East Granby Budget Plan Moves Ahead

EAST GRANBY, CT — East Granby residents got a closer look Tuesday night at the town’s proposed 2026-27 budget during a public hearing before the plan moves to its next stages.

Budget documents presented for the April 21 hearing show a proposed $29,873,034 spending plan, up 5.53 percent from the current budget. The Board of Finance presentation says the budget is split among education, general government, debt repayments and capital reserve funding.

Under the proposal, the Board of Education budget would rise to $21,970,100, a 5 percent increase, while general government spending would increase to $6,088,501, or 3.8 percent. Debt repayments would climb to $1,214,433, and the capital reserve fund would rise to $600,000.

The budget presentation also projects a mill rate of 31.35 for real estate, personal property and motor vehicles. That would be up 2.79 percent from the current 30.50 mill rate, according to the Board of Finance hearing slides.

Most of the town’s revenue would continue to come from property taxes. Budget documents show property tax collections are expected to generate $25,658,158, or about 85.9 percent of all revenue. State grants are projected at $2,781,205, while town fees and other revenue sources are budgeted at $667,289. The proposal also calls for using $766,382 from the general fund balance.

According to the hearing presentation, that planned use of fund balance would leave the town with a cash balance equal to 10.93 percent of expenditures, above the Board of Finance policy minimum of 10 percent. The presentation also says the town will begin replenishing the general fund in FY27 to reduce what is owed by the sewer use fund.

Separate general government budget documents presented by First Selectperson Jason Hayes show several notable spending drivers on the town side. Officials cited 3 percent union raises, an 11 percent increase in health insurance, a 10 percent increase in workers compensation, a 3 percent increase in liability, auto and property insurance, and higher legal costs.

The general government proposal also includes several staffing changes, including a new full-time assistant mechanic for public works, a part-time tax clerk, a full-time custodian and moving the part-time parks and recreation coordinator position to full-time. The documents also describe a shared-services human resources director position with Granby, supported initially by an RPIP grant.

Among the department-level changes, the documents show legal fees jumping from $22,500 to $82,000, public works rising by $39,646 to $1,024,258, tax collector costs rising by $15,630 to $113,725, and senior services mini bus spending increasing by $14,828 to $43,126. Some areas would decrease, including data services, utilities, the finance department and the fire department.

The budget calendar shown at Tuesday night’s hearing says the next step is a town meeting scheduled for April 29. A machine vote is then expected May 7, after which the Board of Finance would set the mill rate if the budget is approved.