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Showing posts from February, 2025

Last-Minute Town Council Meeting Attempt Fails, School Audit Won't Be Released Before Election

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  Town Council meeting Oct. 20 2025  The audit of Enfield's $5.6 million school budget shortfall will not be released before Tuesday's election, despite a last-minute attempt Friday to schedule a special Town Council meeting. Mayor Ken Nelson proposed a Monday night meeting, on election eve, during which the council could review the draft audit in executive session and then vote to release it to the public. Democrats claim the meeting was never meant to happen. Nelson said he was doing his best to accommodate their request. The issue that triggered the audit surfaced in 2024, when the Board of Education faced a $5.6 million budget shortfall. Council Republicans, then in the majority, covered it out of the town's reserves and ordered an audit. Because it happened under a Democratic Board of Education majority, it remains a political issue. At the Oct. 20 Town Council meeting, town officials said the draft audit was ready, but wouldn't be released immediately. The plan ou...
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Charter Commission proposes 7% budget cap, a fix that won't solve the problem (With correction)

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Charter Revision Commission meeting CORRECTION FROM ORIGINAL POST:  In my initial analysis, I incorrectly connected two distinct fiscal years when discussing budget increases and tax impacts. This fixes it. Here's what happened: The 4.5% tax increase in 2022 was based on the FY2023 budget ( July 2022 - June 2023 ). Town spending decreased by 1.19% in FY2023 , but taxes still went up because the 2021 revaluation shifted the tax burden to homeowners . When residents opened their tax bills in July 2022, they saw the 4.5% tax increase. Using a sample 1,200 SF single family house Southwood Acres, property taxes went from  $4,265 → $4,457 or a $192 increase. [For context, Social Security recipients received an 8.7% Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for their 2023 benefits, reflecting the high inflation of 2022.] đź“Ś Cause: This tax hike was driven by the 2021 revaluation , which shifted more of the tax burden from commercial to residential properties, not by increased spending ....
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Location: Enfield, CT 06082, USA
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