Board of Finance
How Your Town's Budget Is Developed
The Town Budget is developed and managed in two parts: general government, administered by the Board of Selectmen (BOS) and the school district, administered by the Board of Education (BOE). The process of creating and adopting the Town Budget is a continuous cycle with both the BOS and BOE following similar processes. The cycle begins each fall with the Town Departments and Schools reviewing and revising their strategic priorities, from which each develops supporting programs and initiatives for the upcoming fiscal year including initial operating and capital budget requirements. The Board of Finance (BOF) outlines a very rough first estimate of assumptions regarding several other elements that affect the overall mil rate calculation - grand list growth, tax collection rate, town revenue sources, debt service, senior tax relief and general fund balance adjustments - and may run very preliminary mil rate models to provide guidance to the BOS and BOE.
A series of workshops with Town staff/BOS and School administrators/BOE start in December and run through February to review the proposals. Residents are invited to these sessions. A public hearing is held by the BOE, generally in late January.
Typically, the BOS and BOE approve their budgets and Five-Year Capital Plan by the end of February and submit them to the BOF for review in early March. The BOF holds public hearings thirty-five days before the Annual Town Meeting to hear public comment on the respective budget requests and the proposed tax rate.
In early April, the Board of Finance holds several meetings at which it refines revenue estimates, considers the comments expressed at the public hearings, decides if the respective budget requests should be changed, determines an acceptable general fund balance and, lastly, determines the mill rate necessary to support the budget. The BOF may decrease, increase or leave the BOS and BOE budgets unchanged.
Pursuant to the General Statutes, the BOF cannot make changes to individual line items in the BOE budget. It can only change the total BOE appropriation. It is then up to the BOE to designate how the total will be allocated to the individual lines.
The BOF may reduce or increase any line item in the Board of Selectmen's budget request, however, the BOS with four affirmative votes can override the BOF's action, provided that the BOS reduce or increase other line items so that the total of their budget request shall equal the total amount of such line items as originally proposed by the BOF.
Finally, the Annual Town Meeting is held each May, traditionally on the first Tuesday, at which the BOF-recommended budget is presented and discussed. The public is encouraged to attend this meeting. The Annual Town Meeting can amend the BOF-recommended budget within constraints imposed by the Charter.
Voting on the BOF-recommended or amended budget occurs immediately following the Town Meeting, and at an adjourned Town Meeting held on the following Saturday. Each voter has the following choices: approve the budget; reject the budget because it is too high; or reject the budget because it is too low. The recommended budget and rate of taxation are passed unless they are rejected by at least 15% of the Town’s eligible voters and by a majority of those casting votes.
Should the budget be rejected, the BOF, after consultation with the BOE and the BOS, recommends a reconsidered budget to a reconvened Annual Town Meeting, which must be held within twenty-five days of the date the budget was rejected.
The Reconvened Town Meeting may approve or reduce the reconsidered budget but not reject it entirely.