BRUNSWICK
Although residents seven weeks ago approved a 2014 budget for town schools, changes in the state budget — which ultimately gave more money to Brunswick schools but less to the municipality — now mean the town has to schedule a do-over.
The subsequent school budget validation will be Tuesday, Aug. 20; voting will take place at the Brunswick Junior High School on Columbia Avenue.
A low turnout of voters approved the $35 million budget on June 11, by a vote of 735 to 558.
Schools received $508,604 more than they expected; about $443,000 will be used to fund the first wave of shifting teacher retirement costs from the state’s Department of Education to the town. The remaining $66,232 will be used to offset the cost of a facilities planning study needed to address climbing student enrollments and declining facilities.
Additionally, a special Town Council meeting also is scheduled prior to the validation vote to determine how much the municipal operating budget must be cut — or property taxes raised — to fill a $316,000 budget hole left by reductions in the state’s revenue sharing.
The special meeting will be Thursday, Aug. 8, at 4 p.m. in the second floor meeting room at Brunswick Station.
Councilors and administrators already have endured several rounds of budget cuts to keep the overall property tax increase to less than a council-imposed cap of 7 percent. If the budget can be filled by reductions, the current rate of increase would stand at 6.6 percent, or about $1.64 more per $1,000 of valuation than the previous year.
During a public hearing Monday, councilors informally endorsed a plan to reduce departmental budgets by a total of $229,610 and defer $87,000 in residential area paving to meet the shortage.
Included in the departmental cuts are elimination of stipends paid to the fire department’s on-call squad and technological upgrades. Additionally, library funding, repair and capital expenses for Parks and Recreation, and snow removal and operating subsidies at the Brunswick Station Visitor’s Center would be reduced.
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