Llodra: Collaboration Went into Budget Creation; 3.29% Tax Increase to Start With

Months before finalizing their budgets, First Selectman Pat Llodra and Board of Education Chairman Bill Hart met to collaborate on the process, she said.

"We've been meeting for months to try and develop a relationship and collaborate," she said Monday. "We think we are off to a pretty good start in being clear and focused on the numbers."

Llodra said when the Board of Finance meets for the first time on the budget at , she would like to make a joint budget presentation with Hart.

Both the boards of Selectmen and Education budgets feature increases of less than 3-percent over the budget adopted last year. Combined, the budget requests represent a net 2.89-percent increase.

Given the Grand List, residents would expected to see a property tax increase of about 3.29-percent if no changes were made to the selectmen or education budget requests, Llodra said.

The 3.29 percent seems like it's a good starting point, she said.

"We don't know where it is going to end up," Llodra said.

Last year, the tax increase was 2.5-percent.

Editor's note: For more highlights of the two budget proposals, read .

Correction: The town has plans to draw no money from its fund balance for the 2011-12 fiscal year. An earlier version of this story was incorrect in describing the town's budget reliance on fund balance.