Government & Politics
Zagrodsky 3-4-16

Finance Board’s Budget: Mill Rate Would Go Up 2.5%, to $15.73

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The Board of Finance passed a $141,399,008 budget that would raise Darien taxes 2.48 percent to a new mill rate of $15.73 (per $1,000 of assessed value). All votes at the board’s Thursday night meeting were unanimous, 5-0. The budget figures approved by the board are by no means final — the Representative Town Meeting will have the last word on the budget and taxes for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which starts July 1. The 2016-2017 education budget, set by the Board of Education and also up for RTM approval, is $93,847,816, a 3.44 percent increase from the budget approved for this fiscal year.  

The town operating budget (covering everything but education spending and not including debt service or capital projects) is $30,519,897 for next year’s budget, which is down 0.45 percent from the budget for this year.

Education
Brenner Budget 1-2016

Superintendent Proposes 3.85% Increase in Darien Education Budget

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Darien Public Schools spending would go up 3.85 percent, to $94.2 million in the 2016-2017 fiscal year under the budget proposal Superintendent Dan Brenner put forward to the Board of Education this week. Spending would rise $3,492,817 in Brenner’s plan. Asked what parts of the new initiatives he’s proposing are particularly important, Brenner said: “Two areas that we focused on were both professional development [that is, ongoing teacher training] as well as on the technology, both of which we think will make significant differences in kids’ lives inside the classroom.” Brenner pointed out that 64 percent of the budget goes to pay employee salaries, another 13 percent goes for benefits (for a total of 77 percent), both of which are largely already determined by pre-existing union contracts and other contracts. Add to that the 6 percent of the budget that pays for utilities and transportation (which are difficult to change and even more difficult in the short term), and the vast majority of a school district budget — in this case, 83 percent — is largely set, unless officials want to cut services.