Tax Time Means Different Things to Different People

For those not following along in Fairfield, budget season is coming to a close as the 2011-12 budget heads for final approval by the town’s legislative body, the Representative Town Meeting.

If you are a taxpayer, you will have to speak now about the $264 million town budget, or hold your peace until next budget season. First Selectman Ken Flatto told About Town that Fairfield residents have been “fairly accepting” of this year’s tax increase, but encouraged taxpayers to be more vocal.

“It is vitally important for citizens to be involved in the budget process, both to express views but also to learn how much is done to try to make sound decisions,” Flatto told About Town.

Even if the RTM makes cuts, Flatto said the impact on your tax bill would be negligible.

“As a taxpayer, I wish the increase was a bit lower but I know the impact on programs from larger cuts would hurt more people than perhaps reducing people’s tax bills by at most another $20 a year, which is all a $1 million cut further would change taxes per capita. So far this year the public has been fairly accepting of the tax change and the cuts to the proposed budget to date.”

RTM members have been busy dissecting the budget as best as possible, considering that the information supplied to the 50-member body is described as “vague” by the RTM’s Majority Leader Jamie Millington.

“On the Republican side of the aisle on the RTM, we have divided into seven small focus groups tasked with taking a detailed look at their assigned portion of the budget. Our members have been out at the budget meetings and meeting with department heads. We are working hard to find savings,” Millington said. “I have heard back from many of our members that it is extremely difficult to truly see what is built into all the line items, as the budget is broken into vague categories with little detail. Despite this fact, our members are out there doing their best.”

As the groups finalize their recommendations, they are sending them to Millington who said he plans to meet with the GOP’s RTM leadership to form a master list before presenting cuts.

“We plan on identifying our recommendations for reductions at the April 25th RTM meeting as requested by the moderator,” Millington said.

Board of Finance member Michael Tetreau – who is also the Democrat’s favorite to fill out the remainder of Flatto’s term after he leaves the post later this month – told About Town he is not pleased with this year’s budget.

“I would much rather have a lower tax increase and more funds in the Internal Service Fund. We worked very hard on the Board of Finance to make targeted adjustments to free up funds to address the shortfall in the Internal Service Fund,” Tetreau explained. “The town has been hit with a double whammy, the reserve balances have been reduced and our workers comp experience has driven up the liability. We made approximately a $1.5 million addition to the reserve that in other years could have been used to reduce taxes.”

The proposed $148.5 million education budget for 2011-12, recently cut by $2 million, also now rests with the RTM.

“The education budget is the largest single line item in the budget book and gets the most scrutiny. This year is even more difficult. The Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance reduced the education budget by $2 million. Now it is on to the RTM,” Tetreau said. “One of the difficulties for the RTM is that the Board of Education does not produce a revised budget. I would hope in future years, the Board of Ed becomes more a part of the process.”

Although Fairfield provides tax relief for seniors, rising taxes are hindering the affordability of Fairfield for both the old and young.

“As a Realtor, I see the impact of taxes on the affordability of homes for new buyers coming to town. I see the impact of increased taxes on our seniors, like my parents, who had to move out of town five years ago due to the lack of affordable options for our seniors. This really hurts our community.”

The  tax rate that goes with Flatto’s $264 million town budget for 2011-12 jumped to 22.51 mills after town officials based it off the grand list certified by Town Assessor Thomas F. Browne, Jr. To calculate your projected taxes in 2011-12 under the current estimated tax rate of 22.51 mills, divide your property assessment by 1,000 and multiply the resulting figure by 22.51.

The RTM will discuss the budget and proposed cuts on April 25 at 8 p.m. at Osborn Hill School and will vote on the town budget May 2.