Newtown's Budget Referendum: 2017 Voter's Guide

NEWTOWN, CT — With cuts of state revenue looming, citizens will head to Newtown Middle School Tuesday to vote on a $113,395,532 million spending plan for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The town's budget referendum will take place Tuesday, April 25.

Here is what you need to know.

Where do I vote?

All voting for budgets takes place at Newtown Middle School from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

What am I voting on?

Residents will vote to approve the town's budget proposal adopted by the legislative council on April 5. There are also six capital projects on the ballot. The full town budget proposal represents a $113,395,532 million budget, a decrease of 0.7 percent from last year's budget.

Here are some highlights.

• A Board of Education budget of $72,9 million
• A Board of Selectmen budget of $40.4 Million
• A mill rate increase of 0.27 percent and a budget increase of 0.82 percent.

Here is a rundown the six capital projects that will be on the budget.

• "Shall the $850,000 appropriation bond authorization for the planning, design, engineering,
  replacement, and construction of a new roof at Hawley School be approved?": If approved, the the 1948 and 1997 flat sections of the roof will be replaced.
  
• "Shall the $1,800,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning, design,
  engineering, and construction of improvements at Newtown Middle School, be approved?": If approved, it will allow for the replacement of the original boiler and upgrading all light fixtures to LED.
• “Shall the $3,000,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning, design,
  engineering and construction of a new Senior Center, be approved?”: This will allow for the planning, design, engineering and construction of a new senior center.
• “Shall $300,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning and design of the
  Newtown Police facility and improvements, be approved?”: This will allow for the creation of a schematic drawing and artistic rendering of a new police station, as well as a cost determination.
• "Shall the $750,000 appropriation and bond authorization for the planning, design,
  engineering, and construction of Newtown High School Auditorium Phase II Renovations and improvements, be approved?": This will allow for the replacement of various auditorium features.

Read more about the budget by clicking here.

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