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09/06/2017 08:00 AMWe are two months into Fiscal Year 2017-’18, and the state legislature has not enacted a budget. That means we don’t know how much funding will flow through the state to Killingworth for the year that we’re already in.
I would like to address one misconception I have heard: that towns have fat cushions of reserve funds that could be spent in place of state dollars. This notion is untrue and irresponsible.
Experts say that a town, to be prepared for contingencies, should have an unrestricted fund balance equal to two months of operating expenses. A town’s bond rating also depends upon the town maintaining an adequate level of reserves.
Depleting that fund balance would be irresponsible. As the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities says, “To disassemble municipal fund balances as part of any effort to restore balance in the state budget...would only shift the state budget instability onto town budgets.”
Furthermore, using the town fund balance to cover losses in state funding would be a one-time fix. We know that the state faces a long-term budget crisis, and the towns will not see increases in state funding in the coming years. Next year, and the years after, we would have to find money elsewhere.
Thanks to prudent planning, Killingworth’s general fund balance is currently higher than it needs to be. The Killingworth selectmen and members of the Board of Finance have begun the process that will allow us to use funds that are in excess of the recommended level of reserves, if our state funding is severely cut.
But, knowing the needs the town will have in the years ahead, and in the interest of fiscal responsibility, I would not recommend that we cut into the recommended fund balance we have so carefully built.
First Selectman Cathy Iino
Killingworth
Democrat Catherine Iino is seeking re-election in November.