Town voters raised and appropriated $419,000 for the 2009 municipal budget, which means a welcome tax break for property owners.

First Selectman Robert Moreau said the proposed municipal spending plan is $35,000 lower than last year.

This drop of 60 cents per $1,000 of assessed value translates to a drop of $60 on a home valued at $100,000. Since a revaluation has put properties at 100 percent of their market value, the tax burden will be spread more evenly among property owners, Moreau said.

"We should be able to lower the tax rate from 14 mils to about 8 mils," Moreau said. "We had about $90,000 left over from last year's school budget, so that helped a lot."

Moreau said the school budget appropriation this year was about $1.6 million, although he did not have final figures available. None of the 50 articles on the warrant elicited significant debate during the two-hour meeting, he said.

On Friday, Selectmen Moreau and Kelly Archer were re-elected, and write-in candidate Paul Anderson was elected to fill the seat of Harold Hawes, who died in January.

Jackie Knight was elected town clerk, and Larry DiPietro Jr. will serve as road commissioner. Judy Buzzell was elected treasurer and tax collector.