The Board of Finance held a special meeting, joint with the Legislative Council, on Wednesday,
April 27, 2011 at the C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street, Newtown, CT.
Legislative Council Chairman Jeff Capeci called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and asked the Board of Finance, in their advisory role, to advise the Council prior to motions and deliberations on the budget.
PRESENT: John Kortze, James Gaston, Harry Waterbury, Joseph Kearney and Martin Gersten.
ABSENT: Michael Portnoy.
Jim Gaston stated that he believes the fund balance should not be touched; we need the fund balance for bonding purposes. There was discussion, during the budget deliberations, on the additional principal and he suggested removing $125,000 - $150,000 from the Board of Education budget. He was under the impression that police officers were not going to be hired until after the budget so that would remain on the table if the budget failed. There was some question, during the budget deliberations, to the number of police officers needed; no definitive answer was received. The Police budget should be looked at to possibly defer cars or video cameras in the cars. The last thing we want is a third budget vote; if too much is cut from education the education advocates will want money put back
in and will vote no. He suggested addressing the budget with a chisel, not a sledgehammer and reducing the numbers $100,000 on the town side and $150,000 on the school side. If it fails a second time the address it with a heavier hand.
Marty Gersten thinks the budget needs to be reduced so that taxes are not increased any more than 1%. He thinks the high school was overbuilt and the maintenance cost will continue year after year. If the school board is concerned with keeping services and teachers then it needs to look at its facility manager and shut down part of its facilities.
Harry Waterbury feels strongly that it is the function of the Board of Finance to be financial; it is their job to make sure it is a good budget and he believes it was this year. He did not support the cuts proposed at the Board of Finance level because he didn’t think they were substantial enough to make a difference. He thinks the no vote is significant and doesn’t think it is right to make a token cut. There is going to be a time when services need to be cut, if that’s what the people want. We don’t want a third vote. He advised the Council to think about what the people want and although he doesn’t know what the number is, he doesn’t think it is something token.
Joe Kearney voted no on the purposed budget at the Board of Finance level. He spent more time on the budget this year because of the state of the state and the state of the union. He thinks there was a good collaborative effort on the town budget but thinks that we will be hit significantly by the state. His calculations led him to support a $955,000 reduction, $830,000 from education, $125,000 from town.
Mike Portnoy (via email read by John Kortze) believes the voters spoke loud and clear, the budget is too high. He believes the towns’ people would like to see a zero tax increase budget. It is clear that state and federal taxes are on the rise along with gas, food and commodity prices and unemployment is still high. The town should limit the budget increase. He does not believe in borrowing from fund balance. Structural changes are needed. The town and school system need to decrease staff and infrastructure. Decreasing enrollment does not equal additional staff. He supports a zero percent increase.
John Kortze stated a same service budget was passed on to the voters and defeated with a lower turnout. The taxpayer has to expect something less than the same service. His perspective is that the apathy is greater than he thought. He strongly urged the Council not to draw from the fund balance. It would add cost in subsequent years, it would have to be made up and it would be trying to find a one year solution to a potential twenty year increase in taxes. He is hearing there is a concern about how dollars are being spent by the school administration which may have led to the low turnout. He voted for this budget, he thought it was right to pass it on to the voters but clearly reductions have to be made. He suggested the Council come up with a number and give it back to
the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen and let them come up with the reductions. This has to be a structural reduction and not found money. It will be in the public, the people who know best will be on record as to where the money is coming from and what impact it will have on services and they will be able to justify their number. There will be no confusion as to the impact of the reductions. He believes the reduction has to be sizeable and vetted publicly.
The Board of Finance input concluded at 8:00 p.m. and the Legislative Council continued their meeting. Refer to the town website at www.newtown-ct.gov for the Legislative Council minutes of April 27, 2011.
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Susan Marcinek, Clerk
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