Give Southington Your Opinion On New Budget, Tax Hikes

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Residents and taxpayers have one more chance to give the town's top elected body their input on how it plans to spend tax dollars and what taxes it will charge this year.

The Southington Town Council is hosting a budget public hearing on Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the John Weichsel Municipal Center, 200/196 N. Main St., Southington.

There, the council will discuss and hear resident/taxpayer comments on the Southington Board of Finance's proposed 2025-26 town/education budget, which does call for a tax increase this year.

The Southington Town Council is mandated by charter to adopt a budget no later than the second Monday of May, which this year is May 12.

This is done via a council vote on several budgetary components.

Once the total budget is adopted, the finance board will adopt a new tax rate for this year's tax bills, something that must be done by May 14 or the third Monday of May.

According to the latest budget figures in Southington, the 2026-26 plan is comprised of:

• A combined town/school budget of $188.35 million, a $7.5 million increase or 4.16 percent.

• A $53.19 million general government budget, which is $1.38 million larger, or 2.66 percent.

• A $121.9 million education spending package, which is $5.94 million large,r or 5.12 percent.

• A $13.27 million debt service budget for bonded items, which is $201,937 larger, or 1.55 percent.

To pay for that budget, Southington officials said the motor vehicle mill rate would be 32.46, which is the state-mandated cap regarding motor vehicle taxes this year.

The proposed automobile mill rate, despite the cap, is still 1.02 mills larger.

It means if you have a car assessed at $25,000, you would pay an extra $25.50 in taxes compared to a year ago.

As for real estate and personal property, the new tax rate would be 33.18, according to the latest figures, for a tax hike of 1.74 mills.

If your home is assessed at $300,000, the new tax rate this year would translate into an increase of $522.

For the legal call of Monday's Southington Town Council budget hearing, click on this link.

For the complete Southington budget plan for 2025-26, including tax impact information, click on this link.