Farmington's GOP-Led Council Seeks Lean Spending Hikes

FARMINGTON, CT — The Republican-led town council recently voted to keep spending increases to a minimum as town and school leaders begin budget deliberations for 2024-25.

At the last Farmington Town Council meeting on Jan. 23 (the Feb. 13 meeting was canceled due to snow), the council voted 4-3 along party lines on spending increase targets for the upcoming budget season, which ended with a referendum vote in the spring.

Those targets are a 2.8 percent increase in spending for the municipal budget and 3 percent for the town's board of education budget.

Most of the Jan. 22 meeting was spent deliberating Farmington's budget situation, with the GOP majority ultimately winning out.

Those supporting the budget targets were Republicans Joe Capodiferro, the council chairman, Amy Palumbo, Keith Vibert, and Sarah Healey.

The Democratic dissenters were Brian F. X. Connolly, Patricia Boye-Williams and Dave Wlodkowski.

Though not binding, the budget targets are meant as a guideline for all town and school budget planners when they prepare spending plan requests.

Those initial requests will run through a gauntlet of municipal scrutiny before the voters' final say.

Council members on Jan. 23 debated whether the figure was too low or too high and whether, specifically, it was fair for the school system to have just a 3 percent increase target.

"I do hear everything you say and I know the board of ed will come in where they need to be as far as 'we need A, B and C' and sit down with us to explain here's what the driver is, here's what this cost is," Capodiferro said.

"Obviously, its going to be a balancing act."

He said with a significant amount of tax dollars being expended regarding the new Farmington High School project and a new Farmington Town Hall project, it is best to keep budgets safe.

But Connelly said he was concerned that giving a budget target could negatively impact what is being offered by the schools as ed officials might say they were limited by the 3 percent target.

"Are we really open to looking at things that need to be done?" Connelly said, alluding to the prospects of increased school spending based on yet-to-be-finalized needs.

Healey said the targets are just a start, not a firm mandate, but one that could be changed based on what the needs are.

"From what I'm hearing you saying, you're making it very clear that this is what we'd like for a target given all of the numbers that we know now," Healey said to Capidoferro.

The council vote comes nearly a year after many Farmington taxpayers faced tax increases due to the recently completed revaluation a year ago.

For the minutes of the Jan. 23 Farmington Town Council meeting, click on this link.

From May 2, 2023: 'Farmington Says 'Yes,' OKs Budget/Town Hall Project'