Avon Council previews lean FY 25/26 budget, cites 4.65% combined mill-rate pressure

The Town Manager presented the proposed FY 25/26 budget and said the General Fund operating budget would rise 1.93% year over year while total funds would increase 2.96%. He told the council this was "the first time in his time here and this is the 16th budget that we have come in under two percent for a proposed General Fund budget." Chairman Polhamus added the budget is "a very lean budget to start with," and warned that "there is going to be some pain and not everybody is going to be happy with it" as the council looks for a balance between services and affordability.

The manager identified the largest single capital driver as a road-maintenance line of roughly $1.775 million and said the administration plans to apply $750,000 in prior-year positive revenue variance to debt service. He summarized other revenue-side impacts: state changes to motor-vehicle valuation that affected the October 1, 2024 grand list and a new statutory exemption for certain disabled veterans that removed $6,385,350 from the grand list. The proposed combined Town and Board of Education mill-rate change is 4.65%; the manager said about 2.96 percentage points of that are explained by revenue issues while the remaining 1.67 percentage points support new spending.

Council members pressed on personnel and benefit drivers: the manager said personnel costs drive the budget and that a recommended change to amortization for Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) extends the period from 10 to 15 years. He also flagged two specific staffing proposals included in requests: adding clerical hours at the Senior Center (about $22,000) and an additional patrol position in the Police Department. The manager warned that trimming capital (including a paused DPW facility project) or implementing hiring freezes would have long-term implications and that some difficult choices remain.