Voters Approve $80.5 Million Budget, Tax Rate Jumps to 33.63 Mills

Residents and taxpayers on Tuesday approved Vernon's $80.5 million budget proposal for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

A total of 795 voted in favor of the spending plan while 560 were not in favor of it. Voting took place at Center 375 on Hartford Turnpike.

The approval means the tax rate will jump from its current level of 29.9 mills to 33.63, an increase of 3.73 mills. The town council voted unanimously to approve the rate at 8:03 p.m., three minutes after the polls closed.

Finance Officer and Treasurer James Luddecke said an increase of .7 mill can be attributed to taxes. The remaining 3.03 is the end result of the town getting hammered on the grand list in a revaluation year with a struggling economy, he said.

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After Tuesday's Town Council meeting, Luddecke said revaluation has had different effects on different single-family properties. He said most tax increases should be modest with many assessments dropping.

He said motor vehicles should see the close to the full effect of the tax increase. The council on Tuesday approved motor vehicle tax payments in one installment.

The budgetary bottom line of $80,599,160 represents an increase of $1,305,411 over the $79.2 spending plan for the current fiscal year. That is an overall increase of 1.65 percent, according to Luddecke.

General government totals $26,172,367, an increase of $599,988. Capital improvement and debt service total $6,245,796, $13,216 less than this year's total.

The appropriation for Education is $48,180,997, an increase of $718,639.

Mayor George Apel had proposed an $81,346,432 budget. The council took out $747,272.

Voting began at 6 a.m. and about 50 voters came in the first hour, election officials said.

By noontime the total was 320 and by the end of the day it was 1,355.