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EAST HADDAM — After soundly rejecting a town budget proposal in June, East Haddam voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a $36.37 million budget that had been trimmed down to a zero mill rate increase – by a vote of 885-834.
The original budget proposal included an increase of $2.49 million over last year’s spending, and would have raised the mill rate by 0.62 mills to 31.06 mills. Residents voiced frustration with several line items in that budget, and also concern with the transparency of the budget process – especially with how information was presented in an online tool the town first used this budget cycle.
After the original budget proposal was rejected by a vote of 274 in favor and 1,242 opposed, the East Haddam Board of Finance moved to cut more than $500,000 from the budget, including specific line items that resident called out, like a $9,863 raise for the first selectman’s position and $40,000 for cameras at the transfer station.