Managing Newtown’s

Budget

To the Editor:

I have had the honor of serving Newtown on the Board of Finance for the past eight years. We have accomplished much during that time, including the establishment of strong written fiscal guidelines concerning capital spending and the management of town surpluses. The latter required a charter change which helped the town receive two bond rating increases, saving the town many thousands of dollars in the process. To be sure, there are numerous minefields left to navigate, especially with the national and state budget issues and their effect on Newtown, which is why I am asking your support for another term in office.

I have been extremely critical of the current governor not because he is from a different party than mine, but because I believe he is following economic policies that will be ruinous to the state. Take for example his recent policies to benefit the first five companies who commit to hire an additional 200 employees, as well as his newly announced policy to provide economic incentives for startup companies. Both will be paid for by current businesses who will not enjoy any break, and residents who have already seen their taxes increase enormously. To believe that these policies will help this state without first addressing the current high cost of living, high taxes, an ever-expanding regulatory state government, and the current (worst in the nation) unfunded pension liability of over $9 billion is to believe in the theory of perpetual motion. Businesses and the people they employ generally locate to places where the conditions are most favorable for them to make money, raise a family, and get the most value for the taxes they pay in the long run. Increasingly, Connecticut as a whole no longer meets that criteria which is why Newtown must seek to responsibly reduce the cost of living here.

The disproportionate size of state government relative to the private sector will force the rise of taxes at the local level through reduced aid to the towns or an increase in unfunded mandates, and probably both. Newtown voters are smart enough to realize that the recent tax increase passed will send tens of millions of dollars in additional taxes from Newtown taxpayers to Hartford with only a fractional amount returned, providing the fuel for even more inefficient state spending, yet again.

My promise to the voters will be to ensure that every possible measure will be taken to manage our budget down over the next two years to reflect current demographics, the recently imposed additional tax burdens, and the reduced household incomes that have affected many Newtown families. While we can’t now change a state government which cares more about itself than those whom it taxes and regulates, we can and must ensure that, by comparison, Newtown offers the best value amongst the other towns in the state. If you feel the same, then I hope that you will cast your vote for me in the upcoming election. www.newtownrepublicans.org/profiles/joe-kearney

Sincerely,

Joe Kearney

9 Daniels Hill Road, Newtown                                October 11, 2011