Taxes Would Rise 9.8 Percent Under Proposed Groton Budget

The proposed town budget for the coming fiscal year would require a property tax increase of 9.8 percent, driven by increased spending in some areas and falling revenues on all fronts, the town manager said Tuesday.

Town Manger Mark Oefinger distributed to the Town Council a $121.89 million proposed budget for the coming fiscal year,  a 3.4 percent increase over the current year's spending. The proposal includes increased spending for education, debt service and subdivisions like Groton City and Groton Long Point.

The budget for town services would remain the same overall, but cut departments including police, public works and the library.

If approved in its current state, the spending plan would require a property tax increase from 18.42 mills to 20.23 mills, which translates into an additional $181 for every $100,000 of assessed value.

The need for higher taxes is driven party by a decline in revenues across the board, including state aid and federal grants in aid for education. Groton’s reserve has also fallen below the bottom line amount set by the council, so the town cannot tap this resource and, in fact, must replenish it.

“It seems like every year we have something unusual happening with the budget and that’s what’s happening this year,” Oefinger said.

The council's practice has been to hold 7.5 percent in reserve; that's enough money to run Groton for about one month. The town is about $453,000 short of that  figure.

Among town departments, the budget would eliminate the police department’s community policing networking program, which places officers in the Fort Hill area and near the Submarine Base to interact in those communities.  The police department’s budget would be cut $50,000, which could be accomplished through attrition or by cutting a position or salaries across the department.

The public works department would see its budget fall about $114,000, mainly by eliminating a job that is vacant, and cutting back on overtime.

The Groton Public Library would be trimmed about $40,000 by combining the adult and children’s information desks to increase staff available to run the main circulation desk, thereby using fewer part-time employees.

Education spending is up $2.2 million, or 3.1 percent, but the town manager is not authorized to cut this budget. He is also not allowed to cut from the subdivision budgets, including Groton Long Point, Groton City and the fire districts, which together are seeking an additional $1.2 million, or 25 percent more than last year. The budgets for Groton Long Point and the city include money to help those communities run their own police departments.