By Sarah Opdahl
On Saturday, July 22, 1,484 of 9,351 eligible New Fairfield voters—or 15.86%—approved the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year budgets with the following count:
Town:
YES 908
NO 573
Education:
YES 876
NO 604
Voters approved Town Government expenditures in the amount of $13,675,000 from the General Fund; $797,070 from the Capital and Non-Account; and $2,691,605 from other Governmental Funds. The final Education budget totals were $52,785,168 from the General Fund and $155,675 from the Capital and Non-Account.
To the relief of many involved in the process, the vote allowed the Board of Finance to set the official mill rates on the morning of July 24. The Board set the mill rate at 34.90 for real estate and personal property and 32.46 for motor vehicles. The tax billing due dates are set as August 1, 2023, or by September 1, 2023, and the typical January 1 deadline for 2024. The rates match the temporary rate that was set by the Board of Selectmen earlier in the month.