Suffield Finance Board Endorses $51M Budget

The operating budgets of the Suffield Board of Education and the Suffield Board of Selectmen, which covers most non-educational town offices and departments, were both passed by the Suffield Board of Finance as it endorsed a town budget of approximately $51 million Monday.

The major changes to the budget made by the finance board came with adjustments to three town fund balances, following about an hour and a half of back-and-forth discussion, calculations and proposals.

"You're anything but lockstep," Board of Finance Chairman Justin Donnelly told the board members following the final endorsement and the many permutations and proposals made beforehand.

Despite the different opinions about how to best balance the budget, a goal among many of the board of finance members was a low tax increase for the town. The board achieved this with its approved budget, which has a tax increase of only 0.6 of a mill.

The board of education received its requested budget increase of 1.67 percent. That increase accounts for $662,392 of the total budget, $31,383,943. The board of selectmen's budget rose 2.26 percent following late additions of revaluation costs and the police department's school resource officer, for a total of $13,553,162. The total town budget came in at $51,307,041.

The budget will be presented at a public information session at on April 25 with a town meeting vote on the budget following in early May.

Look for more in-depth budget information, including figures for department budgets and the financial impact on town residents, Wednesday on Suffield Patch.