Budget-Go-Round

The second budget referendum defeat has resulted in a target reduction of $500,000 (to be split $300,000 from Education and $200,000 from General Government) as directed by the Board of Finance. The Selectmen will meet Tuesday evening to identify where $200,000 can be removed and the Board of Education will likewise meet Tuesday evening for a similar reason. Board of Finance should meet again Wednesday evening, hopefully to recommend a revised budget, Selectmen will probably meet briefly Thursday morning to send the budget to a Town Meeting and referendum – most likely the Town Meeting would be Monday July 23^rd with the referendum the following Monday, July 30^th.

The Board of Finance has already set the mill rate at 25.25 mills and tax bills have been mailed out accordingly. While the BOF intimated that the mill rate might be adjusted for the second billing cycle in January, it remains to be seen how it will be implemented. Additional cost will be incurred to re-print tax bills with a different rate or to otherwise make adjustments.

If you haven’t been over to the recreation center lately, take a drive by. The tennis and basketball courts are completed and open. I noticed the beach volleyball nets were also up. We had to replace the sand so the court would have the requisite softness and allow you to make those diving digs you see on TV. The cost of revamping the courts was covered by a STEAP grant from the State.

On a sunny Saturday morning in May, I attended the Avalonia Land Conservancy dedication of the historic mill and dam site along the Shunock River on Babcock Road. The preserve will be known as “Parke Memorial”, in honor of Burrows Ripley and Aurelia Eunice Parke. As posted on the Avalonia website, the first gristmill in the village was located at the end of the upper canal on the Shunock River and was probably in place by 1702.  Additional mills were built in and around North Stonington village in the mid 18^th century.  The complex Parke dam structure was in operation from 1885 to 1924 and provided power for a large sawmill, a grist mill, and a shingle mill (this last being operated by the Parke family from 1889 to 1924). To get a feel of the locale, check out pictures at this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/107897503286520535906/ParkeMemorialDedication51912?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPal6-vIgcO8Jw&feat=directlink  Better yet, stop by and walk around a bit North Stonington history.

Tuesday night’s BOS meeting should include an engineering report regarding the initial feasibility of installing a water tower to the town water distribution system. If favorable, the Selectmen may assemble a proposal for requesting a STEAP grant to fund it. Points of consideration include whether such a tower would provide improved fire suppression capability for the water service area and better system reliability.

Informal discussions with the Town of Stonington have been proceeding regarding the sewer system interface in the I-95/Route 2 area. While many technical, contractual and financials issues remain to be clarified, the addition of sewer capability in the commercial zone needs to be addressed as part of the update of the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development.

Back to the budget briefly – the Selectmen will be reviewing reductions again on Tuesday night – some items under scrutiny:

• freezing salaries and wages for non-unionized municipal employees,
• reducing the amount of capital being set aside to fund the upgrade of the emergency services radio system to narrow-band capability,
• reducing headcount in the highway department,
• and reducing hours in town hall and municipal offices.

Please don’t hesitate to voice opinions and thoughts as to where tax dollars should be spent.

Stay tuned!