By Avice Meehan

Roughly three dozen voters took 11 minutes to work their way through a six-resolution agenda at the May 11 annual town meeting held at Botelle School’s Hall of Flags. Only one item—the request to transfer $58,366 to the Botelle Elementary School budget drew any questions and those were handled with dispatch by Superintendent Kevin Case.

The Botelle transfer, included in an omnibus resolution from the Board of Finance, resolved an outstanding dispute with the Connecticut Department of Education regarding Norfolk’s failure to meet the state’s minimum budget requirement. The school budget for 2024-25 dipped because of a change in spending for special education, but state law does not recognize that as an exception. Case said the Board of Education has no intention of spending the funds and will transfer the appropriation at the end of the fiscal year.

More significantly, residents at the annual town meeting approved a $9.426 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 for general government, Botelle School and Norfolk’s share of the Northwestern Regional 7 School District budget. The total reflects a 2 percent increase over the current year budget with $527,406 in capital expenditures covered by the settlement from the gasoline spill on Route 44 and the closure of the town’s defined benefit plan. Those expenditures include purchase of a second new dump truck, an additional “downpayment” on a new fire truck and a final payment for the loan to build the town’s ambulance building.

The good news for taxpayers? The amount to be raised through property taxes will remain relatively flat at $8.279 million and there will be no tax increase. Additional income to the town includes $382,200 from fees, permits and interest and $502,299 in various payments from the state. The mill rate of 22.49 will remain unchanged from the current year. That represents $22.49 for every $1,000 of assessed valuation and was approved by the Board of Finance at a special meeting on May 19.

Several resolutions on the agenda for the annual town meeting were routine, enabling the Board of Selectmen to apply for grants and borrow up to $500,000 on the town’s behalf in the anticipation of tax revenues. Voters also approved a transfer of $7,500 from the Moore-Bailey Trust for maintaining plantings in the town center and City Meadow and set a 15 percent minimum for the town’s positive fund balance or surplus.

In addition to settling the dispute with the state over school spending, the omnibus resolution requested by the Board of Finance clarified and documented expenditures from the closure of the defined benefit plan, including a transfer of $500,000 toward construction of the new firehouse, and authorized the selectmen to use a portion of the settlement from the gasoline spill to pay legal fees incurred during this fiscal year.