March 17, 2011
Budget Process Continuing
The budget process has been progressing as planned and by now, all department budgets have been presented to the Board of Finance. This is where the hard work really begins. It is clear that we can’t fund everything that we need to do. Collectively, we will have to identify areas that will not be funded this year.
This is where some very difficult decisions have to be made. How much funding areas such as the schools, public safety, road improvements, and capital items get is a tough call to make. There are not too many discussions on the need for these items as most will agree that everything requested are necessary for the town. The discussion will focus on our spending priorities and what impact the budget will have on the tax rate.
After some final decisions are made, the budget will move to public hearings, a town meeting, and then to referendum. Along the way, you still have many opportunities to let us know your thoughts and we encourage you to do so.
The town budget does contain some new items that I have proposed. First, I have requested another police officer. I believe we need to move towards a system that provides 24/7 local police coverage through the Resident Trooper program. Another request is for a part-time social services coordinator to help fulfill the needs of those less fortunate in our community.
The remainder of the proposed increases are centered around capital improvements and our roads. Maintaining the town infrastructure is something we have not funded appropriately over the last few years and we need to get back on a path of sustainability with our operations.
As I’ve said many times, I know we cannot fund everything I have proposed. However, I wanted to put everything on the table for discussion as we continue these discussions on what our final budget should be.
Snow Update
As we hopefully leave Winter behind for Spring, I wanted to give everyone an update on our snow removal costs. We have gone over budget due to the excessive amounts of snow. Now that the President has declared a disaster for one of the storm periods, we are eligible to receive some assistance and I am hopeful that will help defray some of our costs.
The total costs for clearing off the roofs is slightly over $80,000. These costs were incurred when we hired contractors to clear the roofs of the school buildings. A small portion was also spent clearing the roof of the library.
Many communities and businesses have seen costs much higher than this and we are fortunate that we were able to contain costs, maintain the safety of our buildings, and keep the schools open. This is a tribute to the great work of our staff and all those citizens who loaned us their snow blowers to help get the job done. This was a unique and unprecedented circumstance. It’s unfortunate that we had to spend this money, but we had no choice in the matter.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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