Weston residents voted against paying more in taxes. Now, they'll have to put up with less next year.
On Monday night, board members approved a $31 million budget for the Village of Weston for 2013.
Voters said no to a referendum this past Nov. that would have allowed the Village to raise the tax rate above the maximum allowed by the state. But that decision will come at a price. Over the next several months, the board will now have to explore ways to reduce its operational budget by cutting services.
"We had a significant operational deficit of about $800,000 that we had to work through with a combination of cuts and changes to the procedure to eliminate," said Village Administrator Daniel Guild. "As well as this year we have a budget that has no capital projects, no fleet or equipment replacement. So it's going to be a leaner year for us than in years past."
The Village board voted to raise taxes just slightly, but when they factored in the school district, state, county and tech college tax rates, homeowners property taxes will actually go down about two percent. For example, the owner of a $100,000 house will save about $39 next year.
