Council Needs To Cut

Town Side Of The Budget

To the Editor:

The taxpayers have spoken and they clearly said the budget should be cut. Since we have no budget advisory questions all we know is that the voters want the budget cut. Last week the Legislative Council did just that, they cut the budget by $1 million; however, unlike all previous years when budget failed, they cut the entire amount from the education budget rather than split the cut between the town and education side. The municipal budget was left untouched.

Can anyone honestly tell me that not one dime can be cut from the municipal budget after the voters overwhelmingly rejected the budget? Not a dime of wasted money in the town budget, not one dime that we could do without for a year. So until they cut the town budget to meet taxpayers demands I suggest we vote this budget down. Putting $400,000 into a reserve fund a year earlier than planned is not what the taxpayers want; give us a break for a change. They refinanced bonds and saved $1.6 million in interest. Then they spent the $1.6 million in increased municipal spending, claiming hardly any increase in the town budget. But what they did is the equivalent of a five percent increase on the town side. It’s a shell game and we should say No. I’m voting No until the Legislative Council makes similar budget cuts to the town side of the budget.

A simple stroke of the pen can eliminate $400,000 that is being spent on the reserve account a year earlier than planned. Last election, candidates, including those who were elected, stated that they would like to see a zero increase budget; some said they would try but it would be hard. We now know it is really pretty easy to have not only a zero increase in the town budget, but a two percent reduction.

Let’s vote No until we have $1 million taken from the town side. It is doable and it is what the taxpayers said they wanted; a lower budget.

Bruce Walczak

12 Glover Avenue, Newtown                                              May 2, 2012