Community Corner

Mayor's Budget Raises Average Tax Bill $28

'This is necessary to maintain core services and to cover ever-rising fixed costs in town government.'

Mayor John A. Harkins says the average Stratford homeowner's annual tax bill will increase by $28 under his $192 million proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14.

The figure is based on the average assessed value of a home in Stratford being $250,000, according to the mayor.

"This is necessary to maintain core services and to cover ever-rising fixed costs in town government," Harkins wrote in his budget review.

Find out what's happening in Stratfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He added, "The cost per employee of municipal labor is far out-stripping the taxpayers' ability to pay for a level of services to which they have become accustomed, which is something we continue to address through the collective bargaining process."

The total proposed budget comes in at $192,596,240, a 0.91 percent increase in spending over the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2013. It has been attached to this article as a PDF in the gallery right.

Find out what's happening in Stratfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Operating costs can be broken down as follows:

Service Area Proposed Allocation Percentage of Overall Budget Administration $4,743,679 2.46 Contingencies $2,758,515 1.43 Debt/Capital $13,264,312 6.89 Employee Benefits $33,902,076 17.60 Finance $1,661,203 0.86 Fire $11,180,746 5.81 Health/Human Services $2,684,589 1.39 Library $2,850,671 1.48 Police $11,132,463 5.78 Public Works $12,925,457 6.71 Board of Education 49.59 Total Expenditures $192,596,240 100

Ninety-six percent of revenue under the mayor's proposed budget comes from $153,793,939 in property taxes and $27,868,890 in state funding.

"Increases in structural costs such as education, employee pensions and benefits, debt service, and workers' compensation are the key drivers of the overall operating expenditures," Harkins said.

In his budget Harkins noted a $10.4 million increase to the town's grand list.

"Last year my administration committed to investing in economic development, job growth and business expansion," he said. "The simple truth is that Stratford is growing, while other communities are either shrinking or struggling to make gains in their tax base."

Harkins said despite a $461,000 decrease in state funding, his budget continues the investment in economic development, and has a new focus on school security with an additional $1.5 million in education funding, as well as $1.5 million in bonding for "school safety and security enhancements."

The mayor has allocated $1.5 million for the town attorney's office, which is $15,000 less than the current fiscal year and about $240,000 less than the year prior.

"We are trending in the right direction," he said at a Town Council meeting this week.

"Using the town attorney's office as an example, town departments are meeting the obligation to hold down future costs, while at the same time grappling with unresolved lawsuits, legally sensitive personnel matters, and pending settlement payments from previous years," Harkins wrote in his budget review.

"I look forward to working with the Town Council as this budget process moves forward."   


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here