.14 percent. Assuming an average assessed home value of $400,000, the mill rate increase would result in an additional $128 in taxes next fiscal year. The BOF will formally set the mill rate following a successful referendum.
Where and When to Vote
The budget referendum is Tuesday, May 14 and polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. All eligible voters in the town can report to their designated polling station or cast an absentee ballot to vote in the referendum. On the ballot, residents will be asked to vote on the town and BOE budgets separately.
District 1 includes all registered voters who live at properties on the even numbered side of Green Hill Road and south. The polling place is the Madison Senior Center, 29 Bradley Road.
District 2 includes all registered voters who live at properties on the odd numbered side of Green Hill Road and north. The polling place is Dr. Robert H. Brown Middle School, 980 Durham Road.
To learn more about how to obtain an absentee ballot for the May 14 budget referendum, visit www.madisonct.org.
The budget presentations, supporting reports, and meeting dates can all be found on the town website at www.madisonct.org.