With deep cuts in state aid potentially on the horizon, the Town of Groton is looking at how to slash its budget without depleting essential services.
In the town’s proposed budget, there’s a 15.4 percent tax rate hike. That means an extra $334 of property taxes owed for every $100,000 of assessed value.
"Holy cow! I can hardly afford what they are now,” said Marie Chaney, a Town of Groton resident.
“Of course we don't like to see it raised so much, but we can handle it,” said Victor Dufault, who lives in town.
Town Manager Mark Oefinger said he created the budget assuming the state would only cut $5 million from the Town of Groton. But he created four different scenarios, just in case.
If Gov. Dannel Malloy’s budget goes through as is, residents could be facing a 25.6 percent tax hike, he said.
“You're not gonna have people moving into the community if they can't afford the taxes for the homes that are being sold,” said Diane Barber, who serves on the Town of Groton Council.
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Barber is suggesting making cuts by considering combining the resources of the Town of Groton, City of Groton and Groton Long Point.
She also said the school district needs to slash into its budget. Education spending would increase about 1.7 percent.
Oefinger said Malloy has proposed to cut $9.4 million in Education Cost Sharing funding from Groton schools.
One reason the cut is so high is because the Governor calculated the program, in part, based on children eligible for the Husky Health program, according to Oefinger. But more than 25 percent of students a Navy dependent and therefore not eligible for Husky, he said.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Graner said Groton needs to be looked at differently because of that. Not penalized for it.
“To say that Groton is pretty much like most other communities is not accurate,” Graner said.
Graner said he doesn’t know what he’d cut from his budget. If it does get to that point, he knows he’ll work hand-in-hand with the town to figure out the best option.
