Ahead of the April 23 local budget referendum, The Newtown Bee canvassed a number of local elected leaders for input ahead of the annual budget referendum. First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said while he certainly would like to see both budgets pass on the first round of voting, he is more concerned about voter turnout. 

Read more here: Voters Wanted — Rosenthal Hopes For Greater Turnout At Budget Referendum

“This budget process begins in mid-December, and throughout, our department heads make themselves available to officials to answer questions at every step,” the first selectman said. “Throughout that process, I and the Board of Selectmen are always sensitive about asking taxpayers for more money.”

Mr Rosenthal said he has worked to find every opportunity; he has been successful in merging duties to reduce the number of full-time municipal staff where appropriate and has found ways to downsize full-time posts to part-time to reduce salary implications and eliminate benefit costs.

The first selectman said he did not support funding the pickleball court expenditure, although he expressed appreciation to the resident who offered the $25,000 gift pledge.

“This just wasn’t the year I felt we should do elective projects — I wanted to make my first two years about supporting public safety and fast-tracking road repairs and road infrastructure improvements,” he said. “I do support the pickleball project being on the ballot, however, to give the public the opportunity to weigh in and make that call at referendum.”

Board of Finance Vice-Chair Sandy Roussas offered these comments: “The budget presented to the voters for their consideration on April 23 is the result of months of hard work by our First Selectman, Superintendent, town departments, school administration, and elected boards. It is not easy to present a budget increase to the voters given the difficult economic climate at the state level.

Legislative Council Chairman Paul Lundquist said his panel received the full town and education budgets from the Board of Finance on March 6 and began a rigorous review throughout the month of March and first week of April.

“I strongly support passing both the Board of Education and the town budgets. With an increasing reality of future State revenue reductions to Newtown and new potential state-level impacts to tax payers, I’m extremely cognizant of the need to keep local taxation at an absolute minimum. Yet I also know the realities of the expenses required to run the town and our schools,” the council chairman concluded.

“I also strongly support the CIP items at referendum that reflect crucial maintenance and upkeep for our roads and schools.”

School Superintendent Lorrie Rodrigue told The Newtown Bee: “Newtown Public Schools has always prided itself on ensuring a quality system of education for its students. The 2019-20 budget is an important ‘blueprint’ for the year ahead while remaining mindful of the impact to taxpayers.

“Each year, the budget process is a long and arduous journey with necessary checks and balances. The Board of Education, followed by the Board of Finance and Legislative Council, worked diligently to review every aspect of the budget to ensure it was both reasonable and fiscally responsible."

School board Chair Michelle Embree Ku told The Newtown Bee: ““Throughout the budget development, existing programs and services were evaluated and maintained or adjusted according to the changing student numbers, state requirements, and educational needs of students. The investments in human resources, facilities, and equipment ultimately support the students, whose success is at the heart of our mission.

“The Board of Education has been cognizant that large fluctuations in a budget can create metaphorical potholes that must eventually be filled and repaired, sometimes at a greater cost than if the ‘road’ had been maintained initially. As such, maintaining services and level funding for facilities and technology have been priorities,” the school board chair continued. “Staffing has been reduced in response to declining enrollment. This helps to offset the increased wages associated with contracts and the cost of doing business. At the same time, the addition of a Director of Teaching and Learning will help the district keep up with the increasing demands in education.”

School board Vice-Chair Rebekah Harriman-Stites said, “After a thorough review by the Superintendent, administrative team, Board of Education, Board of Finance, and Legislative Council, I am confident that the education budget being presented to voters represents a strong compromise, being both fiscally responsible and in line with the needs of the students in our district.

Referendum polling will be open from 6 am to 8 pm, Tuesday, April 23, at the Newtown Middle School gym on Queen Street. Voters are reminded that the budget ballot is two-sided, with main budget authorizations and advisory questions on page one, and capital project authorizations on page two.

Read the full feature with expanded remarks from officials in this week's print edition of The Newtown Bee - on local newsstands or subscribe by calling 203-426-3141 or by clicking HERE.