Freda Hopes to Deliver 0% Tax Increase

First Selectman Mike Freda tentatively announced that his administration would be attempting to deliver a 0% tax increase to North Haven residents with the 2012-2013 municipal budget.

Speaking to residents at Thursday night's Board of Selectmen meeting, Freda said that his goal for the coming fiscal year was to micromanage and compress operating costs in order to save money for local taxpayers. 

"[Director of Finance] Ed Swinkowski and I are looking at every line item with a microscope," the First Selectman said. "We're anticipating that capital requests will be lower than they were last year, and not all capital requests we receive will be granted."

Last year, initial capital requests from municipal departments totalled $2.7 million. After revising several line items, the budget presented to voters in the spring referendum contained only $1.3 million in capital requests. 

Freda noted last night that a town hearing on this year's budget would be held in either March or April. 

Currently, Town departments are proposing expenses for FY 2012-2013 to the Board of Finance in a series of budget workshops, viewable here on NHTV.

, over half of North Haven's municipal offices have already gone through the process, with the Board of Education and the IT Department presenting on February 11. The Police Department and Town administrators will follow on February 15. 

During public comment, numerous residents urged the First Selectman to push for a flat tax rate going into next year, saying that a raise would hurt seniors on fixed income, as well as young professionals looking to purchase homes in town. 

On a related note, Freda also added that the grand list had grown slightly in the past year, but with the caveat that the majority of the expansion was due to the surge of non-taxable non-profit organizations in North Haven.

What do you want to see in the Town's budget for FY 2012-2013? How strongly do you feel about a 0% tax increase?