Town Of New Hartford - First Selectman's Corner
From: Town Of New Hartford
March 6, 2023
What a crazy winter it has been! Through much of January and February it seemed like our winter was limited to that one long weekend of really cold (sub-zero) weather, with the remainder of the season being warmer then usual. Now it seems we’re back to “normal” and we’ve even had a bit of snow which I’m sure has brought some joy to the children and of course Ski Sundown.
Winter around here can have a profound impact on budgets, and a long, protracted winter season can be expensive. Our DPW will typically run 9 or 10 trucks through the night and the labor and material can add up. Large amounts of snow fall usually are not the worst financially - but sleet and freezing rain situations require our DPW team to continually “treat” the roads with de-icing material (sometimes several times) to ensure that you all can get around as safely as possible (not to mention our Emergency Service Personnel). Suffice to say, the budget is in pretty good shape so far this winter, and our team has been able to make progress on other projects due to the low level of precipitation.
These winter months are also a good time for budget planning and audit reconciliation. Over the last couple of weeks the Board of Selectmen has been busy working on budget drafts including operations, 5-year capital plan and the American Rescue Plan funding recommendations. Budget discussions with the Board of Finance generally start in mid-March and conclude in mid-April with our annual budget referendum occurring on May 2, 2023. Please note the Budget Hearing is on April 6th if you want to participate or you can send an email note to town@newhartfordct.gov with your thoughts.
Just a week ago our Board of Finance received our annual Audit Report from our long term auditors King & King Associates. The wrap up of Fiscal 2022 showed that we had a good year free of any problems and all departments were held within budgetary limits. While costs continue to rise we managed to generate a small surplus with very little in the way of a tax increase. Overall, we’ve been able to hold the Mill Rate steady for three consecutive years (the mill rate was 30.63 in 2021, 30.93 in 2022 and now is back down to 30.61 in 2023). Maintaining New Hartford as an affordable community remains one of our top priorities and moving forward into Fiscal 2024 - keeping tax increases to a minimum is always a great goal. Of course there are always challenges in developing a budget and with fuel and electricity prices on the rise this can have an impact on our bottom line going forward. Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
Of course there’s always something new going on at Town Hall. Recently we’ve had some staff changes. Long time Town Hall employee (and resident) Laura White who worked for many years in both the Building Department and Assessor’s office has retired after 35 years of service. We all wish Laura (and her husband Chris) a long and healthy retirement and hope they continue to visit us at Town Hall from time to time. Laura has been replaced in the Building Office by Christine Rhoades who has transitioned from her work assisting in Tax Collections. While these are big changes – there have been other new improvements too. The most significant change is the implementation of our new online permitting system. If you’re planning on doing work at home and the job requires a wetlands, zoning or building permit you can file an application from home 24 hours a day from the town’s website @ https://newhartfordct.portal.iworq.net/portalhome/newhartfordct. If you need assistance accessing the site, feel free to call Town Hall for assistance @ 860-379-7677.
Stay warm everyone!
Dan
