The East Windsor Board of Finance Presents Preliminary Proposed 2011-12 Budget to Public

The East Windsor Board of Finance will tonight start its deliberations about what final version of the proposed 2011-12 budget the town will present to voters.

The board held a public hearing on the proposed spending plan Tuesday at . About 50 people attended the hearing.

The total budget proposal is $33,667,825 and represents a 3.59 percent increase over the 2010-11 spending plan approved last year, board chairman Jack Mannette said. The proposal would increase the tax rate by .87 mills,  Mannette said.

Separately, the town government proposed budget is $13,941,374 and represents a 1.9 percent increase over the approved 2010-11 budget. The board of education budget is $19,726,451 and represents a 4.77 percent increase over the 2010-11 spending plan.

In the past, the town has used reserve funds to offset tax increases, that is not being done this year, Mannette said. With an estimated $6.1 million in state aid, the town would have to collect $26.9 million  in local taxes to fund the 2011-12 budget, Mannette said.

Resident Bob Lyke said last year he publicly supported increasing taxes to meet needed expenses, but became frustrated by the budget process, which he says is broken. The town has to restructure how it puts the budget together and find ways to increase revenue not continually cutting spending.  This year he thinks there should be no increase, he said.

“Let’s start there,” Lyke said.

Leslie Hunt, a board of education member, said during the past few years, the school system’s percentage of the town budget has been decreasing. Surrounding communities and others in East Windsor’s comparison group spend a larger percentage of their town budget’s on education, Hunt said.

 A New England Association of Schools and Colleges repot on East Windsor High School said the school system relies too much on grants to fund its programs, Hunt said.

“I think it’s everybody’s responsibility to support education,” Hunt said.

Under the town charter, if voters don’t approve the budget within three referendum votes, town officials must take the prior year’s budget and increase by 2 percent. That default amount will be considered the approved  budget under the charter.

Town officials said if the budget is approved as currently presented it would mean an annual tax increase of $173 for the owner of a $200,000 house. If  the budget is increased by just 2 percent, the $200,000 house would see a $78 annual tax increase.

The board of finance will meet at 7 p.m. in the Park Hill Senior Housing meeting room.