Facing more unknowns than certainty about potential state cuts in revenue - and with a wary eye on what the school superintendent called "chaos" in Hartford, Newtown's Board of Finance unanimously approved a municipal spending plan March 2 and delivered it to the Legislative Council during a follow-up meeting six days later.

In a presentation by Finance Chairman John Godin, March 8, the council accepted a proposed budget requesting a 1.6 percent increase in spending over the current year. If approved without adjustment by the council, voters will weigh in on a spending request that would increase the mill rate on real estate from 33.60 to 34.24, increasing taxation by 1.9 percent and factoring a preliminary anticipated reduction in intergovernmental revenue of 21 percent.

A mill equates to one dollar in taxation for every $1,000 in taxable property.

The spending proposal that the council will take up following a planned public hearing March 22 increases the current year's $114,182,379 budget to $115,992,078 - representing a $1,809,699 bump officials say is driven primarily by labor and contractual commitments.

Mr Godin explained to the council that his board weighed the implications of various contract salary increases ranging from 2 to 2.25 percent, plus step increases for union police personnel; a 23 percent pension contribution; and a 2 percent increase to the town's self-insured employee health program.

While Mr Godin was happy to report a 1.8 percent overall decrease in operating expenses and a $200,000 drop in debt service expense, capital spending, mainly due to a more aggressive local commitment to road repairs and maintenance, is up $250,000.

Turning to the school district request, the finance chair outlined a proposed 1.6 percent increase adding $1,162,373 to the current year's budget of $73,665,065 that would send a $74,827,438 request to referendum if no further reductions are taken by the council.

That bump resulted from contractual salary increases totaling $676,000; employee pension and medical benefit increases of $341,000; along with planned building and site projects estimated to cost $103,000.

Prior to the finance board's vote March 2, First Selectman Pat Llodra, Town Finance Director Robert Tait, and Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi, Jr, announced several nominal reductions to the budget request under consideration.

The district was able to step down the cost to fund social worker positions thanks to a $145,000 grant from the Dalio Foundation; reduce its fuel oil request by $18,167 after bids came in lower than anticipated; its building and site maintenance costs by $27,000; and affect a $103,000 surplus offset tied to the payoff of a final sewer assessment.

On the town side, officials also applied fuel oil savings of $17,141; a cut of $34,678 in police wages and benefits; $4,560 in the Teen Center fund; and $30,000 from the proposed Eichler's Cove operating budget. Finance officials also considered and approved increasing the overall revenue line by $200,000 by voting to estimate 99.2 percent of tax collections instead of the 99 percent that had been a standard over the previous few years.

Those reductions totaling $579,546 were immediately applied to offset anticipated reductions in state revenue, permitting the finance board to hold the line on a 1.9 percent increase in taxation.

Over the six days between the finance board's action and the presentation to the council, Dr Erardi said his sources at the Capitol were describing the situation as "absolute chaos," telling council members that lawmakers were even considering looking for a way to let municipalities legally delay their budget votes until the state had a more clear understanding about municipal and educational cuts that would have to be made to balance the state budget.

But while that discussion was happening in Newtown, drawing the ire of the first selectman who railed against the idea, lawmakers tabled the proposal.

As part of his presentation, Mr Godin, with the assistance of the finance director, calculated the local impact of Governor Dannel Malloy's state budget proposal. If that plan passes the general assembly and is signed by the governor, it would add 5.6 percent to the recommended finance board tax increase of 1.9 percent, resulting in an astronomical $6.7 million or a 7.5 percent hit to Newtown taxpayers.

Mrs Llodra pointed out, however, that since Newtown taxpayers vote on the budget requests, a 7.5 percent property tax increase would never fly.

All of that gloomy news was countered somewhat by Mr Tait's announcement that Newtown's latest bond offering continued to provide taxpayers historically low borrowing rates, with debt service coming in at 2.669 percent. The finance director also illustrated how Newtown's prudent fiscal management and its S&P AAA bond rating outshined the state.

He said that if the state offered the same amount in bonding to the market at the same time on March 7, it would have ended up paying nearly $200,000 more in interest.

Before closing the meeting, Legislative Council Chair Mary Ann Jacob indicated that her panel was required to send a number of special appropriation requests through the Boards of Selectmen and Finance, before moving those capital spending proposals to the April 25 referendum ballot. She reminded her council colleagues that the latest charter revision eliminated the town meeting, and increased the amount that the council could approve for each project up to $1.5 million.

That revision also capped the amount the council could authorize on its own. Ms Jacob clarified that in total the council can only approve 1 mill, or $3 million in capital projects - and the remaining requests must also go to taxpayers at referendum.

The council then authorized moving a $1.8 million request for middle school improvements, and $3 million for a new senior center to the special appropriations process, and eventually the ballot if approved. The council then deliberated which other items over the one percent cap should go before taxpayers.

Councilman Neil Chaudhary motioned moving a $750,000 request for the final phase of high school auditorium improvements, $850,000 for the Hawley School roof replacement, and $1 million for capital road spending to the special appropriations process. But Councilman Ryan Knapp also felt strongly that the $300,000 request to begin a new police headquarters design process should go through the vetting process, and eventually go before taxpayers if approved.

His amendment to effect that addition passed 5-3. An amendment from Councilman George Ferguson to send a $571,000 request for Edmond Town Hall air conditioning improvements failed on a 3-5 vote.

The main motion then passed 7-1, with Ms Jacob voting against it. During deliberation, Ms Jacob indicated that with voters facing a raft of new spending authorization questions during the referendum, her hope was to keep those ballot questions to a minimum and leave the maximum amount of authorizations strictly up to the council.

Regarding his motion, Mr Ryan countered that the approval of the $300,000 for a police headquarters design would predispose taxpayers to support the next two years' capital construction requests totaling $10 million, or otherwise risk wasting the original design spending.