Date: Fri 04-Jun-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

human-interest-paper-shortage

Full Text:

Paper Is Precious As The Fiscal Year Runs Out

BY STEVE BIGHAM

This is the time of year when town employees start pinching pennies -- that

final 30 days of the fiscal year when the money runs tight.

These days, the staff at Edmond Town Hall is running low on the commodity that

keeps every bureaucracy afloat -- paper.

Until July 1, when the new fiscal year begins, employees are being advised

"waste not want not."

"We're watching it very carefully," said Kathy Favreau of the finance

department and the building's unofficial paper czar. "We've got some cases,

but this is to cover all departments at Edmond Town Hall."

Mrs Favreau has been forced to treat the town hall paper closet like Fort

Knox. Staffers are being asked to make double-sided copies whenever possible

and refrain from filing huge reports like the one Police Chief James Lysaght

filed with the Police Commission last month.

The shortage on paper occurs every year, but the problem appears to be a bit

worse this year. Part of the reason may be the increase in town clerk copying

due to the refinancing of homes and home sales, which are up above normal

thanks to a healthy economy.

"We try not to over-order so toward the end of the year it does get tight,"

noted First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

The paper shortage has also hit Newtown High School and teachers have been

requested to make the most out of every sheet. With exams coming up, every

piece is considered sacred. A memo was sent out (on paper) last week

explaining the situation.

"We're trying to be very frugal," noted Maryann Corbo of the NHS main office.

School Business Manager Ronald Bienkowski called these final days of the

fiscal year especially "tight." Part of that may stem from the selective

freeze put on the current Board of Education budget back in March by

Superintendent of Schools John R. Reed. The freeze, which required school

principals to provide justification for any new items ordered, was prompted by

the Legislative Council's proposed cuts to the 1999-2000 budget.

"Those proposed cuts gave (Dr Reed) concern over the viability of next year's

budget," Mr Bienkowski said.

In the end, the cuts were not as extensive as first thought. However, since

then, there have been other pressures that have hit the existing budget,

including a hike in special education tuition costs of $80,000. That added

cost had to come from the 1998-99 budget and put added strain on other

accounts.

The crunch is being felt all over town; with just a month to go, Newtown's

civil servants are counting the days.

Fortunately, according to Kathy Favreau, there are plenty of paper clips to go

around.