This has been a different kind of budget season for Newtown. Born in the throes of one of the harshest winters in memory and in the wake of the harshest economic downturn in at least 30 years, the budget that goes before the voters next Tuesday, April 26, is the product of countless long nights of tabulations and deliberations conducted in the most unpredictable of environments — meteorological and political. There was every good reason in the world for things to go badly. But for some reason, against a backdrop of bad breaks, Newtown’s budgetmakers avoided all the bear traps and pitfalls that quickly consume community comity in most years and leave most budget proposals weary and war-torn on the doorstep of the polling place in April.

This year, voters will consider a $106.6 million budget that has come through the budget process largely intact — not for any lack of rigor in its review or expedience in its approval. The new component this time around was trust — between those assembling the various components of the budget and those assessing them for financial soundness. The early and steady partnership of First Selectman Pat Llodra and Board of Education Chair Bill Hart in the process neutralized the reflexive bickering and sniping that has characterized the town/school financial relationship in the past, bringing cooperation and, consequently, credibility to the process.

It does not necessarily follow that Newtown voters should approve the budget and the 2.68 percent tax hike that comes along with it simply because it took shape in a spirit of harmony and cooperation. These days, any added expense for homeowners is going to meet with resistance. A tax hike is a tax hike, even if it has good manners. But this year, Newtown taxpayers have credible assurances from all involved — the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Education, the Board of Finance, and the Legislative Council — that the budget they will vote on next Tuesday is the most economical spending package they can get without cutting back on town services and Newtown’s longstanding commitment to educational excellence.

Our struggling economy has shaken down our federal and state governments to the point where lawmakers in Washington and Hartford are massing for a great housecleaning of public services, and they are not in the mood to make petty distinctions between bathwater and babies. As a result, towns and cities that depend on federal and state funding for critical educational programs and social services are facing a dilemma: make up the difference with tax increases or lower expectations for performance standards in the schools and local service agencies. Pay more or settle for less.

The $106.6 million spending package put before the town by Newtown’s budgetmakers reflects a lot of honest work by our elected officials to mitigate the consequences of this fundamental choice for local voters without arbitrarily making the choice for them through draconian cuts to avoid any tax increase. Those cuts will come, make no mistake, if the budget fails next Tuesday. This first vote, however, gives us our one opportunity to preserve the Newtown we have before we must settle for the Newtown we are left with.