UPDATE: Budget Referendum Today

Editor's Note: Please note that we have updated a previous version to clarify the breakdown of the municipal portion of the budget we had previously did not include capital and non-recurring money for road repairs. That money is now included.

Voters will have a say on the proposed $13.75 million municipal budget (which includes $98,130 for capital non-recurring items), the proposed $26.35 million school budget at a referendum from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at , 30 Great Oak Road. 

Below is a full explanation of the budgets along with an explanation about how to calculate what your tax bill would look like if the budgets are adopted. Also, the full budget proposals are attached, as is the proposed 

Oxford Municipal Budget

2010-11 Adopted Budget: $13,224,181

2011-12 Proposed Budget: $13,654,766

Proposed Operating Budget Increase: $430,585, or 3.26 percent

Add capital and non-recurring items (road repairs): $98,130

Total Budget Increase, including capital and non-recurring: $528,715, or 4 percent

Oxford Education Budget

2010-11 Adopted Budget: $25,415,474

2011-12 Proposed Budget: $26,359,146

Proposed Increase: $943,672, or 3.71 percent

Combined Town and School Budget

2010-11 Adopted Budget: $38,639,656

2011-12 Proposed Budget: $40,112,142

Proposed Increase: $1,472,486, or 3.81 percent

Tax Rate Information

Current Tax Rate: 21.05 mills

Proposed Tax Rate: 23.71 mills, an increase of 12.64 percent increase over the current

A mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment, according to the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management. Therefore, a property with an assessed value of $50,000 located in a municipality with a tax rate of 20 mills, would have a property tax bill of $1,000 a year, according to OPM. (To calculate property tax, multiply the assessment of the property – which is 70 percent of the appraised value – by the tax rate and divide by 1,000.)

Currently in Oxford, based on a tax rate of 21.05 mills, a house assessed at $200,000 pays $4,210 in taxes. That person would pay $4,742, or $532 more if that person’s property value did not change from last year.

However, calculating what your tax bill may look like next year isn’t as simple as plugging in the new proposed tax rate. That’s because Oxford completed  in the fall in which home values changed. Because of a drop in the housing market, many people saw a drop in home values. A little more than 80 percent of homeowner's saw their property values decrease. And Finance Director Jim Hliva said 31 percent of homeowners’ assessments went down between 10 and 15 percent. 

 So, someone whose home value that decreased by 12.64 percent (the same as the proposed increase in the tax rate) would have the same tax bill as last year based on the current proposal. To find out your current assessment, click the Vision Appraisal Technology link here.