Mill rate stands at 20.5

FALLS VILLAGE — Budget season ended Tuesday, May 24, with the Board of Finance voting to raise the mill rate one mill, from 19.5 to 20.5, for the fiscal year 2011-12.Combined with $133,876 from the town’s general fund, $24,000 the finance board subtracted from the Board of Education’s spending plan prior to the town meeting vote, plus $9,000 the school board has since found in additional savings, the mill rate increase will cover the cost of increased tuition at Housatonic Valley Regional High School this year.First Selectman Pat Mechare said Wednesday that the balance in the general fund will now be about $568,000.The spike in the number of students at the high school — and how to pay for it — has been the primary concern of the school and finance boards over the last few months. The Board of Selectmen brought forward a municipal spending plan that was essentially flat at $1,537,790; the Board of Education presented a $1,737,584 plan at public hearing that was subsequently decreased by $24,000 by the Board of Finance.