More Cuts Appear Unlikely to $141.6m Ed Budget

Timothy Lynch, a member of the Representative Town Meeting from District 7, said he's heard from a lot of residents in his district about the Board of Education's proposed $141.6 million budget in 2010-11.

"I haven't gotten a single person who told me to cut...100 percent are telling me not to cut it," Lynch, R-7, said this afternoon. "As it stands now, I'd have to vote it in its entirety. If someone makes a motion to cut something, I'll have to do my best not to cut anything because that's clearly what my constituents want."

Mark McGinty, R-9, said he's also received a lot of feedback from constituents in advance of Monday night's budget meeting.

"They don't want more cuts. The constituents have been very vocal about it; I've gotten numerous e-mails about it," McGinty said. "As far as the budget and the education part of it, I am very pro about it."

The 50-member RTM, the last town board that needs to vote on the overall proposed $251.7 million town budget for 2010-11, will discuss that budget plan at 8 p.m. Monday in McKinley School.

RTM members are supposed to make known Monday night any motions to the proposed budget so town and school officials have a chance to respond to those motions when the RTM meets at 8 p.m. May 3 to vote on the proposed budget.

James Millington, R-9, the RTM's majority leader, said he wasn't aware of any Republicans who planned to propose cuts to the school board's proposed budget, though he added that he hadn't been in recent contact with all 38 Republican RTM members.

"It's a little hard to make cuts when $3 million has already been cut and you look at their going-forward costs and class-size guidelines," Millington said.

Supt. of Schools Ann Clark said last week that the $2 million increase now in the Board of Education's proposed budget was less than the $2.5 million that is needed to operate the school system next fiscal year as it's operating this fiscal year.

Sue Brand, chairman of the Board of Education, said last week that everything was on the table to cope with the $3 million cut already made by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance, and she didn't rule out programs in the schools or class-size guidelines, which call for no more than 23 students in kindergarten through second grade; no more than 25 students in third- through fifth-grade; and no more than 28 students in sixth- through 12th grade.

Millington said today that he's received dozens of e-mails asking the RTM restore the $3 million that was cut by the selectmen and Board of Finance, but he said the RTM cannot legally do that.

The RTM can only cut money from a proposed budget once it's been acted on by the Board of Finance.

The Board of Education could have appealed the Board of Finance's cut to the RTM, but Brand said last week that a majority of the nine-member school board didn't want to do that.

Millington said every e-mail he's received from a constituent has been about not cutting the proposed education budget any further. "I have not heard from anyone who wants further cuts to the education or town side" of the proposed budget, he said.

Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-6, the RTM minority leader, said she wasn't aware of any RTM Democrats who planned to propose cuts to the Board of Education's proposed budget or the proposed townside budget, though she added she hadn't talked directly to everyone.

Vahey said she too has gotten feedback from her constituents in advance of Monday night's meeting. "Far and away, what I've heard is support for maintaining the education budget as it is and not making any more cuts," she said.

But Carolyn Richmond, R-1, said she too has heard from her constituents, and most are concerned about taxes.

"I think the main concern from most constituents is they do not like the idea of their taxes going up. It's a hard economic time," Richmond said. "I do think that the townspeople are concerned about rising taxes, and they're looking for us to do something to help them."

Richmond said she hasn't received requests to cut the Board of Education's proposed budget, just general objections to higher taxes. She said she's heard from a lot of residents with children in the public schools who don't want the school board's proposed budget cut any further.

"There really are two groups, and I think we have to show we are listening to the needs of what each group is saying and balance them," Richmond said.

The Board of Education had voted to approve a $144.6 million budget for 2010-11, but First Selectman Ken Flatto cut $3 million in his recommended overall town budget for 2010-11. The Board of Selectmen then cut another $100,000, which was restored by the Board of Finance, leaving the cut at $3 million.

The Board of Education's proposed $141.6 million budget has garnered the lion's share of attention from the press because it's $3 million lower than the school board had requested. As it now stands, the Board of Education's proposed budget rises 1.4 percent over its current $139.6 million budget.

But the townside operating budget, at $86.3 million, rises 5.9 percent over the current townside operating budget of $81.5 million. But $2.1 million of the $4.8 million increase is due to retiree benefits, which includes contributions into the town employees' pension funds that have to be made due to the declining stock market and town officials' decision to invest pension money with Bernie Madoff.

Chief Fiscal Officer Paul Hiller said last week that the Board of Education's proposed budget also includes an expense of $1.25 million due to Madoff and the stock market decline.

Annual debt service, proposed at $23.8 million in 2010-11, is 10.3 percent lower than the current $26.6 million and makes up the rest of the proposed $251.7 million town budget for 2010-11.

Lynch said he believes parents' concerns that the Board of Education's proposed budget not be cut any further are strongly felt because many of the e-mails he received were original. "Half of the e-mails are templated, like someone sent out a template...The other half are genuinely written, in all different fonts and proses," he said.

Vahey said she's gotten e-mails that are originally written because they mention specific concerns, as well as experiences of the writer's child in the schools.

Alexis Harrison, R-2, said she and her fellow District 2 representatives held a constituents' meeting Saturday and three main subjects were raised by residents of District 2 - Black Rock Congregational Church's expansion plan, which still requires approval from the Town Plan and Zoning Commission; a proposal to spend $400,000 to build a girls' Little League field on Hoyden's Lane, which still requires approval from the Board of Finance and RTM; and taxes.

"Some senior members of the community were there and had concerns about the increased spending that seems to be a pattern, year after year," Harrison said. "They just don't want to be taxed out of Fairfield, where they've lived 50 years."

"If we lose seniors and empty nesters, we become a transitional town," Harrison said.

Lynch expects Monday night's budget meeting to be a long one, but Millington said it may not be too long because RTM members received a lot of information during their committee meetings last week.

Lynch said he thinks the balance between taxes and services already has been struck, given previous cuts to the proposed 2010-11 budget that were made by the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance. "We've got an incredible town that offers a ton of services, and that comes at a price," he said.

As it now stands, taxes would increase 2 percent under the $251.7 million spending plan for 2010-11, which rises 1.8 percent from the current $247.7 million town budget.

The tax rate would rise from 18.9 mills, or $18.90 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, to 19.28 mills, or $19.28 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

A resident with a house assessed at $600,000 would see a tax increase of $228 - from $11,340 to $11,568.