Proposed Budget of $83 Million Heard by Residents
By Darren Ayotte | Sports Correspondent at April 8, 2024 | 9:00 am | Print
Residents gathered inside Catherine M. McGee Middle School last week for the Annual Town Budget Meeting.
The meeting was met with generally favorable reviews, with the council approved budget totaling $83.33 million, a 3.23 percent increase ($2.7 million) from 2015-2016.
“We spent a lot of time on this budget,” said Berlin Mayor Mark Kaczynski. “We started earlier than normal, wanting to kind of get into the weeds of the budget.”
Much of the budget increase is due to the debt owed for the reconstruction and renovation of Berlin High School, which is set to be finished in September. Mayor Kaczynski estimates the debt load to start decreasing by 2019.
“It has been a tough year paying for the high school,” Kaczynski said. “Our debt payment this year went up a million dollars. So we have another year or two.”
The budget is calling for a $2.5 million radio station project for Berlin Police, a project many residents favored.
“I definitely want to support the police. My background has been law enforcement for 30 years.” Kaczynski said.
The council then proposed a .84 percent increased mill rate, but the Mayor is looking to reduce that figure. The town council is currently meeting and making necessary changes to the budget until April 7th.
On April 26th, Berlin residents will have a chance to say yes or no at the budget referendum. If they say no, it will come back to the town council for further changes.
“I think a couple of people are concerned about the school system. I get it, my son just
graduated, been through the whole school system. They are getting an increase in their operating budget, and we are funding a couple of capital projects for them too,” said Kaczynski.
The only other thing that seems to be a concern, according to the Mayor is “Business Unfriendly Berlin”, a theme that started with several residents who spoke at the meeting. Some Berlin citizens spoke of the idea that the town has not had the best track record when it comes to new businesses in town. Berlin’s newest business, Ferndale Market Fresh, which takes the place of Roger’s Marketplace, is set to open May 1st.
“I am not sure where that all comes from. Having been on planning and zoning for 16 years, a lot of projects came to us, and I never thought of us as unfriendly,” Kaczynski said. “I am going to start working with the Economic Development Commission and Planning and Zoning. This is just to make sure if ‘Mark’ comes into town, ‘Mark’ gets the right information from day one.”
The idea behind a budget is to try to make everyone happy, but as the Mayor stated, that can be very difficult. This proposed budget is set to make as many residents happy as possible, with a heavy focus on the school system, particularly finishing the high school. For those unhappy with certain cuts, Kaczynski has brought some reassurance.
“Later in the year if some money comes up, things that we had to cut that we considered important, we can throw some money in there. If there is something we can fix, we’ll work on that going forward,” Kaczynski said.
