Happy Earth Day 2010!
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
Volume 17, Issue 2
Durham Board of Finance approves budget with .77 mill tax rise By Chuck Corley Special to the Town Times The Board of Finance held a public hearing on Monday, April 12, in order to present the 2010-11 budget to the town and listen to any comments from residents. The board met again on April 20 in order to revise the budget in preparation for the town meeting scheduled for May 10. Although the board tried to minimize any budget increases, the budget presented at the hearing had a $353,000 increase from the $3,659,263 net town budget of 2009-2010. After further revisions during their April 12 meeting, this amount was dropped to $330,000. Of this increase, $150,000 can be attributed to a loss in revenue, while the remaining $200,000
Friday, April 23, 2010
Getting ready for summer picnics
is due to a number of increases in the cost of running the town. After factoring in the school budget, the mill rate is expected to go up by .77 mills. Despite this increase in the mill rate, the board wanted to remind the town that Durham has gone two years without an increase in the mill rate and that it’s one of the few towns without any debt in the state. Of the increases in the town budget, the over $30,000 to rent out part of the newer Caroline Adams building as a community center drew the most comment. According to residents such as Joan Zito, the town did fine for years without a community center. Donia Viola, meanwhile, felt See Durham BOF, page 18
Invention Convention
Members and friends of Troop 33 join in and help Thomas D’Orvilliers clear the wooded area between the two soccer fields at Peckham Park of debris as Thomas continues to organize his Boy Scout Eagle project. Thomas is creating a naturally shaded picnic area for public use at the park. Special thanks to all captured in the photo, from left, Bruce Villwock, Pam Sibley, Tyler Sibley, Andrew Carter, David Bedding, Kevin Onofreo, Fitch Spencer, Jayson Gribko, Marc D’Orvilliers, Thomas D’Orvilliers, Brian Blake and Anthony Onofreo. Missing from picture Ben Hamilton, Robin Heath and Susan D’Orvilliers. Photo provided by Marc D’Orvilliers
Counting Contests
Thumbs up for Erik Stanzel whose invention, The Eye Rack, was one of the winning inventions at this year’s annual Invention Convention at Memorial School. “You know when you can’t find your glasses? This keeps them all together in one spot, is portable and holds 12 pairs at a time,” he explained. See more photos and a list of winners from both the Memorial School Invention Convention and the Independent Day School Invention Convention on pages 16-17. Photo by Stephanie Wilcox
We thought it might be fun to have a few counting contests in Town Times. So last week, for our birthday issue, we placed some random candles throughout the paper and asked people to count them and reply online with how many they had found. We know people are counting, but we have so far received no counts. We have a $16 Dunkin Donuts gift certificate waiting at the office for the first person to email us at news@towntimes.com with the correct number. This week, you can get your photo in next week’s Town Times if you correctly count the number of recycle logos and come to our office with the number.
Middlefield Board of Finance sends budget to public hearing April 26 Sue VanDerzee Town Times In a bit of a turn around from the usual, the Middlefield Board of Finance (BOF) finalized a budget proposal for
In this issue ... Calendar .........................4-5 Durham Briefs............18-19 Middlefield Briefs ......22-24 Obituaries .......................27 Property Transfers .........31 Sports ..........................28-29 Spotlight ..........................26 Women in Business ...11-13
the upcoming 2010-11 fiscal year that carries a higher mill rate than the one presented to them by First Selectman Jon Brayshaw on March 1. Nevertheless, the Board of Finance shaved about $30,000 off the municipal spending suggested by Brayshaw. They also adopted a less rosy outlook then the first selectman about the extra tax money that may come in next fiscal year if certain businesses open or expand, and dropped $100,000 worth of income from sale of property put in the budget by See BOF, page 23