Budget Hearing Set For March 3

By Jan Howard

A public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 3, at 7:30 pm at Newtown Middle School on Queen Street regarding the budget requests of the Newtown Board of Selectmen and Board of Education for fiscal year 2004–05 (See complete budget details on page C-10).

The total budget request is $85,180,247, which is a 6.8 percent increase over the current budget.

The Board of Selectmen on February 2 approved a budget of $31,811,790 for the town’s side of the spending package, which reflects a 5.9 percent increase over the current fiscal year’s budget of $30,030,015.

The Board of Education on February 10 approved a $53,368,457 budget, a 7.37 percent increase over the current year’s school budget of $49,407,147. During that meeting, the school board had voted 5-1 to reduce Superintendent of Schools Dr Evan Pitkoff’s proposed $53,865,315 budget by $496,858.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said at the February 2 meeting that the Board of Selectmen budget increase of 5.9 percent is comprised of 2 percent for debt service, 1.5 percent for pensions and insurances, and 0.8 percent for Fairfield Hills. The 1.6 percent remaining covers salaries and “everything else,” he said.