Finance OKs budget and new mill rate

With only minimal changes, the Darien Board of Finance has put its stamp of approval on the town budget.

On April 6, the board approved both a $51,123,270 town operating budget and $114,448,824 million school budget. The town also approved $4,667,767 from the reserve fund for non-recurring capital expenditures.

The board approved a mill rate of 17.62 -- a 2.26 percent increase from the previous year -- to be levied on the town's $8.9 billion grand list assessed in October 2022.

There was an overall budget reduction of approximately $245,000, taking into account some adjustments including reduced medical insurance costs, increased grant revenue for the Board of Education and debt service adjustments for the town's bonds and bond anticipation notes.

Also off for capital expenditures is the $110,000 requested to repair a wall of the Noroton Heights Fire Department. Instead the board approved a $40,000 transfer on April 4 to cover a deeper investigation into the wall's structural issues and costs.

The town's debt service has increased substantially thanks to large purchases like Great Island and renovations for the Hindley, Holmes and Royle elementary schools, reaching a net increase of $2.5 million.

While that number is high, the board found some savings thanks to the premiums the town received for its bond anticipation notes issued that day.

"Back in October when I put in a debt service number, I assumed bonding all of Great Island," finance director Jennifer Charneski said. "It was to have kind of a worst case scenario in there, and I did not project how much we ended up borrowing for (the schools.)"

With the Board of Finance's approval finalized, the Representative Town Meeting will discuss and vote on a final budget May 8.