Newtown voters approve $117 million budget

NEWTOWN — Voters approved a $117 million budget Tuesday that increases spending for more school counselors and more road paving, according to unofficial results.

The budget, which was broken into two parts and voted on separately, carries a 1 percent increase in the tax rate.

Voters also approved two spending propositions — a $1.7 million bond to replace the Middle Gate School roof, and a $1.5 million bond to resurface roads.

Roughly 2,600 people came out to vote, said First Selectman Dan Rosenthal.

“It was a disappointing turnout, but I’m certainly pleased with the outcome,” he said. “The turnout … was probably a little south of 17 percent. I’m pleased that despite the low turnout, the margin was convincing.”

Rosenthal said he believes the low turnout was likely due to the fact that there wasn’t much controversy surrounding any of the budget items.

The town budget was passed with roughly 1,600 yes votes, while more than 1,500 people voted in favor of the Board of Education budget. The roof vote passed with “a fair amount” in favor, Rosenthal said. And the greatest margin was for the road bond, with roughly 2,100 voters in support of it.

“The message that I’m getting from people is fix the roads,” Rosenthal said. “Our road infrastructure is behind. We have to catch up. And next year’s budget ... will have continued attention brought to roads.”

The budget carries a tax rate of 34.24 per $1,000 of assessed property value. A resident with a home assessed at the town average of $257,000 will pay $8,800 next year.

The spending plan is the first put together by newly hired schools Superintendent Lorrie Rodrigue, and Democratic First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, who was elected in November.

The 2017-18 budget represents Rodrigue’s intent to bolster the school district’s social and emotional learning curriculum, and Rosenthal’s intent to catch up on infrastructure improvements after years of deferred maintenance.

For voting purposes, the budget was separated on the ballot into the school’s $76 million and the town’s $41 million spending plan. Combined, the budget carries $2.7 million in additional spending over the current budget, an increase of 2.4 percent.

“Next year, we’d like to improve (voting) participation overall,” Rosenthal said. “That comes through communication.”