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Community Corner

Council Members Agree to a Quarter-Mill Tax Cut

Republicans leave meeting in protest after Democrats discuss the budget in a closed-door caucus.

Democrats on the Legislative Town Council came to an agreement Thursday for a .25 mill tax cut for the 2011-12 budget year.

The bones of the informal decision, which still must be voted on at a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday, were sketched out in a 15-minute, closed-door caucus the Democrats held during a budget workshop at the Community Center.

Angered at being left out of the discussion, the three Republicans on the Town Council walked out of the workshop in protest as the meeting reconvened in public.

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If approved by the full council at the special meeting set for April 26 at 7 p.m., the quarter-mill cut will mean a tax rate of 26.59 for the year starting July 1, 2011.

That means a tax bill of $5,318 for a house with an assessment of $200,000 [multiply 0.02659 times your tax assessment to calculate your tax bill].

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Mayor April Capone had proposed a bigger tax cut, down to 26.25 mills, which would have meant a $5,250 tax bill for the hypothetical homeowner.

Members of the council saw this as a compromise that still gave taxpayers a cut but went an extra length toward building up the fund balance - the funds the town keeps on hand to deal with emergencies.

The council also informally agreed to a Board of Education budget of $44.3 million, an increase of $247,388, as was recommended by Capone.

Council Chairman James Dougherty received a letter earlier in the day from School Superintendent Anthony Serio that reduced the amount Serio said the school system needed to implement all-day kindergarten in the next school year.

Serio had asked for an increase of $957,000, but in the letter he said school officials had saved enough money for transportation, electricity, unemployment compensation costs, and repairs and maintenance expenses to lower its requested increase to $670,000.

But Board of Education Chairman Nick Palladino, who attended the budget workshop, said he believed the schools could find additional savings. Based on that, the councilmen will vote on the lower figure.

Another budget decision on Thursday involved the appropriations to the contingency and fund balance accounts.

The councilmen decided to increase the projection for tax collection revenues from 97.5 percent to 97.75 percent.

Along with the proposed mill rate, that would mean an increase of projected revenues of $386,000, of which $250,000 would go to increase the fund balance contribution and $136,000 to the contingency account.

Councilman Michael Riolino noted that the town tax collector previously told the council that a tax collection rate of up to 98 percent would be realistic.

Finance Director Thomas Thompson confirmed that increasing the fund balance, also known as the "rainy day fund," would be viewed favorably by the bond rating agencies when the town sold 20-year municipal bonds later this year.

And more money in the contingency account could always be used for transfers if another budgetary line item goes into the red, such as happened this spring with the Police Department and Fire Department overtime accounts.

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