FAQ-Town Budget Information

Information on this page was taken from publicly available sources.

What is the town budget in Canterbury, CT for fiscal year (FY) 2017-2018?

• Town Government: $2,807,465 (~20%)
• Board of Education: $10,934,105 (~79%)
• Capital Improvement Plan: $175,000 (~1%)
• Total Expenses for FY2018: $13,916,570

What does the budget fund?

Town Government

• Town Hall and Offices
• Employee Benefits
• Insurance
• Legal Services
• Town Boards and Commissions
• Public Safety
• Public Works
• Refuse Disposal
• Debt Service

Board of Education

• Salaries and Benefits
• Tuition
• Facilities, Transportation and Technology Services
• Special Education
• District and Business Support Services
• Instructional Supplies

Capital Improvements

• Trucks and Equipment for Public Works and Emergency Services
• School Capital Improvements (Roofs, Boilers, Busses, etc.)

What are the town’s revenue sources (based on most recent budget)?

• Property Taxes: the bulk of our revenue (~$8.6 million, ~65%)
• Education Cost Sharing: distributed by State of Connecticut (~$4 million, ~30%)
• Town Road Aid, LOCIP, Grants for Municipal Projects, PILOT, Mashantucket Pequot Fund Grant: (<$1 million, ~5%)
• Total Revenue for FY2018: $13,292,081

Wait...up above it says the total budget is $13,916,570 but revenues are only $13,292,081. What gives?

• The town is using $624,489 from our Unassigned Fund Balance (basically our savings) to reduce the revenue required to balance the budget. This allows us to keep the mill rate the same as last year.

How does the budget get put together?

• The town has numerous boards and commissions that are made up of elected and appointed individuals. Typically at the start of the new year (January) the boards have budget workshop meetings where they create a proposed budget for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. After the board has proposed their budget, it is brought to the Board of Finance. There are a series of public meetings and at the end of the process (which can require several revisions back and forth), the complete town budget is approved and put to a vote by the town residents. At the end of the fiscal year, an audit is performed. Budgeted funds that have not been spent are returned to the town. If unforeseen expenses should occur outside of the approved budget at any time after a budget has been approved, those requests are brought before the boards to seek approval.

What is our current mill rate?

• 24.5

How is the mill rate set?

• The Board of Finance calculates the mill rate via a budget worksheet. All expenses (Town Government, Education and Capital Improvement budgets) are totaled. All non-property tax revenue sources (Road Aid, ECS, etc) are deducted. This produces the amount of tax revenue that must be collected. However, collection rates are not 100%. The Board of Finance uses a collection rate assumption (currently 98%) to “gross up” the tax revenue to ensure that the correct amount is collected. The grossed-up tax revenue divided by the value of all taxable property (the Grand List) produces the mill rate.
• Technically the mill rate comes at the end in the process, but if the goal set by the Board of Finance is to keep the mill rate constant from one year to the next, it can drive the budgetary process.

Why does the mill rate change?

• If expenses or non-property tax revenues change, the mill rate must be adjusted to balance the budget. This can create increases or decreases in actual taxes paid.
• After property tax revaluations, since the Grand List changes, the mill rate will change. This usually doesn’t create much difference in the amount of actual taxes paid, since an increase in Grand List results in a decrease in Mill Rate and a decrease in Grand LIst results in an increase in Mill Rate. Revaluations occur every 5 years.

How does that compare to other towns in CT?

• For FY2017, the most recent information available from the State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management and excluding special service districts, mill rates range from 10.7 in Salisbury to 74.29 in Hartford. Most mill rates are in the 20-40 range. Generally speaking, wealthier towns have lower mill rates because of their higher property values and Grand Lists. Towns can also choose to spend more or less relative to other communities, thus raising or lowering their mill rates.

How does that compare to other towns in Eastern CT?

For FY2017 and FY2018, here are some comparisons (Note: FY2018 numbers were released in February 2018 and the table below has been updated to include both years):

• Town: FY2017 > FY2018
• Ashford: 32.368 > 34.368
• Bozrah: 27.50 > 28.50
• Brooklyn: 26.34 > 27.09
• Canterbury: 24.50 > 24.50
• Chaplin: 35.05 > 35.05
• Columbia: 27.44 > 28.88
• Coventry: 31.2 > 32.00
• Eastford: 25.11 > 26.11
• Griswold: 27.06 > 27.61
• Killingly: 27.3* > 27.31*
• Lisbon: 20.5 > 22.50
• Mansfield: 29.87 > 30.63
• Montville: 30.61 > 31.70
• Norwich: 41.22* > 40.52*
• Plainfield: 29.05* > 29.92*
• Pomfret: 25.43* > 25.86*
• Preston: 23.75 > 24.00
• Putnam: 17.04* > 20.00*
• Scotland: 38.68 > 38.68
• Sprague: 31.5 > 32.00
• Sterling: 31.6* > 31.80*
• Thompson: 26.06 > 27.00
• Union: 30.27 > 30.84
• Voluntown: 28.06 > 28.06 (Temporary)
• Windham: 34.35* (FY2016) > 36.65* (FY2018) FY2017 not available
• Woodstock: 24.04* > 24.30*

*These towns also have special service or tax districts that go above this amount.
Source: State of Connecticut Office of Policy and Management

When was the last mill rate increase? What was the increase?

• FY2016 (two years ago) the mill rate was 21.65. It was increased to 24.5 for FY2017 and has been kept steady for FY2018. The Grand List used to produce the Mill Rate is 2-years behind the budget year, so the FY2017 increase was largely due to the 2015 revaluation. 

Historical Mill Rates:

• 2011 Grand List for FY2013: 21.2
• 2012 Grand List for FY2014: 21.7
• 2013 Grand List for FY2015: 21.5
• 2014 Grand List for FY2016: 21.65 -- Total Grand List $392,675,706
• 2015 Grand List for FY2017: 24.5 -- Total Grand List $359,148,542

When the mill rate goes up, how does that change what people pay?

• The mill rate is a figure representing the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of property, which is used to calculate the amount of property tax.
• If the mill rate goes up your property tax may go up and vice versa. This isn’t always true. Since the total tax is dependent on the assessed value, these numbers can work in opposite directions and keep the total tax relatively similar, especially after revaluation years.
• Canterbury taxes have been relatively stable for the last several years, even factoring in the FY2017 mill rate increase.
• In years of constant assessment, an increase of 1 mill can be thought of as $100 per $100,000 in assessed value. In years like this, increasing the mill rate would generally lead to an increase in the amount of taxes paid to the town.
• In years where the assessment values go down, the mill rate could go up, but the amount you pay in taxes to the town could remain the same. It is crucial to know both the assessed value and the mill rate when calculating how much you will pay in property tax.

What boards do we have in town?

• You can find a complete list of town boards here. From a budgetary perspective, the ones to follow most closely are the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, the Capital Improvement Plan Commission (under the Board of Selectmen), and the Board of Education. While other boards and commissions (like Planning and Zoning, the Library, and the Wetlands Commission, etc) provide vital town governance and policy information, their budgets are smaller than the other boards and commissions.

When are elections held?

• Local elections are held every two years in odd-numbered-years on election day (first Tuesday in November). The most recent election was held on November 7, 2017. The next town election will be held on November 5, 2019. 

How many people live in Canterbury?

• According to the 2010 US Census, Canterbury has 5,132 residents. According to the Connecticut State Data Center, it is projected that the town had a population of 5,330 in 2015. Official numbers will not be available until the completion of the 2020 census.
• Here is a site that allows you to explore the demographic breakdowns in our town.

What are population trends for Canterbury and state-wide?

• You can find that data here. That site has projected that our 2015 population would be 5,225, while above, you can see that we are projected to already be at 5,330 residents.  These projected totals are slightly different, based on different methods for calculating the projections.  Both sites agree that we are in the midst of a population increase that is projected to continue through 2020 at least. According to the data, the population appears to plateau and then decline slightly going into 2040. This data was provided through the Connecticut State Data Center and is based on birth, death, and migration records. It is important to note that these are merely projections.

The information on this page was gathered entirely from publicly available sources and links were provided whenever possible.