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Newtown officials propose budget for coming fiscal year

Newtown officials are starting to craft a budget for the coming fiscal year.  The town side of the tax and spending plan would be about $41million, with some of the increase to pay for road repairs. 

 

The Board of Education discussed a $76 million budget last night.  It would include funding for more social workers, counselors and psychiatrists, while also cutting some teaching positions.  The district is projecting a continued decline in enrollment.

 

There would be a new position created, a purchasing agent who would work for both the town and the schools.  The employee would be tasked with finding efficiencies.  The overall budget is a 2.3 percent increase.  The Board of Selectmen plans to send their proposal to the Board of Finance later this month.  A public hearing will have to be held before the referendum this Spring.

 

While cuts in the two-year state budget are manageable, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal says the expectation should be that the state is not going to kick in additional revenue.  He wants the goal to be, over time, to create autonomy from the state.  But Rosenthal doesn't believe Newtown has the luxury of hiking taxes any further. 

 

Rosenthal wants to bring business planning to capital projects, examining how many people each project would reach compared to the potential revenue. 

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