Litchfield voters will consider a proposed decrease in local taxes Saturday morning at Town Meeting, according to Mark Russell, the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, who was re-elected recently.
But residents might object to some of the spending proposals by the board, Russell said. One of the more controversial topics that will be discussed Saturday is competing proposals related to the town’s road improvement funds.
The selectmen would like to spend $100,000 less on road improvements next year and instead use that funding to help pay for a revaluation of local properties, according to a preliminary copy of the warrant that’s posted on the town website.
But the town’s Budget Committee has proposed keeping the annual spending on road improvements at its current level — $400,000, according to the warrant.
The revaluation is projected to cost up to $125,000 next year, according to the warrant. It might require additional costs in the following year.
“We want to make sure there is ample money” to do the revaluation, Russell said earlier this month. “In order to do that and not raise taxes, we had to take money away from the proposed (road improvement budget). … I know there will be some people wanting to increase some parts of the budget.
The Town Meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Litchfield Sportsmen’s Club.
Russell said that under the selectmen’s budget proposal, the town’s property tax rate would decrease next year by roughly 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
The current tax rate for Litchfield residents is about $16.55 per $1,000 of assessed value, which includes the local taxes that are paid to Regional School Unit 4, officials said last year at Town Meeting.
The town’s current spending plan is $2.3 million, which is 4 percent higher than last year’s.
Charles Eichacker — 621-5642
Twitter: @ceichacker
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