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Simsbury tri‑board outlines $3 million budget gap; finance board proposes phased use of reserves and other levers
Summary
At a joint meeting in Simsbury Center, board leaders described a roughly $3.0 million shortfall driven by a state cap on motor‑vehicle revenue and rising fixed costs, proposed using $2.3 million in capital reserves in year one to lower the immediate tax impact, and flagged a potential Board of Education real‑estate purchase to be financed with reserves or bonding.
Lisa Hebner, speaking for the Board of Finance, told the joint meeting that the town faces a difficult budget year driven by lower revenues and rising fixed costs. "We've had 2 years of higher than normal tax increases, 4.7% last year and 5.2% this year," she said, and warned that a new state limit on motor‑vehicle valuation would reduce the grand list and revenue. Based on preliminary estimates, she said, fixed costs are expected to rise by about $5.6 million and, without offsets, the tax increase could approach 6.94%.
The finance board proposed a mix of tools to narrow that gap, including a staged use of capital reserves: "We will use that $2,300,000 over the next 3 years to lower tax increases," Hebner said, describing a plan that applies $1.3 million in year one, $700,000 in year two and $300,000 in year three. She emphasized the board's intent…
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