A 0.8% Increase—

Selectmen Recommend Town-Side Budget

By John Voket

The Board of Selectmen this week approved and passed to the Board of Finance a proposed 2010-11 town-side budget that represents a 0.8 percent increase over the final amended 2009 spending plan. If approved with no further action, the selectmen’s recommended budget, which would take effect July 1, 2010, would represent a $1,107,257 increase over the current year for a total of $37,703,044.

Following the passage of the selectmen’s side of the budget, First Selectman Pat Llodra said she was pleased with the outcome, and proud of her board’s due diligence reviewing and adjusting agency and department requests.

“Our outcome was to deliver a budget that represents the needs of the entire community, ensuring the services residents expect are maintained and delivered despite current local, state, and national economic challenges,” Mrs Llodra told The Newtown Bee.

“The taxpayers of Newtown expect us to be conservative and careful with their dollars,” Mrs Llodra said. She added that tough times also provide an opportunity, when embraced, to “rethink the use of public resources.”

If eventually approved by voters as part of an overall spending package that also includes the school district — whose budget proposal is still under consideration — one of the more evident results would be the closure of the local landfill two days a week. Currently, the local dump is closed on Sunday.

During deliberations on that proposed adjustment, Selectman Will Rodgers said that such a move would provide “demonstrative evidence of belt-tightening, which could force closer examination of the budget by voters.”

Among other higher-profile adjustments selectmen made was zeroing-out any spending to add vehicles or other motorized equipment to the town’s motor pool. The exception would be a $130,000 allocation, which represents the second half of a tiered appropriation to purchase a new grader.

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said the town’s existing operating grader, one of two the town once owned, is so old that the expense of frequent repairs is being compounded by the cost of having to rent a replacement grader, which is paid for by the hour.

Mr Hurley illustrated the frequency of its use, saying as recently as the late January rain storms, the town’s grader was pressed into service releveling and eliminating deeply rutted dirt roads that were left nearly impassable from the storm.

In regard to the elimination of the motor pool budget, he added that while the freeze on replacements would likely result in increased repair costs, selectmen understood and reacted by increasing the vehicle maintenance budget line to compensate.

Mr Hurley said that the budget line increase for road improvements might appear to be substantial, but the proposal for 2010-11 comes without approximately $800,000 in one-time federal stimulus money the town expects to get for road repairs being completed now.

He added that while a public building maintenance department reflects an increase to cover a “one-and-a-half position” increase in staff, it would still represent a savings to taxpayers in the long run because the custodians would exclusively cover the Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills, eliminating the need to staff the smaller Edmond Town Hall facility and former temporary municipal offices housed on Peck’s Lane.

The final proposed selectmen’s budget, which will be taken up by the Board of Finance beginning next week, reflects nearly $4 million in reductions from the total proposed by town department heads and agency officials who receive Newtown public monies, including cuts and benefit adjustments to agencies such as Kevin’s Community Center, the Parent Connection, and the Children’s Adventure Center.

Among other substantial cuts to achieve the final selectmen’s proposal were:

$3,031,552 from the Public Works budget

$104,000 resulting in a zero line for the motor pool

$60,000 representing half the Newtown Police Department’s request for patrol vehicle replacements

$20,000 from the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers

$108,328 from various Parks & Recreation Department requests for shop equipment, improvements at the Oakview Field, and a band shelter for fair weather concerts.

$12,953 from the library budget

$16,350 from the town clerk, in part representing a cut of one part-time summer staff position

$4,400 from Newtown Youth & Family Services

$10,000 from Kevin’s Community Center — representing about 20 percent of its request

$15,000 from the landfill, representing a second day closure each week

$5,500 or nearly 75 percent of the Cultural Arts Commission request

In keeping with the trend to ask town workers and agencies to cover more of their own expenses, the town is also asking for an $11,118 increase in contributions to cover staff health benefits for the Youth & Family Services agency, the Health District, and the Children’s Adventure Center.