The Budget Should Reflect The Economic Climate

To the Editor:

The Newtown budget — for both the selectmen and the schools — should represent prioritized spending driven by an anticipated revenue increase that is grounded in economic reality. This year the town’s budget followed that process but the school budget did not.

Newtown’s budget cycle started off on a good note this year with all of the town’s leaders — selectmen, Legislative Council, school administration, school board, and Finance Board — acknowledging the need for tight budgets due to the economy and the impact of property revaluation. Then, with one exception, the budget tightening effort evaporated.

The exception is the town budget. From the very beginning of the process Herb Rosenthal made it clear that there would be no increased spending in this year’s town budget. The result is a proposed three percent decrease in spending. I congratulate Herb, Bill Brimmer, and Joe Bojnowski for showing strong leadership and political courage in this difficult year. Their willingness to confront economic reality should have been duplicated by the school administration.

The school budget process should have begun by holding spending to last year’s level plus the addition of legally mandated items. That didn’t happen. The school wish list at the beginning of the cycle added up to a 14 percent increase in spending. If the town had begun its budget with a wish list, then it too would probably have started with a huge spending proposal.

The final school budget going to referendum on April 22 totals an increase of 9.7 percent. You can bet that the majority of Newtowners paying for this budget have not seen their personal income increase 9.7 percent.

Many Newtown families are facing tax hikes of 15 percent to 20 percent due to revaluation alone; in addition, they are dealing with their own monetary issues resulting from an economy struggling through its fourth consecutive year of negative performance markup by high unemployment and very slow business recovery. In case some of our town leaders missed it, the “Boom Times” ended in 1999.

The school budget in this very challenging year should not include new teaching positions, new programs, or cosmetic capital expenditures. Based solely on the items listed in Mr Gaston’s Bee commentary, Friday, April 11, Page A-2 — if the school retained the orchestra and extra curricular activities, but postponed spending on the other items listed, then the school budget could achieve the $500,000 reduction recommended by one-half of the legislative council on April 2.

Newtown taxpayers that want a school budget which reflects our current economic climate should vote No on April 22.

Sincerely,

Dennis Dougherty

23 Pocono Road, Newtown           April 14, 2003