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03/14/2019 12:01 AMOnce again we find ourselves budgeting for our town’s needs in the shadow of the state’s fiscal crisis. While we work to develop a responsible budget, the specter of the state’s voracious appetite for cash hangs over us as officials propose a myriad of schemes to reduce their deficit, including tolls and town funding of the teacher’s pension. In addition, they want to tell us how to run our schools by proposing unrealistic regionalization mandates. With our lobbying partners the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and the Council of Small Towns (I am a member of both boards), we will push back on proposals that will harm Madison and many other towns throughout Connecticut.
In the meantime, as we put together the town’s budget, we will focus on a few important things:
Continue existing programs. For instance, we’ve made good progress on improving our roads and infrastructure over the past three years and we want to continue that.
React to reductions in state funding. We budget for very little state aid, as it has pulled anticipated funding from our existing budget in the past, so we no longer rely on state funding.
Continue to support the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). For the fourth year in a row we are aggressively funding the CIP.
Minimize the impact to taxpayers by attempting to keep the mill rate stable. The Board of Selectmen’s recommended budget for 2019-’20 takes advantage of the lower Board of Education budget due to Island Avenue School closing to make up in a small way for years of flat budgeting on the town side that resulted in buildings and facilities not getting the attention they needed. While we are requesting an increase this year, it is mitigated by the much larger school budget not requesting an increase.
Introduce new ideas. This year we have looked at actual revenues for different departments over the past three years and we find that we are able to conservatively increase those estimates to include an additional $127,000. This will help hold down the mill rate.
Recognize the difference between needs and wants. There are a myriad of things that we need to take care of as a regular part of our budget. Some things are preventative and some are repair-related. There are also things that would be nice to have, but it’s possible that now is not the time, since those needs we have identified have to take precedence.
Going forward/future considerations. On the school side, the Board of Education is grappling with a projected $100 million upgrade to all of its facilities over the next 10 to 15 years. It’s this backdrop, along with the state’s fiscal issues, that we need to consider as we put this and future budgets together.