Brentwood Town approves $17.13 tax rate, opts not to use fund balance

Speaker 2 moved to set the town tax rate at $17.13 and the council approved the measure, with members saying the change produced only a modest per-household difference and should not come at the expense of the town’s fund balance.

The vote followed a short budget discussion in which Speaker 1 contrasted current rates with last year’s evaluations, saying a comparable rate would have been $26.67 — about $1.50 higher than the current rate. Speaker 2 provided concrete examples for household impact: at a 5% town assumption a $600,000 house would pay about $10,182 annually, while the 5.8–5.83% context tied to the $17.13 figure would bring the same house’s annual town share to about $10,278 — a difference of roughly $100.

Speaker 3 urged caution, saying, “Personally, I don't think it's worth it. I think we leave the fund balance alone,” and argued the town should rebuild reserves rather than use them to reduce a relatively small tax difference for homeowners. Other members generally agreed, noting the Department of Revenue Administration’s (DRA) suggested minimums and the council’s interest in steady budgets going forward.

After brief discussion of small intermediate rates (5.5% and 6%), Speaker 2 formally moved to set the town rate at $17.13 and leave the fund balance intact; Speaker 3 seconded the motion. The council registered affirmative votes and completed a roll call to finalize the action. At the close of the meeting members arranged for three people to sign documents on Tuesday and moved unanimously to adjourn; one participant dropped off the call before the final roll call.

The approved motion sets the town tax rate at $17.13 and records council direction to preserve the fund balance; routine administrative follow-up (signatures) was scheduled and the meeting was adjourned.