Hiller Explains Rationale for BOE, Town Budget Increases

Paul Hiller, the Town of Fairfield’s chief fiscal officer, was talking about the many uncertainties associated with the proposed 2011-12 town budget. He cited:

• The 2010 real estate revaluation that resulted in a $1.2 billion drop to the Grand List and the accompanying decline in real estate taxes
• The town’s so-called Insurance Fund or Risk Fund, in which “close to $40 million of the town’s tax revenue runs through it”
• A significant increase in retirement benefits for the town’s 475 or so employees
• The lack of a signed contract with no fewer than seven bargaining units dealing with the town
• A probable decline in state funding to the town

But there is, he said, at least one certainty: The annual increase in the Board of Education budget or “what some people would call the other 800-pound gorilla in the room.”

“There are only four school districts in the state that will have increases in the student population next year … Fairfield and three other places (small towns) you couldn’t find with a GPS,” Hiller said Tuesday at the League of Women Voters’ annual town budget forum held in the Fairfield Library.

The gain of approximately 110 students next year “demonstrates the strength of this community,” and is one reason for the Board of Education’s requested increase to $146.5 million next year, compared to the current $141.6 million budget.

 “Younger couples are coming in here faster than they are in other towns,” Hiller explained. “Younger people can’t afford to move into a Greenwich, a New Canaan, a Darien, a Weston. Try finding a starter home for $350,000 in Greenwich.”

The older people who are moving out of town to Florida, Arizona and other locales, or who are moving in with family members, are selling their homes to these young couples with families. “It shows the vibrancy of this community,” he said.

While conceding that the recent upgrades to the schools’ infrastructure have placed “our physical plant…in pretty good shape,” Hiller pointed out the continued need for budget dollars, such as the BOE’s request to replace “(computer) switches in the schools.”

He spoke about the soon-to-be completion of the Stratfield School renovation, the about-to-begin addition to Fairfield Woods Middle School and noted that Fairfield Warde High School – his alma mater – will soon require a new roof.

Hiller was the co-chairman of the high school building program in the early 1990s when the current roof was installed on the sprawling Warde complex. It was said to have a 15-year life; it’s now at 20 years.

The projections for enrollment in Fairfield’s two high schools show a jump to 3,300 students compared to the current 2,800, he said. Throughout the school system, “we’ll start to see class sizes get to the limit of the (teachers) contract.”

On the whole, Hiller said, the town has “weathered the (economic) storm better than most other Connecticut municipalities and certainly better than the state government. Standard & Poor’s has given us accolades.”

There is a significant change in the pension plan for town employees, Hiller explained. “Any new hires after April 1 will be required to put in 4 percent of their salary into the plan. The town will match that.”

Currently, employees with 10 or more years experience are vested in the plan. For example, First Selectman Ken Flatto, who will relinquish his position at the end of April to start his new job as executive director of the state Division of Special Revenue, will become eligible at age 62 to receive his pension. Flatto has served as the town’s chief executive for nearly 12 of the past 14 years.

For senior tax relief, Hiller said homeowners have until May 15 to file for this program. The anticipated decrease in property taxes through this assistance will cost the town an estimated $200,000 in revenue, he said.

The proposed $264 million town budget for fiscal 2012 now goes to the Representative Town Meeting for deliberation and approval on May 2 and, more likely, into the wee hours of May 3.