Ridgefield Tax Increase: Public Hearing Tonight

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Ridgefield Finance Board has invited the public to attend a hearing on the budget for the coming 2018-19 fiscal year tonight, March 26, starting at 7:30 in the auditorium of the East Ridge Middle School. On the table is a plan that would hike spending upward to $145.9 million. That is a 3.09 percent increase over the current budget.

The 2018-19 budget proposal, which has also been made available online, calls for new investments in Contractual Obligations ($1,490,590) Special Education and Related Services ($752,480) Health Benefits ($1,043,426), Transportation ($157,279), Energy, ($219,086) and Digital Learning ($112,999).

The Board of Selectman made a non-binding recommendation to the Board of Finance earlier this month that the Board of Education budget be reduced from a 4.23 percent increase to an increase not to exceed 2.5 percent. Although there was a small uptick in school enrollment for the 2016-17 school year, Ridgefield's student population is projected to decrease slightly in coming years.