Ten elected officials leaned into microphones at an unusual budget forum Monday night to get the message out: the $106.8 million budget proposal on the May 15 referendum ballot may be Newtown’s last best chance to pass a budget that does not erode the town’s longstanding commitment to superior schools and services. Representatives from the Legislative Council, Board of Education, Board of Finance, and the first selectman used the hourlong session to advocate for a 1.28 percent increase over the 2011-2012 tax rate in a community where more spending and higher taxes were resoundingly rejected in the first round of referendum voting just two and a half weeks ago. The officials also wanted to get the message out that the voters’ initial message to them had been received.

The Legislative Council’s response to the first vote was to cut an additional $1 million from the school budget. The town budget, they said, had been clearly explained and justified. The proportionate expansion of school expenses in the original budget was much greater than the municipal increase, and the figures and justifications supporting the school spending package, according to one council member, had been somewhat “vague” by comparison. Consequently, school spending was the sole target of the council’s budget ax. While the Board of Education is not saying how it will apportion the proposed cut throughout the district, it is evident that one likely casualty may be a planned transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten session, which is favored by educators and parents alike.

Clearly, the council and the other budget advocates at Monday night’s forum are hoping that $1 million in reductions will reach a psychological benchmark for voters where it seems their concerns have been heard and addressed. Unfortunately, for many voters, there is another psychological benchmark in sight: a zero-increase flat budget. It is such a tempting target that there will certainly be a strong effort to defeat the budget a second time. A zero-increase budget would require another $1.2 million reduction overall, including $384,000 in further cuts to the school budget.

When asked about the possibility of a flat budget following a possible second budget rejection, both school and town officials looked grim. The tolls that are collected in both directions along the road to psychological benchmarks are paid in real dollars. Every $100 dollars collected from or returned to individual taxpayers equals well over a million dollars worth of services to be delivered or withheld. Officials who run for office filled with the desire and commitment to deliver better service to their community are stunned when faced with the prospect of diminishing their town by withholding services that people have come to expect and rely on.

Judging from the responses and remarks from the town and school budgetmakers Monday night,  Newtown is one budget rejection away from that eventuality. We ask Newtown voters to stop and consider what they want for the town. Ebb or flow? Has the quality of life in Newtown hit its high water mark? The answer for some depends on how much one values education, public safety, open space, roads and bridges in good repair, and opportunities and suitable places for senior citizens to gather and children to play. Since we value these things, we support the proposed budget and urge voters to approve it on Tuesday.