To the Editor:

Do tough times distinguish between fiscal years? That's the question I was asking myself when I learned the Boards of Selectmen and Finance and the Legislative Council all voted to proceed with borrowing $550,000 for the repaving and modest expansion of the Treadwell Park parking lot as part of the current fiscal year ending June 30.

While the current parking lot has a number of patches to smooth the pavement and is at times crowded, I'd still much rather drive on it than many roads in town. The current condition hardly warrants making $27,500 per year, plus interest, in debt payments for the next 20 years, especially given the likelihood we will see less revenue from the state.

What makes this decision even harder to comprehend is the 2017-18 budget approval process, which was just completed at the end of April. The budget presented to the public for approval was reduced in advance by roughly $3 million in anticipation of a major loss of revenue from the state. In order to make the reduction, the Legislative Council decided to defer school maintenance items and a pension payment, reduced funding for roads by $250,000, and changed its funding protocol for the town's self-funded medical insurance. While the deferred items were hard dollar budget items and the funds for the parking lot are being borrowed, it is still spending.

At the April 25 budget referendum, voters were asked to approve six items from the 2017-18 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) as part of a change to the town Charter, which was approved in 2016. Several maintenance items were included on the ballot and I believe that if we are going to seek voter approval to replace a school roof or to repair roads, then we should at least be doing the same for a parking lot and especially one not in disrepair.

Clearly, town leadership saw tough times ahead in the budget they presented to the voters, so I don't see the justification for moving ahead with this project at this time, particularly when it looks as though we will need every $27,500 line item we can find next year and quite possibly for the next 20 years thereafter.

Sincerely,

Daniel Rosenthal

9 Megans Circle, Newtown         May 23, 2017