Town Council Approves Referendum Question for Roads Bonding

The council approved the addition of a referendum question to this November's presidential ballot that will have Tolland residents decide whether or not to bond  in town.

Town Manager Steven Werbner presented a report on how the bonding would affect the town's debt management plan and its impact on mill rates for residents. Graphs and charts from the presentation are attached above.

According to the agenda item, the bonding would cause a "minimal increase" in fiscal year 2016-2017 for the town's debt management before decreasing steadily.

The effect on taxpayers can be seen in the attached charts, which compare the amount of tax money a resident will pay towards debt service both with and without roads bonding.

With the $5 million factored in, residents will be paying for the debt service for several extra years (2031 without and until 2035 with roads). 

The tax calucation column shows the actual amount of tax money a resident will be paying each year towards debt management depending on the assessed value of her property.

In some years, such as 2015, a resident with property assessed at $121,972 will see an increase of less than $2, as compared to the current debt management plan without the bonding for roads. But in other years, like 2022, a resident in the same assessment category could be paying $336.07, while he would have contributed $317.80 without the proposed bonding.

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Currently, Tolland roads have an average Pavement Condition Index of 71, on a scale of 100.

The council also heard from members of the public about . Several community members expressed a desire to put a community garden on the 13.1 acres of town-owned, agriculturally maintained land. Others asked the council to preserve its agricultural nature.

The council said it will meet with the town attorney in executive session at its next meeting to discuss important legal matters and anticipates discussing the the farm's future in public at its September 11 meeting. The council also said it will hold a public hearing about the farmland.

The council's next meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m.