Saving For A Rainy Day

In The Middle Of A Storm

To the Editor:

Late last week, I learned that there is a surplus amount of $700,000 from the savings from refinancing and from the bond premium the town received from the last bonding. This amount is being swept into the fund balance (the rainy day account). The Board of Finance and the Legislative Council approved another $400,000 to be swept into the fund balance (by raising taxation), meanwhile they reduced the BOE budget request by $1 million (and not a penny from the town side of the budget) after the first failed budget referendum.

In 2008, the town charter was changed so that the town could manage its own surplus. Before the charter change, the surplus from this year would sit in an account to be used to offset the tax increase for the following year. Now the surplus is slated to go into the fund balance.

I would wholeheartedly support the strategy to build up the fund balance if the operational expenses of the schools were funded adequately. It is unfair to ask our school-aged children to make sacrifices so that we can have a hefty rainy day account (which has never been used despite the Great Recession, Hurricane Irene and the October nor’easter).

After the budget failed at the second referendum, I believe the additional $400,000 that was slated to go into this fund balance account (one year early) should have been used to restore the education cuts made by the Legislative Council since they already have $700,000 of surplus amount for the fund balance. Instead, the Legislative Council reduced the $400,000 to $200,000 for the fund balance (which reduced the taxation by an insignificant amount from 1.28 percent to 1.07 percent — which is about $17 less on a property tax bill of $8,000 a year). Now the new budget proposal lacks support from the education supporters who desire education budget to be restored and the “zero tax increase” voters.

Meanwhile the Board of Education is holding a special meeting to discuss the superintendent’s evaluation this week instead of evaluating the effect of the $1 million reduction.

I cannot support the Legislative Council budget proposal knowing that there is $700,000 for the rainy day account already and without any information from the Board of Education on how they will manage the arbitrary $1 million reduction to their budget. I will vote No next Tuesday to provide the Legislative Council another opportunity to work with the Board of Education to come up with a budget proposal that is fair and reasonable.

Please go to this link if you are interested in signing an online petition to protect our schools and to ask the Legislative Council to restore funds to the education budget: www.ipetitions.com/petition/restore-funds-to-the-education-budget.

Po Murray

38 Charter Ridge Drive, Sandy Hook                             May 30, 2012