By Avice Meehan

The Board of Finance (BoF) held two meetings on March 11: the first to hear a formal presentation of the budget for Botelle Elementary School and the second for a discussion with First Selectman Matt Riiska focused on the town’s preliminary budget.

Chairman Michael Sconyers indicated that no final decisions on the budget and a proposed mill rate would be made until the April 8 regular meeting because numbers were continuing to move around. 

John DeShaazo, vice chair of the Board of Education (BoE), presented the proposed 2025-26 school budget of $2,545,203. It is 3.92 percent below the current year budget of $2,649,086 and lower than the earlier draft plan. The discussion before the BoF was brief, with DeShazo noting that the health insurance line item could drop slightly and that special education costs would remain volatile. 

Sconyers and Virginia Coleman-Prisco, BoE chair, also formally ended the agreement governing the use of unspent school funds. The money, up to 2 percent of the annual school budget, would remain in the town account but be managed by the school.

The total town budget, as Riiska noted, is still being developed. As of the meeting, the total draft budget was $9.456 million, but the number dropped by roughly $200,000 since then based on the lower Botelle budget and continued refinement of the assessment for Northwestern Regional 7.

Riiska showed the BoF a general town budget, including capital items, of $4.7 million. This included proposed salary increases for Town Hall and unionized staff, possible road projects, and miscellaneous shifts, including additional funds for the town van in lieu of the bus service provided through Geer. 

Jeff Torrant, a BoF member, questioned the allocation of $40,000 for City Meadow saying he had anticipated that no town funds would be spent. Riiska responded by saying that it is town property and much of the work has been supported by donations. He said the Friends of the Meadow Committee, led by Libby Borden and George Cronin, is also beginning a fundraising campaign.

Significant outstanding questions include what kind of debt burden the town wants to assume for major projects, including the proposed firehouse. Estimated debt service for 2025-26 would be $561,471 for a mix of projects, among them the River Place bridge, the bridge on Mountain Road and repairs to Maple Avenue, as well as potential first-year payments for the Firehouse. Said Riiska, “Where do we want to be in the future? Where do we want to be in terms of debt?”

In addition, Riiska said he was modeling the impact of potential mill rates for on property owners. It will go down because Norfolk underwent revaluation, but the rate will have a differential impact on many homeowners because of the substantial increases in assessed valuation on many properties. He also walked the BoF through the new method for valuing motor vehicles that the selectmen adopted earlier in the month.