Town Meeting on $49.1M Budget is Tonight

A Town Meeting on the $49.13 million municipal budget for 2011-12 will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Gaucher Auditorium at Ledyard High School. This will be the last public meeting on the plan before a referendum vote on Tuesday.

In addition to the budget question, residents will vote Tuesday on two bond issues, including a $5.4 million proposal to extend water service to Aljen Heights. Resident also will be asked to approve $3 million for a three-year road repair and maintenance program.

The proposed budget, which includes $29.6 million in school spending, reflects a total increase of less than 1 percent over this year's budget. The plan assumes the current level of state education aid -- about $12 million -- but does not include more than $300,000 in state PILOT reimbursement that the town expected to lose.

It could turn our that the town was wise not to count on the PILOT funds. Although Gov. Malloy restored the funding in the budget he signed last week, the agreement for $1.6 billion in concessions he later reached with state unions, while impressive, nevertheless left a $400 million shortfall.

Aljen Heights project

The water service project to Aljen Heights has been a priority for several years. The issue is that most lots in the neighborhood off Avery Hill Road are small, yet must support both wells and septic tanks. Multiple septic system failures over the past decade have raised nitrate levels in a number of wells.

The project is on the table this year because a grant for 20 percent of the cost of the project, plus low-interest loans for the balance, are now available if the town acts soon. The road project is intended to catch up on years of deferred maintenance.

Polling places for Tuesday's referendum will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. District 1 residents will vote at Ledyard Center School, and District 2 residents will vote at Juliet W. Long School.