Independents Issue Budget Message,

Democrats Plan Statement As Well

By John Voket

While local Republican leaders representing the council, school, and finance boards met Wednesday to issue information ahead of the second scheduled budget referendum May 18 (see separate story), the Independent Party of Newtown’s Chairman Bruce Walczak also issued a release reflecting his views on the spending plan.

At the same time, local Democrats were scheduled to meet after The Bee’s print edition went to press Thursday. An update to this report featuring any added input from local Democratic leaders will be posted at NewtownBee.com.

Ultimately, Mr Walczak said if the second referendum fails, any increase in the number of No votes should be viewed as an indication that taxpayers are supporting providing more money to the school district.

The IPN chairman believes that those who might have considered turning at the April referendum to vote Yes, did not vote (on the first referendum) “because they felt the budget was already so low, they stayed home and said ‘great.’”

“An increase in the No votes will be coming from people who are saying this budget is too low,” he said.

In his May 12 release, Mr Walczak outlined the following IPN positions on the currently proposed budget:

1. The proposed budget is inadequate. The Legislative Council has proposed a budget that does not fairly balance the needs of our educational system and municipal services.

The budget recommended by the Board of Finance did not adequately take into consideration the objectives in the Newtown School District’s strategic long-term goals. It will be challenging to restore the Blue Ribbon status for our school system. The Legislative Council failed to listen to the pleas of the vocal majority to restore funds to the education budget, the release states.

On April 27, the voters rejected the proposed budget, the release continues. For the next referendum, the Legislative Council had an opportunity to propose a budget that would receive broader voter support by allocating some of the newly available municipal savings to fund education while reducing the overall proposed tax increase.

The Legislative Council chose once again to dismiss the vocal majority and made a decision to not restore any education funds. More should have and must be done.

Mr Walczak suggested the Legislative Council has three factions to address when crafting a budget proposal that will unite the voters in support of passing the budget referendum.

*Voters who want little or no tax increase.

*Voters who want to see more funding for education.

*Voters who are outraged at their government for turning a deaf ear to their education funding concerns.

2. The budget process is broken. Newtown Charter requirements create hurdles to a more efficient, effective, and simpler budget process, such as the ability to place advisory questions on the budget ballot (to determine if the voters believe a budget is too low or too high) and a super majority Legislative Council vote to add money to budgets while a simple majority Legislative Council vote allows reductions.

The Legislative Council must address the budget process whether or not the budget is approved. The current budgeting process is clearly failing our community, the release continues. The budget process continues to foster negativity and create a divide between those residents concerned about the ever-increasing taxes and those residents who want to see adequate funding for education.

It is imperative that the Legislative Council thoroughly review the current budget process to identify ways to make it more fair and balanced and efficient while effectively facilitating a positive dialogue within the community.

3. Voting Yes stops the dialogue and sets the currently proposed budget and perpetuates the current broken budget process.

4. Voting No gives the Legislative Council another opportunity to better address the concerns of taxpayers who want funds restored to the education budget.

The release concludes with an IPN call for action:

“Should the voters defeat the currently proposed budget on May 18th, IPN urges the Legislative Council to thoroughly revisit and restructure the budget proposal that will gain acceptance from all members of the Newtown community, particularly the vocal majority who desire funds be restored to the education budget.”

Responding to assertions made at the GOP press conference that under no circumstances will education money be restored, Mr Walczak said that “the LC nine are not listening to the voters.”

“Not listening to them and not doing what they want is the height of arrogance,” Mr Walczak said.