Lebanon town meeting on budget to be held Monday

Connor Linskey, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·2 min read

May 13—LEBANON — The adjourned annual town meeting will be held Monday at 7: 30 p. m. in the Lyman Memorial High School Auditorium. There, the proposed budget will be presented and the public will be able to give feedback on it.

Lebanon First Selectman Kevin Cwikla is satisfied with the work the Lebanon Board of Finance did to prepare the budget.

" I know the Board of Finance worked diligently on it," Cwikla said.

Pursuant to Connecticut General Statute ? 7- 7, no vote will be taken at the adjourned town meeting on Monday.

The Board of Selectmen have moved the vote on the budget to a referendum. The referendum will be held on Tuesday, May 24 at the Lebanon Fire Safety Complex, 23 Goshen Hill Road, between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Those registered to vote in Lebanon can vote at the referendum.

Any other business to come before the town meeting will also be considered on Monday The 2022- 23 Fiscal Year runs from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.

The total proposed budget is $27,095,832.00, which includes the general town government and Board of Education funds. This is a 3.01% increase from the Approved Budget for Fiscal Year 2021-22.

One of the highlights of the proposed budget is an increase in public safety funding. Overall, the public safety budget in the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year is up $80,203 from Fiscal Year 2021- 22. This includes increased funding for police services, the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department, the fire marshal, the Building Department and the Fire Safety Complex.

The Burning Official budget is the only public safety budget line to see a decrease from the current fiscal year. $3,610 is proposed for this budget line, a decrease of $ 44 from the current fiscal year.

The Public Works Budget proposed budget is $1,563,105, which is an increase of $ 67,986 over the current fiscal year. This includes increased funding for the Public Works Department as well as the Town Buildings & Grounds Department.

Staff members at Lebanon Public Schools will be happy to see increased funding for salaries and wages proposed. An additional 4.29% is funded for salaries and wages.

Employee benefits in the Board of Education Budget are up 6.34% from the current fiscal year.

Nursing and Medical Support Programs are up nearly 3.5% in the proposed Board of Education Budget for the upcoming year.

Regarding the capital budget, funding is proposed for highway paving and replacing the Public Works Department's aging plow truck.

Cwikla believes the budget for the upcoming year is a conservative one.

" It maintains services," he said.

Selectman Betsy Petrie McComber and Board of Finance Chair Elizabeth Charron could not be reached for comment.