Hebron Dollars & Sense

John Georgiades is fighting his second battle with cancer. He will be a 7th grade student at RHAM. He is a special young man who always has a smile for everyone he meets and lives his life with so much enthusiasm, teaching us all that everyday is a gift! Join us and help support John in his battle against cancer!

DATE: September 25, 2010
TIME: 4 -7 p.m.
LOCATION: Burnt Hill Park 150 East St. Hebron, CT 06248
TICKETS: $5.00 per individual $20 per family

Hebron Town Budget Passes on Third Try!

YES-769 NO-572 Total 1363

Following the referendum results announcement, the Hebron Board of Finance formally set the mill rate at 28.94 mills, a .77 mill increase over current mill rate for FY 2009-2010. This represents a 2.72% tax increase for FY 2010-2011.  You can find out what your next taxes will be in the spreadsheet we released last week (see Budget Issue #30), based on the budget passed today.

Please read this update on the FY 2010-11 Budget Season from Bill Generous of Windsor, CT.

As of the end of May 2010, 135, or about 80% of CT towns have adopted budgets for Fiscal Year 2010-11.  The median spending increase of those budgets is 1.45% and they carry a median effective tax rate increase of 2.66%.  Last year, 40.2% of CT towns had an effective tax rate increase of 0% or less.  This year, only 14.4% of towns with adopted budgets have that level of tax change.

At least 80 towns will have had a binding town budget referendum before this budget season is over which is two short of the record high of 82 for Fiscal Year 2008-09.  About one-third (27 of 82) of proposed budgets have been rejected by voters at binding town budget referendums to date.

What will your taxes be if the third referendum passes?

We have updated the spreadsheet, which you can view now.  Based on this budget, the average tax increase is now $158.87; the average tax increase since FY 2007-08 now stands at $550.88.

The third referendum on Hebron's town budget (comprised of the General Government budget, Open Space, and Hebron Board of Education) will be voted on Tuesday, June 1.  General Government is now at a 0% increase over last year's spending; Hebron Board of Education is a 0% increase over last year's spending; and Open Space is a 28% DECREASE over last year's spending.

This is what the Board of Finance asked for in December 2009, and we support the budget proposed for Referendum III.  They've done the best job they can in laying the groundwork for next year's budget season, when revenues will dramatically decline.

We encourage you to vote Yes on this budget.  The Board of Finance could go lower than 0% increase, but it wouldn't be enough to offset the $3,200 cost of a referendum.  It's time to vote Yes and move on.

What would your taxes be for FY 2010-11 if the second town budget referendum on May 18th passes?

We have recalculated the spreadsheet, based on the minimal $48,500 reduction to the Hebron Board of Education budget.  If passed, it would be a .94 mill increase, which equates to a 3.33% increase in your taxes. As you can see, the average increase in taxes would be $193.94, and the average increase in your taxes since 2008 would be $585.95.

What is of greatest concern continues to be the significant reduction in revenue predicted for next year, the lack of stimulus money which is funding part of this current FY 2010-11 budget (which will NOT be there next year, and will need to be replaced with taxpayer dollars or significant reductions made), and the continued onslaught of unfunded mandates and union-dictated salary and step increases that far exceed any increases the public sector is seeing.