Southington Budget Could Create Largest Tax Hike In Years

SOUTHINGTON, CT —The largest mill rate increase in years is on the table as the Southington Town Council continues work en route to adopting a spending plan for 2023-24 in May.

On Monday, April 24, the public will be able to weigh in on the town's proposed general government/education budgets at a Southington Town Council public hearing.

The hearing is at 7 p.m. in the John Weichsel Municipal Center's public assembly room, 196 N. Main St.

There, the council will listen to testimony on a spending plan already approved by the Southington Board of Finance late last month.

Following the hearing, the council is expected to vote to adopt a budget at its May 8 meeting, with the finance board expected to set a tax rate at its May 10 meeting.

How that budget looks and how much the tax rate will increase is not finalized yet, but, according to the most updated budget document, the mill rate would go up by 1.23 mills this year.

It is the largest tax hike since a 0.9-mill hike in 2014-15, according to the town's budget documents.

It would hike the mill rate to 30.36, a 4.22 percent tax increase, according to the town.

If your home is assessed at $200,000 — for example — the proposed budget would increase your tax bill this year by $246.

The Town of Southington's 2023-24 budget plan is comprised of the following:

• A $173.49 million combined town/education/debt service budget, which is 6.62 percent larger than current spending or $10.77 million larger than this year's budget.

• Of the budget plan, $13.1 million is for debt service, a $2.1 million or 19 percent increase.

• Of the budget, $110.46 is for the Southington Board of Education, a $6.04 million or 5.79 percent increase.

•Of the budget, $49.93 million is for general government, a $2.63 million or 5.55 percent hike.

Southington Town Manager Mark J. Sciota said the state budget upped Southington's revenue by $178,450, according to a cover letter sent to the finance board.

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

For the Southington Board of Finance's 2023-24 budget plan, click on this link. (Historical budget and mill rate summaries are on pages 227 and 228.)

From Feb. 15: 'Amid Political Division, Southington BoE Tweaks Budget'