Town Council Adopts 2011-12 Budget

A $34.4 million Mansfield general fund budget for the next fiscal year has been adopted.

On Tuesday evening, the Town Council adopted the revenue and expenditure plan and voted to send the proposed $34,401,920 general fund budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year to the Annual Town Meeting on May 10.

The council also adopted a $2,154,000 capital projects budget and $1,006,000 non-recurring reserve fund budget. The municipal budget also includes $20,572,170 for the Mansfield public schools.

The plan represents a scaled down version of the budget originally proposed for the coming fiscal year by Town Manager Matthew Hart.

In March, Hart suggested a $44,582,720 budget for town and education expenses, which included $9,924,230 in contributions to Region 19 and a $250,000 contribution to the Town’s fund balance.

Days later, the Region 19 Board of Education, which oversees E.O. Smith Regional High School, which Mansfield residents attend, adopted its budget and included $266,650, or 1.4 percent more in expenditures than Mansfield anticipated. The Region 19 budget, which is voted on separately from the Mansfield budget, anticipates a $9,729,229 contribution from the town of Mansfield. This amount is $194,998, or 2 percent less than the current year.

After examining the Mansfield municipal budget proposal during multiple workshops, the council made adjustments that resulted in $699,865 or 2.1 percent increase over the current year’s general fund budget.

If approved by residents, the 2011-12 budget would increase the tax rate by .97 mills, setting the tax rate at 26.68 mills.

The $34.4 million Mansfield budget will be presented at a public information session on April 28 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building. Taxpayers will vote on the budget at the Annual Town Meeting scheduled for May 10 at 7 p.m. in the Mansfield Middle School Auditorium.

The Region 19 education budget, which applies to E.O. Smith Regional High School, will be sent to referendum in the towns of Ashford, Mansfield and Willington on May 3. Mansfield taxpayers can vote on that budget at the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building in Mansfield from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.