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The 2013-14 budget proposed by First Selectman Michael Tetreau now calls for more than $283.6 million in spending, after adjustments by the finance department this week. If that goes through without any further changes, it would push Fairfield’s property tax rate up 4.36 percent this July.
The most recent changes came from new estimates for the town’s health insurance payments and adjustments to the town’s accounting. Tetreau has said that any further work to bring down taxes would affect the town’s services.
“We can get ourselves down to a minimal tax increase, but it will come with a price,” Board of Finance member Catharine Albin said Thursday.
The town might save by changing its plans for increased school security. The Police Department had asked for $317,000 per year to hire three new officers and a sergeant for a dedicated school safety unit.
Chief Gary MacNamara said Thursday he still wants a new sergeant but said he could fill the other three roles with overtime while waiting to see whether a federal grant could pay for new hires. The move would save an estimated $65,000, he said.
“I think that hiring the officers full-time right now, without giving the grant process to go through, might hurt us in the long run,” MacNamara told the Board of Selectmen on Thursday.
Of the $11.3 million proposed increase in the town’s overall spending, more than $4 million would be in added money to the Fairfield Public Schools budget. Tetreau’s budget is about $2.7 million less than the school board’s request because of new calculations to the town’s employee health-care plan.
Finance board members asked about other ways to save money on education, such as instituting a pay-to-participate system for extracurricular activities. The Board of Education considered a similar plan two years ago but decided against it.
Others asked about eliminating the house system at Fairfield’s high schools. Each school has three houses with their own set of administrators, deans and guidance counselors.
Title said he did not believe that this would work. Guidance counselors, for example, are tied to the number of students they serve and not the number of houses.
“If you keep the same number of people employed, but divide them among two houses, you don’t save any money,” Title said. “And the number of people we have for the number of kids we have, I think is the right mix.”
Selectmen also suggested making accounting changes to the Department of Public Works’ paving budget, which would be restored when Fairfield gets its reimbursements from the federal government for Hurricane Sandy. The Fairfield Public Library might also be asked to change its staffing.
The Board of Selectmen will hold its final budget vote Monday, and Board of Finance will vote Tuesday. The Representative Town Meeting will then have final say on May 6.
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