Budget approved at town meeting after adjustment

KENT — Managing to accommodate both in-person and remote attendees for the annual town meeting held both at Town Hall and on Zoom, Kent taxpayers voice-voted nearly unanimous approval of the 2021-22 town budget — with one revision to the total.

Approximately 55 people attended the meeting to offer comments and ask for clarification of line items. The single change was to reduce the Civil Preparedness line by $26,200, resulting in a new grand total for the town budget of $13,336,529.  The Board of Selectmen’s operating budget is adjusted to $4,126,227 and the Board of Education operating budget stands at $4,686,813. The Region One budget totals $2,509,743.

The Board of Finance met following the town meeting to estimate a mill rate of 18.57, a reduction from the current level of 18.61.

Civil Preparedness

Early in the town meeting, First Selectman Jean Speck addressed the gathering about budget concerns expressed by several residents.

“This has been a topic of conversation for two weeks,” Speck said, the controversy causing “a lot of passionate talk about the budget.”

At issue was the Civil Preparedness account that had seen an original request of $31,450. That request was at first denied by the selectmen, but then reinstated to the budget in late April by the Board of Finance. At the town meeting, Speck recommended reducing that requested amount by $26,200 to return the Civil Preparedness line to its current year budget level of $5,250.

The propriety of the process was most of concern to Selectman Chris Garrity. “This is process only, nothing to do with the merits of the Emergency Medical Services program. It is out of respect for the process,” he said.

Rather than abandoning the original request to support Civil Preparedness, Speck said that her hope is that the selectmen can come back to the Board of Finance for further discussion, while also seeking grant funding options to support Emergency Management.

One resident asked whether the town is at risk with the reduction in Emergency Management funding, and Selectman Ed Matson responded, “No.”

Speck said the town still has Emergency Management staff. She added that she has some concerns about basic costs being jeopardized, but she had yielded to Garrity’s concerns about process.

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