Killingly residents to vote Tuesday on 2023-24 budget plans that carry a 1.79 mill increase
On Tuesday, Killingly residents will vote on whether to approve town and school board budget proposals for 2023-24 that, when combined, would mean a 1.79 mill rate increase. Machine voting is scheduled from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Districts 1, 3 and 5: Board of Education Central Office building 79 Westfield Ave., Danielson.
Districts 2 and 4: Killingly High School cafeteria, 226 Putnam Pike, Dayville.
The town and school budgets are approved by voters separately; if one passes and the other fails, only the rejected budget goes through a further amendment process. If both budgets are approved, the mill rate will increase from 25.14 to 26.93.
General government
Town Manager Mary Calorio’s initial $25.7 million general government budget proposal was decreased by town councilors by $218,000 in the lead-up to the May 1 annual Town Meeting.
The council reduced a winter salt maintenance account by $75,000; Calorio said last winter’s meager snowfall means supplies are adequate heading into the coming winter. The council also cut a KB Ambulance funding increase request by $105,000; acknowledged a $13,000 savings from an expected Northeast District Department of Health rate hike; and removed a $25,000 proposed increase to the town’s contingency line item to address “catastrophic” issues.
The budget plan calls for adding two new constables to the town’s police force while reducing the number of resident state troopers from two to one for an anticipated $40,000 in savings. The budget plan also calls for pulling $500,000 from the unrestricted fund balance account for the replacement of the town library’s roof and $2.3 million – the same amount as last year – for various road renewal projects.
Paying their fair share: Who are Killingly's biggest taxpayers?
After various revenue figures are calculated, the modified $25.5 million town budget plan represents a net mill increase of 0.4, or $658,000 more than the current budget year.
Board of Education
The Board of Education’s March budget proposal of $46.8 million was reduced by $1.5 million during council deliberations. But residents at the annual town meeting earlier this month restored that full amount by a majority vote. The budget is a $1.8 million, or 3.94%, increase from the current year and would require a 1.39 mill rate increase to the town’s mill rate to fund.
The spending plan calls for funding several new positions, including a district psychologist, business office assistant, half-time family and consumer science teacher and a part-time custodian. The district this year is slated to reimburse the town approximately $531,000 for the cost of a school resource officer and five new armed school security officer positions.
More than a year later: Killingly approves student mental health clinic. What that means for pending state inquiry
The town expects to lose roughly $500,000 in tuition revenue this year due to an anticipated drop in the number of Brooklyn students enrolling at Killingly High School, though state grant funding is expected to partially mitigate the loss.
Budget links
A sample budget ballot can be found at https://www.killingly.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif4581/f/uploads/sample_ballot_-_5-9-23.pdf.
The latest budget proposals, as well as a tax bill calculator and property card data base are available at https://www.killingly.org/home/news/proposed-budget-fy-2023-2024.
John Penney can be reached at jpenney@norwichbulletin.com or at (860) 857-6965.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: After weeks of modification, 2023-24 Killingly budgets head to voters
