Voters OK $43 million budget 463-to-89

More than 500 voters turned out for the Annual Town Meeting budget vote - one of the largest turnouts for this meeting in many years. Photo © by Brenda Sullivan. ----------

Usually when a budget meeting is as packed as Mansfield’s was tonight, it’s a sign that the budget is about to bite the dust.  However, that was not the case when 552 of the town’s electors filled the auditorium at Mansfield Middle School for the Annual Town Meeting.

The final count of the paper ballots was 463 in favor and 89 opposed – thus very decisively approving a $43,010,137 2009-2010 budget.

Based on what Mayor Betsy Paterson termed conservative estimates of state and federal revenues for the next fiscal year – expected to drop by more than $1 million – the impact of the approved budget on the tax rate is estimated to be a 1.88 percent increase, or an increase of .47 mills – bringing the tax rate from 25.24 to 25.71 mills.

And based on this rate, a homeowner with a house assessed at $200,000 would pay approximately an additional $94 a year in taxes.

Preceding the vote, a motion to eliminate funding in the budget for the Storrs Center project, and another motion to reduce the education budget by $150,000 were made. Both failed.  (A more detailed story will follow.)

Posted May 12, 2009

Video clips © by Brenda Sullivan. You will need Adobe Flash player to view.

Mansfield's $43 million budget vote is May 12

Tonight is the night to cast your vote on the proposed 2009-2010 budget of $43,010,127 at the Annual Town Meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Mansfield Middle School.

It is not uncommon for bad weather to put a damper on voter turnout and tonight’s forecast includes a thunderstorm.  Informal studies have also indicated that Republican voters are less deterred by bad weather than Democrats.

Tonight’s meeting will be preceded by a social hour and informal budget discussion with the Town Council, hosted by the League of Women Voters at 6 p.m.

Voters are asked to arrive early to check and to bring a form of identification to verify eligibility to vote.

A citizen’s guide to the budget also is available (in PDF format) online by clicking here.

Mansfield is one of a handful of towns that still holds a town-meeting style vote on its budget.  However, the Town Charter does allow for petitioning to bring the budget to a referendum – but only after the conclusion of the Annual Town Meeting.

The petition can be submitted to the town clerk within 21 days after the conclusion of the meeting, and must contain signatures from the equivalent of 2 percent of the number of electors registered to vote at the time of the Annual Town Meeting.

The town clerk then has five days to certify the petition. If it is deemed valid, it then goes to the Town Council to set a date for the referendum.

According to the Town Charter, however, it is an “advisory” referendum which means the authority for the final decision on the budget still lies with the Town Council.

The proposed budget up for a vote tonight includes these items:

• Mansfield Board of Education K-8 – $20,595,570

• Mansfield’s share of the Regional District 19 education budget (EO Smith High School) – $9,924,817

• Public safety (fire and police) – $2,783,540

• Government operations (including fuel) – $2,299,060

• Public works – $1,920,280

• Community services and development – $1,964,440

• “Other” townwide (including benefits) – $3,522,430

More detailed information about the budget is available on the town’s Web site at http://www.mansfieldcut.org

Posted May 12, 2009

Storrs Center has commitment from future tenant

Vice President of Planning and Development for master developer LeylandAlliance, Macon Toledano at an update on the Storrs Center project's phasing. File photo © by Brenda Sullivan. ----------

The Storrs Center marketing company has found its first client for the development, a well-established, upscale-sandwich shop popular for its music and poetry events.

The Vanilla Bean Café, located on Route 44 in Pomfret, has signed a letter of intent to lease space for a new restaurant in the first phase of the Storrs Center project.

Founded in 1989, The Vanilla Bean Café is owned and operated by brothers Barry and Brian Jessurun, who also are partners in 85 Main Street , another restaurant in Putnam.

“We’ve been aware of the Storrs Center project for a long time,” Barry Jessurun said. “We think it’s got great potential for a restaurant like the Vanilla Bean. The demographic mix of students, faculty, residents and visitors seems just right to us. We look forward to being an anchor in this exciting new community.”

According to Vice President of Planning and Development for master developer LeylandAlliance, Macon Toledano, this is the first official commitment for commercial space at Storrs Center, with a number of prospective tenants also expected follow suit in the coming months.

“We are extremely pleased to have an early commitment from The Vanilla Bean Café to become an important future destination at Storrs Center,” Toledano said today in a prepared statement. “They represent exactly the restaurant profile targeted through our ‘casting’ process.”

Mansfield Downtown Partnership Executive Director Cynthia van Zelm added, “The letter of intent for The Vanilla Bean Café lease is certainly positive news for Storrs Center. They will be a welcome addition to the mix of tenants planned. We expect their new restaurant to continue the successful dining tradition they’ve established in Pomfret and Putnam.”

Posted May 12, 2009