Guilford Budget Reduced Another $1 Million; 3rd Referendum Upcoming

GUILFORD, CT - The first budget referendum failed by just 40 votes. The second one failed by almost 200 votes, and that led the Board of Finance to approve budget reductions totalling $1 million Thursday night, the New Haven Register reports.

Now the Board of Education increase is 1.73 percent and the town operations are increasing 1.96 percent. A new referendum date has not yet been scheduled but will be soon. The new budget is $93.2 million and has been reduced by $1.3 million since the original budget was approved.

The biggest driver of the tax increase next year, which is around 2.5 percent, is a $2 million increase in the debt service payment, mostly attributable to the new high school project.

First Selectman Joe Mazza told the Register that the newly approved reductions will result in a reduction of services.

For much more on the impact of the $1 million budget cuts and what’s next in the budget process read the full Register story here.