Reprinted from The Trumbull Times © Copyright 2009
April 23, 2009

By Julie Weisberg

Town Council members are expected to discuss and vote on the adoption of the proposed 2009-10 town budget at a special meeting tonight, April 23.

The only actionable item on the agenda for the meeting - which will take place at Town Hall and begin at 7:30 p.m. - is the consideration of the budget.

In March, the Board of Finance skimmed some $600,000 from First Selectman Ray Baldwin's $135.1 million proposal, a reduction of about 0.5%.

For the school allotment, the finance board trimmed $100,000, reducing the total to $84 million.

The remaining reductions came from the $51 million town side of the budget.

The finance board passed the budget by a 3-0 vote, with all three Republican members abstaining.

On the town side, the board saved money by cutting a $200,000 allotment to hire an appraiser to perform the state mandated property revaluation.

Also, the members cut $130,000 for a sophisticated mapping of the town. The project, if approved, would include using an airplane to take precise images. Currently, the town departments use updated 1950s vintage maps.

Before approving and sending the proposed budget to the Town Council, finance board members also trimmed some $13,000 by eliminating 50 percent of the requested money for seminars for town employees.

The Times will have the results of tonight's meeting online tomorrow at TrumbullTimes.com.