Voting Location: Meeting House Hill School from 10am to 8pm

You, the New Fairfield taxpayer, have the annual responsibility t
o vote for (or against) your town and education budgets. Every dollar in these budgets is dire
ctly related to a service provided to our residents and students. These budgets pay for things such as snow plowing roads/road repair, police officers, teachers, 24hours/7days a week emergency EMT/Paramedic ambulance coverage, fire department, road repair, library, and many senior services to name a few.

The graphic in this column is meant to show you the five major parts of these budgets where your tax dollars are spent. Payroll pays the salaries of our town employees and educators. Non-payroll pays for the stuff they need to do their jobs such as salt and sand for roads during the winter and teacher supplies for their students for example. Capital & Non-Recurring pays for things
such as snowplows, bridge repairs, parking lot paving, police vehicles and furnace/boiler replacement among others. Medical Insurance pays for town employee and educator medical benefits. And
Debt Service pays off the loans (bonds), in annual payments, for large investments the town incurred to build/renovate our buildings.

All these five budget parts added together minus the projected revenue we receive from the state equal a 1.05% tax increase for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019. The table sh
ows examples of what that 1.05% annual tax increase means to you in $$ if your home market value approximates those listed in the table. For example, if your home’s market value is in the $350,000. area, your tax increase for the year is $79. We hope you consider that a bargain for what you are getting in serv
ices.

Please remember to vote on Saturday, May 4^th at Meeting House Hill School from 10am to 8pm.

The budgets look like big numbers, but they are what it takes to deliver and maintain services and education for all town residents and students.