Officials Back Status Quo—

Ruling Allows Budget Vote Options

By Jan Howard

Though the state Supreme Court has ruled that towns can allow taxpayers to vote separately on municipal and school budgets at the same referendum, officials in Newtown see no need to change the way taxpayers vote for the annual budget.

The court ruling is the result of a suit by the Naugatuck school board, which charged that a charter amendment allowing up to three separate referendums on the town and/or school budgets was illegal. Two lower courts sided with the school board.

However, the Supreme Court’s decision means that taxpayers in Connecticut towns can consider both budgets separately at the same referendum or the total budget as a whole.

Newtown’s charter states that the proposed budget “shall” be approved as a whole, and town officials see no reason for change.

The Supreme Court ruling “gives towns an option,” First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said. “I’m not saying I’m for or against it. There are pros and cons, but at some point both have to pass so you can have a budget.”

Mr Rosenthal said Charter Revision Commissions in the past have looked at separating the town government and education votes, but attorneys were of the opinion that it would not be legal to do so.

Since the Supreme Court has ruled that separate votes are possible, a future Charter Revision Commission might want to look at it again, he said.

There would be no possibility of a change this year, Mr Rosenthal said, because the budget process “is all spelled out” in the charter.

He said he could understand why some people might favor separate votes. “People might want to have a voice if they have a stronger position on one or the other,” Mr Rosenthal said.

He noted, however, “There is one negative I see. We are one town government. I would not want to see one branch competing against another’s supporters.”

There is another reason why separation of the votes might not be possible. Mr Rosenthal said that more than a half million dollars on school-related issues are included in the town government’s budget.

“Seventy percent of the debt service is related to school projects,” he said.

Board of Finance Chairman John Kortze agreed that the budget represents one town government, not just the Board of Selectmen or the Board of Education. “It is the town as a whole,” he said. “The school system benefits the town, and the town benefits the school system. It is one entity with two sides working together and in harmony.

“If you get away from that, you’re not thinking of the whole,” he said. “Once you get beyond the town as a whole and carve it into parts, you’re on dangerous ground.

“Oftentimes change is good,” Mr Kortze said. “But before making a change we should look at reasons for the change. Can it fix the problem?”

While separate votes and questions, such as whether a proposed budget is too high or too low, might be helpful in determining voters’ concerns following rejection of a budget at referendum, Mr Kortze said information can be gleaned in other ways, such as vote counts and taking into consideration the economic times.

“We’re not guessing,” Mr Kortze said.

While having separate votes would be a plus in determining what voters were saying in a failed referendum, Will Rodgers, chairman of the Legislative Council, said the minuses would outweigh the pluses.

Mr Rodgers said separate votes would cause divisiveness and the pitting of one side against the other. It would also, he said, be the “start of a slippery slope to separate out education.”

That, he said, would cause a weakening of public education.

Mr Rodgers said the court ruling “doesn’t mandate we do it. On the whole I’m against it.”

A number of towns have been doing it, he noted, “but I don’t think it’s helpful.”

Mr Rodgers said the town has seriously considered including questions on the ballot in the past.

Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff said he would not be in favor of a separation of the votes.

“I believe in one town, one budget,” he said. “All departments are interrelated.”

He noted that the Board of Finance and the Legislative Council analyze the needs of the town and its ability to pay. “They are the guiding financial experts of the town,” he said. “Separate votes could detract from their decisions.”

Advisory questions, such as if a budget is too high or too low, might be helpful, Dr Pitkoff said.