Darien Times
Your taxes are looking to go up by 4.9 percent
Finance board sets 14.55 mill rate; RTM has the final say on May 12


Apr 17, 2008

More than $21 million was appropriated last week by the town for two capital projects: Weed Beach improvements and the police station renovation.

Those projects, along with expected flood mitigation measures, are driving up your taxes by 4.9 percent for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Last Thursday, the Board of Finance unanimously approved the 2008-09 town budget of $104.3 million, up $5.4 million from last fiscal year.

Included in the budget is $66.4 million for the school budget and $37.9 million for the selectmen’s — or town’s — operating budget. The budget goes to the Representative Town Meeting for final approval on Monday, May 12.

The board also approved the potential tax rate of 14.55 mills, up 4.9 percent from 13.87 mills. The mill rate represents a real tax of $13.87 on each $1,000 of assessed property value.

“We support the selectmen’s plan for prioritized capital projects and are committed to financing them in the most fiscally prudent manner possible,” said Murry Stegelmann, the finance board chairman. “I urge townspeople to look at the town operating budget in conjunction with the capital project plan and know that over the next several years we are going to be making significant financial investments to improve our town infrastructure.”

That was the focus of the finance board in its dissection of the proposed town budget — how to fund the capital projects through a combination of current taxation, use of financial surpluses and new bond issuances.

“Each of these projects will be evaluated on its own merits at the appropriate time,” Stegelmann said referring to the upcoming capital projects. “But in total we have to assume that there will be a large increase in both the level of town bonding and the associated costs.”

The grand list, which is the town’s tax base and represents all taxable property in town is $6.47 billion — down slightly from the current year.

The school board’s budget increased by $3.9 million, or 6.31 percent. The finance board cut $273,200 from the proposed budget. The school board increases include new initiatives for increased senior year graduation credit requirements at the high school, more reading education resources for elementary students and additional funding for special education.

The selectmen’s operating budget increased by $1.5 million, or 4.16 percent. The finance board cut about $406,500 from the proposed budget. The biggest factor in the spike was an 18 percent increase in funding for the library’s operating budget because of the new, bigger building. The renegotiated police compensation contract also contributed to the increase.

Staff increases at both the library and Town Hall are a significant factor in the tax hike.

“A lot of it is adding people,” Peter Hovell, finance board member, told The Darien Times on Tuesday. “As long as you want to keep adding people, the budget is going to go up. Personnel increases are the biggest part of the budget.”

Stegelmann is hoping that even with the long-term capital projects, the tax rate won’t continue to rise like it will this year. At December’s State of the Town meeting, he explained the finance board’s five-year forecast.

He said he anticipated a 6.3 percent increase in mill rate for the upcoming fiscal year, 1.4 percent more than what is now expected. For the 2009-10 fiscal year, he forecasts a 7.56 percent increase, followed by 4.98 percent in 2010-11, 3.96 percent in 2011-12 and just 2.87 percent in 2012-13.

“There is a potential $2 million increase in debt service expenses for fiscal year 2009-10 if all of the currently proposed projects are approved, completed, and bonded as scheduled,” Stegelmann said. “As a board we are aggressively looking at ways to use any identified town surpluses; issuing shorter term and generally less expensive note funding when appropriate; and refunding existing debt if market conditions allow.”

Only the future will tell which way the tax rate increase goes, but Hovell thinks it lies more in personnel than capital projects.

“I don’t think it will,” Hovell said when asked if the tax rate increase will subside. “Not as long as you want 2.5 more people at the library each year.”

Yet Stegelmann is remaining steadfast in being as fiscally prudent as possible for the future of the town.

“Knowing that we are facing significant town infrastructure capital project needs, along with an uncertain future economic environment,” he said, “we asked the budget developers to be especially prudent in their operating budget requests.

“Although the 4.9 percent mill rate increase is larger than most members of the Board of Finance would prefer, almost 80 percent of these budgets consist of ‘baked in’ costs related to personnel and utilities, so it is difficult to enact substantial overall budget cuts.

E-mail Darien Times reporter Austin Amoroso at aamoroso@darientimes.com.