Middletown council hears budget that would raise tax rates and sewer, refuse fees; school seeks 4% increase

The Town Council of the Town of Middletown on May 21 held the first public hearing on the proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget, in which finance staff laid out a package that would increase several property tax rates and raise sewer and refuse fees while asking the council to consider a 4% appropriation for the school department.

The proposed real estate tax rate for full-time resident properties would rise from $8.866 to $9.12 per $1,000 of assessed value, the finance director said; the proposed nonresident rate would rise from $11.26 to $11.85 per $1,000, and the commercial rate from $12.98 to $13.66 per $1,000. The town’s assessed levy would increase by $2,006,255, which finance staff said equates to about a 3.57% increase in budgeted property tax revenue.

Why it matters: The increases would translate into several hundred dollars of additional cost for the typical property owner if approved. Councilors and community groups pressed the council to weigh those increases against service needs such as school funding, library staffing, and prevention programs that rely in part on federal grants.

Finance director Mark Tanguay told the council the general fund proposed budget shows modest overall growth and detailed where costs rose and fell. “Debt service increased $4,518,058, or 62 percent; that is part of the school bond, but, also, we have a refinancing for the purchase of the library that’s included in that,” Tanguay said during his presentation.

Tanguay summarized department-level changes: a proposed $1,003,979 increase to the general fund (about 1.1%), a $2.0 million increase in the levy, a rise in debt service tied to school bond payments and library financing, personnel-related increases in fire protection, and reductions in public works and grant expenditures that were budgeted in the prior year. He also said the town’s tiered resident/nonresident tax program shifted this year: the number of accounts in the resident tier rose from 3,011 to 3,468, a change that staff estimated increased the net taxable value in the lower-rate category by about $280 million and helped explain why some individual rates moved more than the overall levy.

Impact on typical taxpayers: Using town figures, Tanguay showed median-assessment examples. For a median resident home assessment of $634,150, the proposed change would amount to roughly a $291 annual increase (about 5.3%); for a median nonresident home assessment of $667,700 the example showed a $394 annual increase; and for the median commercial assessment shown, the example yielded about a $596 increase.

School request and context: The Middletown superintendent, speaking for the school district, said the district is requesting a 4% increase in its appropriation and described state and federal revenue uncertainty, including a $661,000 reduction in state aid the district must absorb. “Even with the 4% we’re asking for, we are only ending up receiving a 1.58 increase in general fund appropriation after we take this hit,” the superintendent said, adding the district has pursued savings in transportation and special-education placements.

Tanguay said that with the 4% request the school’s appropriation would rise to roughly $32.9 million under the figures presented; after other adjustments the town appropriation to schools was shown in staff materials as about $34.0 million.

Utilities and enterprise funds: The sewer fund proposed budget would increase about 7% overall, with the town estimating the average single-family sewer user fee would rise by about $83.85 to $889.98 annually. Tanguay said the sewer maintenance fee would increase to $19.39 (a $1.34 increase) and the customer service charge to $44.93 (a $5.06 increase), citing contractual costs and meter-read charges billed to the town.

The refuse and recycling fund showed a modest increase (about 1%) in the proposed budget; the town proposed increasing the disposal/permit fee to $185 (a $5 increase) and to use roughly $26,664 of fund balance to help offset contractual increases and to buy replacement totes. The town also proposed eliminating an 8-gallon bag product and using fund balance for some one-time tote purchases.

Library and capital planning: Staff noted the town recently purchased a library building and is budgeting associated debt service and capital work; the presentation also described an active five-year capital improvement program. The council’s capital appropriation into the capital improvement fund for the coming year was listed in staff material as $2,339,045. Tanguay said the CIP is meant to be realistic and not a mere wish list and warned that deferring needed capital often produces larger costs later.

Grant risk and prevention programs: Several councilors and community speakers urged the council to protect locally funded prevention and mental-health programs if federal grants do not materialize. Laurie (identified in the record as speaking on behalf of the leadership team for the town’s prevention efforts) told the council she had discussed federal Prevention-Focused Services grants with a contact at the federal agency SAMHSA and said, “the grant funding climate is tenuous at best,” urging the council to keep the risk on its radar. Members of the public and some councilors said the Middletown Prevention Coalition and related community services address a spike in mental-health calls to first responders and asked the council to consider contingency local funding if federal awards fall through.

Council action and next steps: The council opened the public hearing and, by voice vote, took the budget ordinance on its first reading; the council likewise approved the first reading of a separate amendment to the town code (Title 3, Chapter 36) to revise refuse and recycling fees. Both were motions taken on first reading and will return for final action in the next stages of the budget process. Staff said a second public hearing is scheduled for May 28, with adoption of the budget ordinance tentatively set that evening; the town’s finance office will prepare a five-year forecast and submit required documents to the state after final action.

Quotes from the meeting capture the balance officials described: Finance director Mark Tanguay summarized the debt drivers and said, “Debt service increased $4,518,058, or 62 percent; that is part of the school bond, but, also, we have a refinancing for the purchase of the library that’s included in that.” The superintendent described school revenue pressure: “Even with the 4% we’re asking for, we are only ending up receiving a 1.58 increase in general fund appropriation after we take this hit.” Laurie, speaking on prevention grants, told the council the federal picture is uncertain: “The grant funding climate is tenuous at best.”

The council and staff asked residents and nonprofit partners to submit suggested budget amendments ahead of the next hearing so motions can be drafted and considered on May 28. If the council elects substantive changes on adoption night, staff warned that adjustments could change the final tax rate the town sets for the year.