Monroe’s budget process started prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 8th, First Selectman Ken Kellogg presented a budget to the Town Council that included a municipal expenditure increase of less .60-percent, and reduced the Board of Education’s requested increase to 4-percent. The Board of Education’s appropriation is the largest driver in the Monroe budget, which would have resulted in a projected tax rate increase of approximately 2.6-percent.  Economies of the town, state and households have chanced since then, and Kellogg assumes that the upcoming fiscal year will present significant financial challenges.  He called on the Board of Finance to adopt a budget with a zero increase to the tax rate, while leveraging tools to avoid draconian reductions in service.