May 18—WINDSOR LOCKS — Residents voted 42-2 to approve a $52.3 million budget for fiscal year 2022-23 during a town meeting Tuesday night.
The tax rate will remain the same as last year at 25.83 mills.
One mill equals one-thousandth of a dollar. For each mill levied on property, taxpayers pay $1 in property taxes per every $1,000 of assessed value.
The $52,390,797 spending plan, which the Board of Finance approved April 19, has an increase of $1,007,313, or 1.9%, over last year's $51,383,484 budget.
The increases are primarily due to fixed costs for employee benefits and insurance ($4,318,765); the Board of Education ($32,165,201); debt service ($3,129,071); and public works ($3,065,738).
Not included in the $52.3 million is an additional $2,596,845 in capital items from the rainy-day fund, according to First Selectman Paul Harrington.
"Windsor Locks is finally addressing its infrastructure issues that weren't addressed in the past," he said. "We have quite a healthy rainy-day fund and now are able to use some of that money to get capital projects done that have been hanging around for years, like new roofs throughout town buildings, HVAC at high school and middle school and various other projects that we all will be happy will finally be completed."
Harrington said the best part of this budget, along with the six years prior, is that it does not ask the taxpayer for any additional money.
"The mill rate remains the same at 25.83," he said. "Windsor Locks just does it different. We can increase budgets and fund items that need to be funded, but the last place to look is in the pockets of its residents."
Harrington said he is proud of the budget, as it addresses long-standing issues, including building a new senior center and police station, but "doesn't ask the taxpayer to dig deeper into their wallet."
Complete copies of the budget are available at the town clerk's office in Town Hall and on the Board of Finance page of the town's website:
windsorlocksct.org/board-of-finance.
For more coverage of Somers and Enfield, follow Susan Danseyar on Twitter: @susandanseyar, Facebook: Susan Danseyar, reporter.