Proposed Mill Rate Hike For Haddam

The Board of Finance proposed increasing taxes by .92 mills at their final budget meeting Wednesday night.

Although the budget's bottom line decreased by $153,811, the tax hike is still needed to balance the town's $7.5 million spending and revenue plan, which will go before voters at a public hearing May 4.

Following the property reevaluation last year, slow growth in town and no increase in the grand list, First Selectman Paul DeStefano told the finance board the budget request "is more than bare bones folks, this is painful.”

A chilly freeze on all department expenses, including wages, cooled any heated arguments over individual department requests.

After the selectmen’s requests, two months of weekly deliberation and meetings with department heads, the finance board produced a budget they said they felt was fair to all departments in the current economy.

Inevitably, one of the largest increases across the board is in the fuel line for each department, which jumped 25 percent.

After the unusually harsh and snowy winter, many line items ended up in the red; snow and ice removal, roof repairs and the unexpected expense of removing snow from town building roofs.

In an effort to balance the budget, some groups and departments were cut drastically or even completely, such as Little League.

”We don’t fund lacrosse or soccer, I think we need to be consistent with other youth sports,” explained board member Lucille Silvestrini.

The location for the budget hearing has not yet been determined, but all residents are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts on the proposed budget.