Date: Fri 01-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

edink-budget-vote-referendum

Full Text:

Ed Ink: A Disengaged Electorate

There wasn't even a whisper of organized opposition to this year's

$59.3-million budget package, which passed easily Tuesday in a referendum vote

largely ignored by Newtown's electorate. Though expenditures rose in the

Legislative Council's budget plan by $6.7 million over last year, the tax rate

rose by only one mill, or 3.7 percent, which is about the rate of inflation.

The significant increase in spending and the insignificant increase in taxes

were reconciled in large part by robust growth (4.5 percent) in the town's

grand list of taxable property. The irony is that the strong and sustained

residential development in Newtown, which has caused so much discontent at the

town's land-use meetings, has had quite the opposite effect when the issue is

the budget.

We should remember, however, that the dynamics of a rapidly growing town are

complex, and calculating their effects is not as simple as weighing the

advantages of grand-list growth against the disadvantages of disappearing

rural scenery. If Newtown is to evolve in a way that makes sense economically

and demographically, it will require an engaged electorate -- at referendums,

at land-use meetings, and in general elections.

This year's budget figures may not have caused alarm or concern among

townspeople, but there was one figure that came out of Tuesday's budget

referendum that should: 91.2 percent of Newtown's registered voters stayed

home. When just 1 in 12 people are voting, the electorate is disengaged. If

that continues, we can expect our town to make less sense economically and

demographically as time goes on.