Cheshire Town Council Sets Tentative 29.74 Mill Rate for FY2026 Budget

Town Council · Meeting of April 15, 2025

CT CHESHIRE — Cheshire Town Council sets a working mill rate of 29.74 for fiscal year 2026, projecting an average household tax increase of $673. The joint Town Council and Budget Committee session on April 15 — Tax Day — ended without a formal vote but with Chair Peter Talbot confirming the council would move directly to an adoption vote on April 22, skipping a planned Thursday workshop. The proposed rate reflects approximately $5.059 million in total expenditure adjustments from the original budget request, with general government rising 2 percent, the Board of Education up 4.4 percent, and debt service climbing 25 percent.

A $100,000 boost in assumed special education excess cost grant revenue from the state nudged the mill rate down from 29.85 to 29.74 late in the session. Member A. Fiona Pearson said she was "really worried about what that's going to do to our schools," while member David Veleber noted the projected increase is roughly 50 percent above last year's average $396 hit.

The board also discussed cutting one vacant senior library associate position — saving about $62,482 — and eliminating up to two seasonal DPW park maintainer positions, with members cautioning that Saturday library hours could be halved if the library cut moves forward.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,024 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of April 15, 2025, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

CHESHIRE — April 15, 2025 — The Cheshire Town Council and Budget Committee met jointly in a special session Tuesday to hash out the fiscal year 2026 operating budget, settling on a working mill rate of 29.74 and an average projected tax increase of $673 per household before adjourning without a formal vote.

Chair Peter Talbot confirmed the group would not hold an additional workshop Thursday, leaving the full council's adoption vote scheduled for Tuesday, April 22. The meeting, held on Tax Day, ran well past its intended length as members debated where, if anywhere, additional cuts could be found to ease a budget that represents roughly a 50 percent increase in the average household tax burden over fiscal year 2025's $396 increase.

The Full Story

Town Manager Sean — identified in the transcript by first name only — walked the joint body through an updated mill rate worksheet showing total expenditure adjustments of approximately $5.059 million from the originally proposed budget. With those adjustments, the general government side of the budget would increase 2 percent year over year, the Board of Education budget would increase 4.4 percent, and debt service would rise 25 percent. A capital non-recurring line would be reduced 54 percent, from $1.1 million to $500,000.

The session opened with a detailed review of the Cheshire Public Schools' year-to-date spending through April 14, led by Superintendent's office representative Vin — referred to throughout only by first name. He told the council that the district expects to return somewhere between $200,000 and $250,000 in unspent funds at fiscal year end, though he cautioned the figure depends on offsetting overages in substitute teacher costs, transportation, and special education outplaced tuition. The substitute line alone was already running more than $140,000 over its $670,000 budget with weeks remaining in the year.

"I just want to make it clear that we can manage to the number, if it's 200 or 250, it comes at the expense of something else. But this is the reality that we're all faced with." [No timestamp index provided] — Vin, Cheshire Public Schools finance official

Council members pressed repeatedly on whether the Board of Education number could be cut further. Member David Veleber noted that the proposed average increase amounts to roughly 50 percent above what taxpayers absorbed last year. Member Don Walsh and others said they would prefer to see the average household impact closer to $600 or even lower. Chair Talbot argued that most of the year-over-year increase is attributable to debt service on the new school construction — a $2.3 million swing — rather than operating decisions, and that if that component were stripped out, the underlying increase would be roughly $273.

"I am not okay. No, I don't like that. I'm really worried about what that's going to do to our schools right now." [No timestamp index provided] — Member A. Fiona Pearson

A late adjustment — adding $100,000 in assumed special education excess cost grant revenue from the state, based on a projected reimbursement increase — moved the working mill rate from 29.85 to 29.74. Members also debated whether to eliminate a proposed monthly bulky waste pickup service estimated to cost between $51,000 and $56,000 annually. The town manager calculated that cutting the service would save the average taxpayer approximately $3 per year, and the council ultimately left the question unresolved. The group did include a reduction in Board of Education spending of $360,000 beyond the district's own proposed reductions, though council members acknowledged they cannot direct how the Board of Education allocates that cut.

The town manager also proposed eliminating one vacant senior library associate position, saving approximately $62,482. He warned that doing so could reduce Saturday library hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. down to roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., given contract staffing obligations. Members asked for patronage data before treating that outcome as settled. Additional proposed reductions included an assistant revenue collector position to be filled at a lower classification starting October 1, a part-time accounts payable position, and cutting two of ten seasonal DPW park maintainer positions.

The council read five written public comments into the record. Resident Mark G. Izzo of 245 Richmond Glen Drive raised questions about health care bidding and special education cost projections. Resident Mandy Miller cited five-year budget projections showing the average assessed home at $350,000 could face a cumulative tax increase of more than $4,700 by fiscal year 2031. Resident Yetta Auger of 29 Chantel Circle raised the possibility of a four-day work week. Resident Kim Wendrova of 61 Blue Ridge Circle noted that town hall union wages had increased roughly 10 percent since 2020 while the consumer price index rose 23 percent in the same period. A fifth commenter, Emilia Yankovic of 18 Old Town Road, suggested cuts to extracurricular sports and the gifted and talented program.

"Being in this process has given me the perspective that I would have never had as an ordinary citizen — that there is not an ounce of waste." [No timestamp index provided] — Member A. Fiona Pearson

Why It Matters

The 29.74 working mill rate represents a significant jump from the prior year and is driven in large part by debt service on the town's two new school construction projects, which alone add an estimated $2.3 million to the budget. If adopted as discussed, the average Cheshire household would pay approximately $673 more in property taxes in fiscal year 2026 than in fiscal year 2025 — on top of a roughly $396 increase the prior year. The adoption vote is scheduled for Tuesday, April 22. Any figure approved will set the baseline for future budgets, and several council members warned explicitly that relying on fund balance reserves in prior years to soften increases has made this year's reckoning more severe. The Board of Education will separately need to decide how to absorb the additional $360,000 reduction.

Key Motions & Votes

• Action: Joint Town Council and Budget Committee workshop adjourned; no formal budget vote taken — Continued to April 22, 2025 (scheduled adoption vote)

Source

Cheshire's community access TV: Town Council meeting, April 15, 2025