Finance Board Unfinished with Budget

It took three workshops to narrow down the budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year - and the Board of Finance is not done just yet.

With a proposal that would present a balanced budget in the upcoming year for the first time, rather than establishing a reserve, members expressed some concerns last week that there is still work to be done.

"I think if we are going to present a balanced budget to work from for the future and not just for one year, we need to establish the guidelines now," said Joseph Labieniec, board vice-chairman.

During their budget session on Thursday, March 22, the board came to a consensus that would pass a budget with about $850,000 in cuts, including cuts of $215,000 from the Board of Education's proposal and an additional $635,000 from Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback's proposal.

The current request is for a $129 million budget during the 2012-13 fiscal year, of which $46.35 million would serve for operation of general government and an additional $82.65 million would serve as the Board of Education budget.

The budget would be closer to $128 million after the proposed reductions.

The reduction includes the elimination of nearly $200,000 from the Southington Fire Department's budget, a decision made after discussing overtime costs with Fire Cheif Harold Clark last week.

If balanced as presented, the budget would include a 0.63 increase to the town's mill rate. Due to a change in assets as a result of revaluation and the change to a balanced budget, the exact change in tax rate and the affect on the average resident has not yet been determined.