The Budget And The Issue Of Opportunity

Throughout the tumultuous process of preparing a town budget this year, the Legislative Council heard a repeated refrain from advocates for better schools, better playing fields, and better town facilities and services: “Let the people decide.”

The budget figures the council was trying to juggle at the time were a little frightening – it was not unlike juggling chainsaws. It became apparent that Newtown was headed for a double-digit increase in taxes. Those watching the act knew someone’s resolve would slip, and something would get cut. For a while, it looked like the school budget would be the victim. For a brief time, $1 million was taken out of the educational spending package, only to be restored in the face of urgent pleadings by parents and school advocates. In the end, the school spending, the money for the ball fields, and the financing for the purchase of Fairfield Hills were all left in the budget. The council decided that it would, indeed, let the people decide.

In the intervening weeks, as more people contemplated a 2.9 mill increase in the tax rate, a vocal opposition to the budget (formerly known as the silent majority) has emerged. The ensuing debate has focussed on what the town can, or cannot, afford, and the currency at the center of this debate isn’t just money.

Let us exclude from consideration, for a moment, those arguments on both sides that are extreme and uninformed: that this budget is a conspiracy of privileged officials and spoiled special interest groups intent on casting Newtown once and for all in the mode the yuppified burgs of southern Fairfield County; or that all budget opponents have neither a vision for the town nor any regard for the value of education. Let us focus instead on the key issue of opportunity.

In one sense, the proposed $69 million budget seizes opportunity unlike any budget before it. It recognizes the potential for recasting Fairfield Hills in a way that serves the interests of Newtown’s citizens for generations to come. It promises to restructure the school system in a way that addresses current problems associated with overcrowding, and it extends the promise of technology to a generation of students who will either make or break the world, depending on how well it uses the tools the technological revolution has given them.

But the reality of raising everyone’s tax bill by 10 percent also forecloses opportunities. Senior citizens on fixed incomes and people with modest incomes may find themselves in the position of having their quality of life significantly degraded. In some cases, we are certain Newtowners will be asked to break their personal budgets to balance the town’s. As a result, their opportunity for a satisfying life in Newtown may disappear.

We don’t want this budget vote to decide who leaves Newtown – overburdened homeowners unable to pay their tax bills or teachers looking for better salaries and families looking for better municipal services and schools. The opportunities open to Newtown in the proposed budget are too great to forgo. We need to set our town and our schools on the right track for the coming decades. But in so doing, we need to be mindful of those on whom the increased tax burden weighs the heaviest. The town must commit to tax relief for seniors who need it and continuing social services for families who are struggling to make ends meet. In seizing opportunities, we should be resolved to leave no one behind.