RTM to Take Up 2012 Budget, Special School Appropriation

The Representative Town Meeting will have a full plate at Monday night's annual budget session as it weighs increased spending, a higher mill rate, and a special appropriation to cover a Board of Education shortfall for the current fiscal year.

One month ago, Darien's Board of Finance to a $115.1 million operating budget for 2011-12, submitting it for RTM approval. The package included $38,798,485 for the municipal side and $76,313,805 for the Board of Education — 1.6 percent and 6.7 percent higher than last year, respectively.

Despite trimming nearly $899,000 from , increased school expenses — — led the Board of Finance to sign off on the larger operating budget, up 4.94% overall from 2010-11.

Accordingly, the board set the town's new mill rate 12.20, a 3.92% hike from the current rate of 11.74. The mill rate represents the tax dollars owed on properties per $1,000 of assessed value.

That increase might have been even larger had the board not raised its collection rate assumption from 98.5 to 98.9 percent. Members noted during the budget process that the town's real collection rate had not dropped below 99 percent in at least a decade.

The RTM will also consider on Monday whether to approve $1,429,575 in capital and non-recurring expenses for 2011-12 and whether to authorize borrowing of up to $5 million in case of an interruption in tax collection.

One item carried over from the current fiscal year will also require the RTM's attention: a $210,000 appropriation to cover a shortfall in the Board of Education's budget.

In April, the Board of Finance signed off on $475,000 in additional funding , allocating $265,000 from its special education reserve fund and approving a request to draw the remainder from the town's general fund.

The shortfall represents higher-than-expected tuition costs for students whose educational needs can't be met in district, as well as related expenses for transportation and specialists. State mandates for special education services give school districts limited flexibility with these costs.

Superintendent Stephen Falcone that administrators had been able to close over $500,000 of its projected $1.6 million gap by holding off on several planned hires, including a math coordinator, a technology specialist, and additional special education aides. 

The district also received a $95,000 federal jobs grant and is expecting $174,000 more in excess cost grants from the state than originally projected, Falcone said. Receipts from summer school registration, which are tracking ahead of last year, .

The RTM meets Monday at 8 p.m. in the auditorium. The session will be broadcast live on .