Town budget trimmed back

By Wiley Wood

Norfolk will spend less in the coming year, and the tax rate will be marginally lower.

The budget presented by Michael Sconyers, chairman of the Board of Finance, at a special town meeting on June 10 was almost $200,000 lower than last year’s, a drop of 3 percent.

Property taxes will drop from a mil rate of 22.41 to 21.95. This means that Norfolk residents will pay the town $21.95 per $1,000 of assessed property, down from $22.41. The last sizable drop in the mil rate occurred in 2009, after a town-wide property revaluation.

Sconyers had vowed to do his best to reduce taxes this year, after a 10 percent tax hike last year.

The town’s education spending, the single largest component of the budget, is slated to decrease. The Botelle School held its costs flat, at $2,550,000, for the third year in a row. The Northwest Regional 7 School District lowered Norfolk’s contribution this year by almost $70,000, to $1,770,000. Fewer students from Norfolk are attending Regional in 2015-16.

The town’s spending for general government stayed virtually flat. “No one at town hall is receiving a raise,” said Sue Dyer.

The town also voted in May to discontinue its resident state trooper position, cutting $130,000 from last year’s budget.

In all, the town will raise $6,435,356 in taxes, down from $6,628,517 a year ago. A summary of the town budget can be found on the home page of the Town of Norfolk website, www.norfolkct.org.