NORTH CANAAN — Municipal and school officials gathered at North Canaan’s town hall on Wednesday, March 22, to present their spending plans to the Board of Finance for fiscal year 2023-24. The board heard budget proposals from North Canaan Elementary School Principal Alicia Roy, First Selectman Charles Perotti, and Region One Business Director Sam Herrick.
Roy opened the meeting with a rundown of the elementary school’s budget request for the coming year. Despite inflationary pressures, the proposed spending for the school came in $25,597.17 less than last year.
“I’m really proud to say that our budget is a negative increase, or a decrease of 0.58%,” said Roy.
The savings were primarily from a reduction in transportation and utility costs. Electricity expenses dropped $30,185.17 and bus transportation costs fell $68,000 thanks to the elimination of a fourth bus.
Savings in these areas helped offset a sharp increase in health insurance of $82,745.83 and allowed the school to hold the line on spending for the coming year.
First Selectman Charles Perotti then presented the town spending plan to the board. The requested increase from the selectmen totaled $232,559, which would be 7.66% higher than the prior fiscal year.
Perotti said costs went up due to a 4% wage increase for all hourly employees and an expected health insurance hike of 7.5%. Other notable increases were a $50,000 increase to the fire department (plus another $10,000 for fire equipment), a $30,000 increase to the ambulance corp (plus another $10,000 for ambulance equipment), and a $30,000 increase to the resident state trooper.
“We have a new resident trooper who gets more money,” said Perotti on why the trooper salary increased from $128,000 per year to $158,000 per year. “The resident trooper we had before was like three months on the job and now we have one that is a nine-year veteran.”
The selectmen also added a $25,000 increase for road paving and improvement this year.
“We’re going to try to finish Canaan Valley,” said Perotti on the town’s plans for road paving. “The water company is going to be doing Patty Lane because they’re putting a water main down Patty Lane and they’re going to be doing part of Lower Road.”
Sam Herrick from Region One closed the meeting with a presentation of the proposed high school budget for the coming year. Herrick said that overall expenses increased 2.2%, or $366,358, in the proposed Region One spending plan. For North Canaan, that would mean a $194,761 hike.
“The moral of the story is you’re about 3.5% positive,” said Herrick. “We do see some relief at the high school level for next year,” he added while explaining that North Canaan is expected to reduce high school enrollment from 116 students to 102 students for 2024-25.
Herrick’s presentation showed that net per-pupil cost at Housatonic Valley Regional High School has risen from $32,293 in 2022-23 to $35,206 in 2023-24.
After hearing each spending proposal, Board of Finance Chair Nancy O’Connor thanked the presenters and said, “we have a lot to think about.” A budget workshop is planned for further discussion on Wednesday, April 5, 7:30 pm at Town Hall.
Right now, the selectmen’s proposed municipal budget for 2023-24 is $3,267,102. This is an increase of $232,559 (7.66%) over the 2022-23 budget of $3,034,543.
North Canaan Elementary School’s total proposed budget amount for 2023-24 is $4,426,036.83, which is $25,597.17 (-0.58%) less than the 2022-23 budget of $4,451,634.
North Canaan’s 2023-24 Region One assessment is $5,702,883, up $194,761 (3.54%) over the 2022-23 budget of $5,508,122.
Total proposed educational spending for North Canaan in 2023-24 is $10,128,919.83. This is an increase of $169,163.83 (1.7%) over the 2022-23 budget of $9,959,756.
