BET keeps the tax rate at a fixed level as part of a bipartisan deal. What does this mean for Greenwich taxpayers?
GREENWICH – The Estimates and Taxes Commission closed the 2021-2022 municipal budget with a fixed tax rate and even put a bipartisan arc on it.
On Monday night, the 12-person board of directors unanimously approved a zero million rate hike with little debate after majority Republicans backed a Democrats’ motion that used cost savings health care plan for city employees to reduce the proposed property tax increase that went with the 21-22 budget of $ 448.5 million that was approved on May 10 by the representative city assembly.
“This way, taxpayers benefit from part of the savings (on health care) and we are also able to reduce the use of the fund balance,†said Laura Erickson, member of BET, presenting the motion on behalf of the Democratic caucus. “There was some concern that we were using more than what we had historically.”
Originally, the thousandth rate, which is used to calculate how much property tax a resident owes based on the assessed value of their property, was expected to increase 0.29% in the new fiscal year. But BET’s motion keeps that level constant, meaning residents won’t see an increase in the rate on their tax bills.
The approved motion set the rate per mile at 11.590 mills per dollar for the 21-22 fiscal year starting July 1 instead of the 11.624 mills originally calculated.
The $ 2 million health care savings came after premium figures were revised for city employees who are on the state health care plan. The premium increases have been much lower than originally planned, creating savings which will now be applied by reducing the use of the fund balance, which functions essentially as a municipal reserve, in the new budget and to maintain the rate. per thousandth unchanged from the current year.
The bipartisan cooperation came after a controversial meeting in April in which all six BET Democrats voted against the budget, forcing BET chairman Michael Mason to use his tie-breaking power to send the budget to the government. RTM. Democrats had spoken out against several cuts and postponements of capital projects in the school system, but on Monday evening, the partisan split over BET was not displayed.
Instead, there was unanimous agreement around the budget and Mason quickly gave his support to the Democrats’ motion. The rate of 11.590 million set last year was a rate reduction in 2019-2020 and was made by the BET to reduce the burden on taxpayers during the pandemic, which continues to have an economic impact across the city.
“I think it’s a great compromise,†Mason said. “We are in a very different economic situation. Things change quickly and we must take into account all the considerations of our residents.