Waterford's RTM Passes $81.7 Million Budget For Next Fiscal Year

Waterford's Representative Town Meeting (RTM) held its final budget meeting last night and approved a $81,732,977 budget for fiscal year 2013/2014.

The school budget of $44,522,768 represents more than half of that but, as School Superintendent Jerome Belair told the RTM in his final presentation last night, that's just a .73 percent increase over last year. 

"It's the smallest increase in 30 years and one of the lowest school budgets in Connecticut," Belair said. "A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this."

RTM members, most of whom had attended the many school budget meetings that were held prior to last night, clearly appreciated the effort, praising Belair for working closely with the town and presenting a very transparent budget. 

"The Board of Education worked diligently with the town," said Board of Education Chairwoman Kathleen McCarty. "We're working as hard as we can to find cost efficiencies."

"Where we can, we're going to run the schools like a business," Belair said.

The total school budget grew by $323,405, with the largest increases coming in salaries (certified salaries: $569,016; support salaries: $94,572) and tuition ($430,161). McCarty said the district is hoping to change that last number. 

"We're hoping with the new high school, we'll attract back some of the students who are leaving the district," she said. 

The district realized big savings in transportation, (a 23.38 percent decrease in special education pupil transport), because the district purchased three vans this year to provide its own transportation instead of contracting it out.

Belair said the school district was also able to substantially cut maintenance costs for the coming year, largely because everything in the high school is new and is under warranty for one year.

The net result is a school budget with a very modest increase that the RTM was happy to support. And, McCarty said, "We're very pleased with the support we've been given." 

Now that RTM has passed the budget, it goes back to the Board of Finance, which will set the mill rate at its next meeting on Wednesday. First Selectman Dan Steward noted that the town's grand list, which has decreased dramatically since the revaluation, will likely have an impact on the new mill rate. The average assessment values have dropped by 16 percent, Steward said. 

"As assessments go down, the mill rate rises," he said.