Budget Growth Makes Tax Hike Likely
- Peter Prohaska
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Facing his 16th budget cycle as a member of the Southington Board of Finance, Chairman John Leary seemed surprised when nobody in the crowd gathered at DePaolo Middle School on March 2 came forward to speak on the proposed budget. That evening, the Board continued its series of public hearings with brief presentations from the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Schools, and a longer presentation by the Town Manager. All agreed that preparing for the upcoming fiscal year has been a challenge.
In his introductory remarks, Leary pointed out two factors that will impact taxpayers as the Town seeks to pay its employees, educate its students, and provide other municipal services.
The first of these factors is the townwide revaluation. Leary explained that this was the “hard” revaluation that takes place every five years. In the process, which is mandated by the state, a third-party contractor uses visual inspections to get a more accurate assessment of the value of real estate and other taxable properties.
The value of all taxable properties, the town’s grand list, went from $4.7 billion to $6.9 billion, Leary said. That $2.2 billion increase is a significant jump. According to the CT Data website, back in 2011 Southington’s grand list total was about half that, at just over $3.7 billion. In 2024, neighboring Cheshire’s grand list total was $4 billion, while Wolcott’s was just under $1.5 billion.
Leary also described an unusual feature of this revaluation. While the overall grand list for real estate increased 53.7%, the values of many homes — especially those of more modest size — increased approximately 100%. To get the same property tax revenue as last year, $154 million, Leary said, “we would be collecting a lot more from the modest homes, and a lot less from commercial, industrial and the bigger homes.”
That shift, Leary pointed out, is mainly a result of the market forces of supply and demand and is not due to anything that the Town of Southington did or does.
The rise in property values does not necessarily mean a corresponding rise in tax payments. “If the properties in town double in value, we don’t get double the taxes,” Leary explained. Rather, the mill rate is adjusted downward to a level that allows tax revenues, along with other income, such as grants, to cover town expenses.
The second important budgetary factor is, of course, government spending, which is on track to increase this coming fiscal year. The Board of Education’s proposed budget calls for an $8.2 million increase, 6.7% more than the current year. The Town Manager’s request for all town departments other than the school system is up $5.6 million compared to this year, a hike of 10.5%.
Leary added that, overall, spending is up $13.2 million while revenue is down $1.5 million. The proposed budget thus implies a 9.5% tax increase.
“This Board is well aware that the vast majority of families don’t see a 9.5% increase in the earnings they take in,” Leary noted.
In his presentation, Southington Town Manager Alex Ricciardone pointed to health insurance costs that have contributed a full percentage point to budget growth as a significant driver of spending. Another is Connecticut’s new minimum wage law. He noted that the minimum wage increase applies to staff employed by parks and recreation, youth, family and senior services, among others. Connecticut’s minimum wage jumped 3.6% as of January 1, 2026, to $16.94 per hour.
Ricciardone also said that a primary goal of his proposed budget was to avoid workforce reductions, such as those made last year. His budget, following the recommendation of Town Commissions, even calls for adding three full-time firefighters and two police officers. Another staffing request is for a case worker who works specifically with the elderly. The job, he said, is state-mandated, but has been carried out recently on an “ad hoc” basis by Director of Senior Services Dawn Sargis, whose full-time job is running Calendar House.
Another staffing request asks for either one full-time or two part-time librarians. Ricciardone said that the Library would defer to the Board of Finance as to which direction to go. He reported that staffing requests from several other departments did not make the cut this budget season.
Ricciardone noted that his proposed budget contain funding for capital investment projects that would pay for themselves over time and have the effect of lowering costs in future budgets.
One positive piece of fiscal news was a 4.13% decrease in debt service, which Ricciardone attributed to regular refinancing that locks in lower interest rates but keeps the same maturity on town-issued debt. He also mentioned meeting on a regular basis with Superintendent Steve Madancy about ways in which the Town and schools can share services and seek efficiencies to lower costs.
The Town Manager’s Budget Book, which can be viewed here, is nearly 200 pages long. It contains a wealth of information for taxpayers regarding finances, operations and requested expenditures.
Budget workshops will continue. The Board of Finance is expected to make its final recommendation at its meeting of March 25, with a public hearing before the Town Council scheduled for April, and a possible adoption by the Council in May.
