www.southingtoncitizen.com
Volume 20, Number 10
Friday, March 10, 2023
Southington chooses new library director By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
Brian Badgley prepares to fuel up a payloader Monday, March 6 at the Highway Department Garage at 1 Della Bitta Drive in the Plantsville section of Southington. Higher fuel cost is one of the reasons a tax increase is likely. Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
Proposed budget would raise town taxes by 6.6% By Jesse Buchanan Record-Journal staff
SOUTHINGTON — Taxes could rise as much as 6.62 percent in the next fiscal year, a result of inflation, rising rates, increased pension costs and previous low tax increases according to town officials. In Town Manager Mark Sciota’s budget, spending
increases total $12.5 million for general government, schools and debt service. To fund the proposed total budget of $173.2 million, the tax rate would have to rise by 6.62%.
“I expect it to come down slightly, but I expect the remaining tax increase to be significant. I don’t see it going down to 2%,” said John Leary, the finance board chairman and a Republican.
Town finance officials say they hope to bring that number down but warned that residents will be paying noticeably more in taxes next year.
“I believe that when we’re done with it,” he said, “it’ll be perceived by many to be a large tax increase.” See Taxes, A14
SOUTHINGTON — A Lebanon library leader will take over as head of Southington’s library and Barnes Museum this month. Town leaders picked Matthew Earls Earls, Jonathan Trumbull Library director, to take over the local role vacated by former li-
brary director Kristi Sadowski. She resigned in October citing health concerns. Earls had been a library director in Lebanon for five years. In addition to experience running a library, the town’s human resources director Michelle Passamano said he’ll help guide the library See Library, A9
HOCKEY: No fairy tale ending for Knights By Robert Gullo Special to the Record-Journal
On a night that saw the No. 15 Rocky Hill hockey co-op take down No. 2 SHELTON — There was an New Milford, the No. 16 upset special in the first Southington co-op fell to round of the CIAC Divitop-seeded Masuk 8-3 at sion III ice hockey state the Sports Center of CT. tournament on Monday. It Senior Kyle Suftin led the just didn’t belong to Southington-CoginchaugWestbrook. See Hockey, A8
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