Middlefield Passes $4.42M Budget [Video]

There apparently wasn't much to say about next year's budget.

On Monday night, nearly three dozen Middlefield voters overwhelmingly approved the for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

While 30 residents voted in favor of the proposal, three voted against it.

Watch the video to see residents vote on the 2012-2013 budget

Before the vote, Board of Finance chair Lucy Petrella highlighted some of the "larger pieces" of the budget, which includes funding for a police cruiser, a dump truck and plow, a pumper truck as well as money to pay for improvements to the parking lot at the Levi E. Coe Library.

Petrella said half of a $300,000 surplus leftover from this year's budget will be transfered to next year's budget to lower the burden on taxpayers. The remaining $150,000 will be put into the fund balance to pay for future capital improvements, she said.

The town's fund balance is currently about $1.2 million, or roughly seven percent of the town's budget according to Petrella, a figure she said should be closer to 10 percent.

"It ensures that the town will get the best interest rate when we bond, long term, for Powder Ridge or any other debt," she explained.

Following her brief remarks, members of the public were given an opportunity to comment on the budget proposal before the vote was taken. No one did.

The finance board will meet again this month to set the town's new mill rate, which is expected to increase to 32.15.

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