Council Hears The Public’s Budget Worries

By Dottie Evans

In one way, Wednesday night’s public hearing at the Reed Intermediate School on the $80.7 million 2003–2004 town and education budget proposal was both predictable and unremarkable.

In a broader way it was disturbing.

Although Legislative Council Chairman Don Studley tried to remind speakers that this was a night to address budgets issues only and to please stick to the subject, many speakers raised issues about current trends toward increased taxation, increased population growth, and increased demand for services. They asked how these trends could ever be curbed or even slowed, much less reversed, and there were no clear answers or solutions.

There was “no panacea” for townspeople struggling with increasing taxes, as one resident put it.

As expected, many education proponents turned out to express their firm support and, in particular, their wish that the council would “leave the it [the budget] alone and pass it on for the voters to decide on April 22.”

“Education benefits everyone in the community. We can be proud that we live in a town where education is valued and we have to remember that nothing good comes without cost. I think the Board of Finance did an outstanding job [in sending on this budget],” said parent Cheryl Clark.

“I’ve lived here six years,” said parent John Truitt, “and I’ve been very impressed with the different learning opportunities available to my children in sports and activities. But we need options.”

Like many, he wondered what the town could do to offset the burden of funding Newtown’s excellent education system. Several spoke in favor of more commercial development to bring in more tax dollars. Others suggested lobbying the state for more support.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal gave an overview of reasons why most taxpayers will see a significant tax increase, and what the town is doing about luring new commercial development into town. But he could offer no quick solutions.

“We’ll be losing $1,131,000 in state aid for the next fiscal year [beginning July 1]. That amounts to a rise of approximately $110 in taxes for the average homeowner. There has been a shift in taxation burden to the residential side, so that now more than 90 percent of our taxes, including property and motor vehicle taxes, are paid by homeowners,” Mr Rosenthal said.

As for what the town is doing to attract more commercial development, Mr Rosenthal mentioned “a few nibbles” on the 100 acres at Exit 9 in Hawleyville. There have been inquiries, he said, about the Grand Union site and there is an application now for an office building at the corner of Church Hill Road and The Boulevard.

Mike Snyder of Megan Circle wanted to know what was being done about the 37-acre parcel off Commerce Road that has been zoned for a business park.

In response, Mr Rosenthal explained, “The town is not actively marketing that land yet, because we don’t own it. The town will close on the whole thing [entire Fairfield Hills purchase] at once. Then the Economic Development Commission will be charged with how to market and develop that property.

“In this current economy, companies have scaled back. Right now, we have a limited amount of industrial property in town,” he added.

Ruby Johnson, chairman of the Friends of Fairfield Hills group, seconded this view. After speaking in behalf of funds for a skateboard park, Mrs Johnson said, “It is very hard to get new business in. It is more likely that you would see present businesses wanting to expand.”

And as far as bringing in enough business to make a substantial dent in homeowners’ tax burdens, “it’s not going to happen quickly,” Mrs Johnson said. She added that right now, “Education is our biggest business.”

The bottom line on the commercial development solution was not encouraging, Mr Rosenthal said.

“As schools and the need for town services increase, it would be very hard to attract enough industry [to offset those expenses}. The state needs to step up.”

David Smith of New Lebbon Road asked what the state was doing, and Mr Rosenthal said that the Connecticut Council of Municipalities, a group that he chairs, is lobbying the legislature.

“We are asking them not to pass the deficits on down to the towns.”

Another resident wanted to know which proposed town budget cuts would affect residents the most, and Mr Rosenthal answered without hesitation, “Roads.”

“Over two years we will have had a $700,000 cut in our road budget. And you’ll see it at Edmond Town Hall. Most of the rest of the town budget is flat,” he added.

One man stood up to speak on behalf of elder residents on fixed incomes who may, during this revaluation year, be seeing the biggest percentage tax increase.

“If you drive for Meals On Wheels, you see a lot of residents are just getting by,” he said.

At the end of the evening, it was clear that two predominant themes were not going to go away.

Newtown residents want to support their schools. At the same time, they are “nervous,” as one speaker put it, because they see themselves in a Catch-22 situation.

One speaker said what seemed to be on the minds of many.

“This is a town of 61 square miles and 36,000 acres with 25,000 residents and it is growing fast. Even if we continue to build $600,000 homes, the taxes on those homes can’t even cover the cost of educating one child.”

In support of that argument, Director of Business for Newtown Schools Ron Bienkowski had said the current per pupil cost was $8,168, not including special education, transportation, or debt service. When the latter expenses are figured in, the net per pupil cost is $9,300.

The Newtown School System is anticipating 5,406 students for the 2003–2004 school year.