Finance Board Frustrations

To the Editor:

The frustration was palpable as the town presented its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) recommendations to the Board of Finance (BOF) last Thursday [October 1]. Item after item — the proposed Community Center, $30 million in Fairfield Hills requests, road and bridge work, the need for a new borough fire station — demonstrated a combination of poor or nonexistent planning and analysis, leaving the board in a difficult position. But despite their protests, the BOF itself must take some responsibility for this disappointing state of affairs.

The problems were highlighted by the community center request, cut at the last minute by the Board of Selectmen from $12 million to $9 million. When a letter was read stating that the Public Building and Site Commission could only support the original proposal, there was no confidence that the smaller version made any sense. Meanwhile, the idea of new resources for seniors had fallen off the CIP altogether, despite the fact that the percentage of seniors in town is expected to grow substantially in coming years.

The BOF also groused that the $30 million in new Fairfield Hills (FFH) requests was not accompanied by basic financial analyses, with one member exclaiming, “I have nothing!” Yet only IPN Councilman Gary Davis asked the obvious question, as the meeting finally wrapped up: “Why had these requests never appeared in prior CIPs?” Nobody had an answer.

Historically, the BOF has rigorously challenged education spending, but subjected the town to far less scrutiny. The Board of Selectmen circumvented the BOF in June 2008 to obtain $3 million in new financing for the Fairfield Hills parking lot. The BOF waited until payments on the loan appeared in the budget nine months later to express their dismay, then promptly dropped the matter.

Similarly, the BOF accepted that monitoring the use of previously authorized funds at FFH was outside their current “purview,” without any suggestion that this was problematic. Now funds are being requested for demolition work covered by the original $22 million bonding that was left undone when cost of the town hall ballooned from $6 to $14 million.

One must wonder how different things would be if the BOF had subjected the town to the same level of scrutiny as it has the schools, and had advocated more vigorously for comprehensive long-term planning. The lack of a comprehensive approach — coordinating spending for town services, parks and recreation, education, and resources for seniors — is painfully apparent. Meanwhile, control over Fairfield Hills is concentrated in the hands of the Board of Selectman. This combination has cost taxpayers millions while leaving unmet needs across the entire community. The embarrassing results were on full display at last Thursday’s meeting.

The BOF deserves our thanks for years of work establishing basic financial management practices. But they can be a stronger voice for reform. If elected, William McNerney and I will work hard to improve Newtown’s financial planning oversight. Please support us and entire slate of IPN candidates this November. For more information, go to www.ipn2009.org.

Sincerely,

Benjamin Roberts

IPN candidate for Board of Finance

19 Farrell Road, Newtown                                          October 5, 2009