Willington trims proposed budget increase after insurance savings as residents demand clearer posting and more review time

Willington’s Board of Finance presented an updated budget package at its April 7 public hearing, telling residents that rebidding employee health insurance and other negotiated savings reduced the proposed year‑over‑year increase from 4.1% to 3.4% ahead of the May 5 referendum.

The chair, who opened the hearing at 7:02 p.m., summarized the revisions and the drivers behind them, saying the rebidding “reduced a 32.4% increase in health insurance costs for town and school employees … cutting that increase down to 18.4%,” and stressing that state aid and a revised motor-vehicle valuation method pose continuing revenue uncertainty for the town.

Why it matters: the revisions lowered the town’s tax-pressure projection but left large, structural budget pressures — notably special-education outplacements that this year involve seven high‑needs students and are estimated at roughly $200,000 per child — and left residents seeking more time and clearer documentation before the town meeting and referendum.

Residents who spoke during the public‑comment period repeatedly said they could not find or digest the budget materials until shortly before the hearing and asked the board to continue the public hearing to allow broader participation. “Nothing in this packet says where it’s going,” one resident told the board, urging clearer line‑item comparisons against last year’s actuals rather than against prior proposed figures.

Board members and staff described the sequence of negotiations that yielded the lower overall increase. A board member who spoke during the meeting said staff had “kept finding things to whittle down, negotiating and renegotiating insurance and picking up little bits and pieces,” noting town‑side employee insurance moved from $212,580 to $173,864 and the Board of Education insurance line by roughly $102,000 in savings.

The board also answered technical questions about road maintenance and large‑truck damage raised by residents, saying the road‑maintenance appropriation was proposed at $475,000 (a $25,000 increase over the current year) but cautioned that reconstruction costs could outstrip that amount depending on scope.

Procedural actions: after adjourning the public‑hearing portion at 8:08 p.m., the Board of Finance convened its special meeting. The board voted to seat Eric Castro as the alternate for absent member Walter Purcell (motion seconded by Jason Ross) and approved minutes from March 19 and March 26 with a requested wording edit. The board then approved a set of narrow appropriation adjustments: a rounding correction for Public Works and an adjustment to the employee‑insurance appropriation for department 0831 to $173,864 and the Board of Education appropriation to $10,501,957 to reflect the lower premiums and fewer participants. Those motions were approved by voice vote; the chair announced the motions passed unanimously.

What remains unresolved: residents’ requests for a continued public hearing or an additional, widely posted opportunity to review the final packet before the town meeting. Board members said the schedule is constrained by legal and intermunicipal timing (Region 19 partner towns' referendum schedule) but acknowledged improvements are possible in how and where the town posts budget materials in future cycles.

The special meeting closed with the chair urging turnout for the May 5 referendum and attendance at the town meeting on May 21.