Could Stafford set a budget but not a Mill Rate on referendum day?
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
If you’ve been following along with the budget conversations, you may have realized that the State is also in the middle of its budgeting process. This means the Town and school district are just making educated guesses when it comes to any State funding they hope to receive. The Budget referendum is scheduled for May 5, 2026. Connecticut’s General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn on May 6, 2026.
The Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) budget is especially important. Last year, Stafford received $294,000 more in Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding than it budgeted for, according to the Town’s Interim CFO, Lynn Nenni. This funding is a source of statewide contention as towns consider the formula used to calculate it woefully out of whack, and therefore often takes time to get settled. But what if, this year, the State budget is settled just a day after Stafford approves its budget?
Well, Board of FInance Chair Steve Geryk says the Town could approve the budget but hold off on setting the Mill Rate. “If we get additional money from the state, we know it’s coming in, or even if they haven’t made a decision and the budget were to pass, the budget stays the same but we would not set a mill rate until we know if we have the additional funds. And those additional funds could then be applied to lower the Mill rate,” said Geryk.
State Representative Kurt Vail indicated in a post that Stafford could get somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.4 million if the Republican School/Taxpayers Relief & Affordability Plan (STRAP) is passed.
It’s worth noting that the requested increase this year is only $1,505,542. If Stafford actually received the $1,419,474, which is not guaranteed and may not even be likely, the total increase over last year’s budget would only be $86,068.
