Few Residents Ask Several Questions About FY14 Budget

The Town Council has heard from the department heads, and Wednesday night a small group of residents shared their opinions of the proposed $29.67 million general government budget.

Now it is up to council members to decide whether to leave the budget proposal intact or trim it further before voting on the remaining portion of the 2013-14 spending and revenue package. (On Monday night, town council members approved the $68.12 million education budget for 2013-14.)

During the nearly hour-long hearing Wednesday, councilors heard from eight of the 10 residents who attended the meeting. Of those who spoke, some said that they supported the budget as proposed and applauded the council's and the town manager’s efforts, while others said that the potential for a nearly 6 percent increase in taxes was too much of a burden for them to bear.

Council members did not answer the residents’ questions during the hearing and instead kept a running list of each one asked with a pledge to answer it at a future council meeting or budget workshop session.

Earlier this month, Town Manager Matthew Galligan recommended a $103.3 million municipal budget, which includes $29.67 million for the government and $68.12 million for the schools, among other items. The total budget represents a $4.7 million, or 4.8 percent increase when compared with the current year’s budget.

If approved as presented, Galligan’s proposal would require an increase in the tax rate to 35.05 mills, up 5.62 mills, or about a 5.75 percent tax increase.

On top of it all, the recent revaluation, which showed that Grand List decreased by 10.93 percent, will have an effect on the tax bills, in varying degrees, he said.

Previously, Galligan said that the bulk of the proposed increase to the general government budget could be tied to the additional $961,738 assigned for debt service due to sewer debt, a high volume of health insurance claims causing costs to increase $350,000, and a Public Works Department funding increase of $206,067. In addition, the town has earmarked $202,871 in pension contributions.

Resident Don Gonsalves said that more should be contributed to the employee pension fund and that the town’s employee health care benefits should be reviewed. Resident Larry Torff added that the debt service on the sewer infrastructure could be reduced if users were charged with paying off the bond and not taxpayers in general, requiring that the money be used from the general fund in order for the town to meet it’s financial obligations.

Local businessman Dick Kelley said that a nearly 6 percent budget increase is too high of a price for him to pay. He rattled off a list of higher taxes that he is on the hook for as a property and business owners, including possibly having to make up for some of the losses at the state level.

In contrast, prior to Kelley addressing the council, resident David Joy asked that they leave the entire proposal intact. Joy, who is chairman of the school board, said that, in his opinion as a resident, one side of the budget should not be short changed to benefit the other. He added that he’s appreciative of the council's decision to fund the education budget as proposed and that he supports doing the same for the general government portion of the fiscal plan.

Other questions asked of and statements shared the council include:

• More detail about the projected state revenue;
• Consider changes to the medical benefits package for employees;
• Not to borrow money to pay for capital improvement projects;
• Restore the surplus fund so that it’s equal to 5 to 10 percent of the overall budget.