Board of Finance

Joseph W. Kearney

9 Daniels Hill Road, Newtown

364-0346

E-mail: jkearney19@aol.com

Family: Wife, Azian; three children, Patrick, Matthew and Torin, two dogs and one cat.

Party affiliation: Republican

Newtown residency: 6 years

Education: BS, Syracuse University;  BS, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; MBA, University of Notre Dame.

Occupation:  senior vice president – business development and regulatory compliance, employed by Duty Free Americas, Inc. for 16 years.

Question responses:

1. Due to its size and complexity, Fairfield Hills is the most challenging.  The funding of capital projects for education is a close second.

2. Fairfield Hills is managed by an authority, but the Board of Finance will have a say in future financing needs as it is not likely to be fully self sustaining.  Balancing the education needs against the taxpayer’s ability to fund those needs is a primary function of the Board of Finance.

3. I am generally able to reduce complex issues so that the average person can understand them. 

4. In my opinion, the Charter Revision Commission process will never work because the voters are in the dark about the issues until the very end and also because the largest and most important issues are bundled with other, less important and downright foolish issues. This only ensures a negative result.  The one issue that might make a positive financial difference to the town’s bond rating will thus be delayed.  If that issue, and possibly one other were sent separately, it would already be in place. Also, from a safety perspective, it seems that Main Street is getting less safe each year with both cars and trucks driving at excessive speeds.  I would place permanent speed indicators as well as large signage warning traffic about speeding before it enters the town.

5. Spending by any entity at 2-3 times the rate of inflation year after year is a recipe for disaster and is not sustainable.  The Board of Education’s mandate primarily addresses the educational needs.  It does not allow for reconciliation back to the taxpayers ability (or willingness) to fund those needs.  Thus, it is left up to the Board of Finance, along with the Legislative Council to make that determination.  Unfortunately, the fixed payments for contractual obligations make up such a large portion of the budget that there is less discretionary spending that can be addressed.

6. The goal should always be a self financing entity, although that is not likely to happen.  However, I would say that a 75 percent commercial, 25 percent recreational split seems reasonable.

7. Please see my answer to question 5.  There is likely to be more, not less animosity as long as spending is far greater than the average person’s salary increase.  I believe we are approaching the point where the idea of a legislative cap on spending tied to inflation for all operational costs should be investigated.  Exceptions can be made for certain commodities such as heating oil and electric.  If no cap is in place, it is conceivable that the annual budget will be at least 30-40 percent higher in five years than it is today, irrespective of the town’s population and assuming the same level of inflation as exists today.

Harrison A. Waterbury

11 Chimney Swift Drive, Sandy Hook

426-3577

E-mail: harrison.waterbury@sbcglobal.net

Family: Married to Gerry with two grown children and seven grandchildren.

Party affiliation: Republican

Newtown residency: 35 years

Education: BS, Niagara University; MBA, University of Bridgeport

Occupation: Retired. Worked in the accounting and finance field for over 38 years, primarily with the Dupont Company and Newtown Savings Bank.

Question responses:

1. I feel the most critical issue facing Newtown today is the rapid growth in the population of the town and the corresponding services that this entails. The need for the expansion of Newtown High School and the consistent annual increases in the budget each year are the results of this growth. The problem has been compounded by the need to maintain and improve the existing infrastructure both in town government and the school system. As long as Newtown is a desirable place to live and raise a family the growth will continue even if at a slower pace.

2. As a member of the Board of Finance I will continue to monitor the spending of both the Board of Education and the town government. This will require annual analysis of both budgets to determine that the requests are accurate and justified. It will also require a thorough review of the 5-year Capital Improvement Plan each year. It is important to not only determine need and accuracy of estimates but also to maintain imposed justified caps on yearly projects that require bonding.    

3.  I offer my extensive background in finance and accounting coupled with my six years membership on the Board of Finance. I have also lived in Newtown for 35 years. As a result, I have developed an in-depth knowledge of the financial activity of the town which gives me the ability to make sound financial decisions that are best for all taxpayers.

4. During my six years on the Board of Finance the budget has been defeated several times before finally getting accepted. Each year, during the budget review process, the Board of Finance requests direct input from all taxpayers. At our meetings and public hearings we hear primarily from those that are in favor of the spending plan. I realize people are not comfortable speaking at meetings, but I think it is important for the board to know more specific reasons from those that are opposed to the budget. The board generally hears that people can no longer afford to live in Newtown or think the town or school board spends too much. These are valid reasons but it would help the Board of Finance do hear more specific reasons. In the upcoming budget season I suggest that the Board of Finance request those with specific concerns about the budget to e-mail the members of the board if they do not feel comfortable attending meetings and/or speaking out.

5. A priority of the Board of Education and school administrators should be to justify and explain increases in spending over and above normal and required increases. Additions in personal and equipment and changes in programs need to be explained in detail so that the taxpayers are confident that the money requested is valid and appropriate.   

6. I feel a balance of commercial and recreational use is critical. Commercial activity is required to offset some of the additional cost to the town associated owning Fairfield Hills. It is also prudent to use the land for town recreational needs as the property is centrally located and already has recreational facilities. I agree with some of the current plans underway for the property. Additional commercial activity in the form of office space, retail establishments and restaurants is a good mix so as to not destroy the charm of the property. Recreational use should be derived from a specific need, a need that would be required even if Fairfield Hills were not available.     

7. I do believe the mood in town has grown more negative in recent years. There seems to be less willingness to compromise on issues that are important to different individuals. As a member of the Board of Finance, I have and will continue to make decisions based on the facts as presented and do what I feel is best for Newtown. I feel it is important to make decisions after analyzing available data and listening to the public and then explain the details based on the facts without emotion.

John Kortze

52 Cobblers Mill Road, Sandy Hook

426-7170

E-mail: jkortze@mac.com

Family:  My family includes my wonderful wife, Tara, two amazing daughters Cassidy and Keeley, and our dog  Finnegan.

Party affiliation: Republican

Newtown residency: For most of my life

Education: BS Applied Economics and Business Management, Cornell University.

Occupation: Managing Director, Wachovia Securities for 15 years

Question responses:

1. Balancing the capital and operational needs of the town with the taxpayer’s willingness to pay. Officials, more than ever, need to listen to what the voter is saying at the polls.

2. Having served in an elected financial capacity for the town for the  past 12 years, I will continue to work with the Board of Finance to recommend to the council and public, strategies and guidelines to continue to improve upon the sound financial status the town presently enjoys. I will also work with the board to ensure all expenditures are justified and efficiencies realized.

3. My educational as well as professional background and training is economics and finance which contribute to a solid foundation for the Board of Finance. However, the ability to weigh all factors and apply my training and experience to reach a conclusion is the best skill I have to offer. However you describe it, it takes common sense.

4. I’m quite confident, having experienced it first hand, that the public is unclear on the origination and process by which the town identifies and requests large capital projects, especially when it comes to education. Often there is frustration expressed over our capital plan, even though the plan has provided for virtually all of what has been requested, with the priority requested and on the timeline requested. It is the Board of Selectmen or Board of Education that should communicate their justification to the public as to why a project or budget item is being requested…or equally important as to why it is not.

5. In my opinion, only the Board of Ed can and should prioritize both large capital items as well as the day to day expenditures. However, it’s the basis for that prioritization and rationale for budgets that should be rooted in sound judgment and communicated clearly to the public, welcoming the questions that can only improve understanding. The priorities should and have to be discussed on a town wide basis and be consistent with the voter’s willingness to pay.

6. The purchase of Fairfield Hills was and remains a tremendous opportunity for Newtown. The authority currently has plans for many uses to include both commerce and recreation. Clearly opinion is divided on the balance, but both recreational and commercial are critical to the town and the facility has the capacity to balance both.

7. Elected officials tend to be more involved than most in the “politics” of the moment. Closer to the flame, as it were. In contrast, I believe the vast majority of the people in town believe it’s truly “Nicer in Newtown”. That doesn’t and shouldn’t stop the debate of issues as that’s the cornerstone of our democracy. There are certainly many cross currents in our town and it’s my belief that it’s an individual’s or a group’s right to speak their mind. However, the clearest prevailing thought, in my opinion, is the ever increasing tax burden on the homeowner. I will continue my efforts, as a Board of Finance member, to ask questions, justify expenditures, implement strategies and guidelines to ensure a strong financial foundation and to stick to those guidelines in place that have and continue to save the taxpayers millions.

James O. Gaston

18 Main Street, Newtown

426-2500

E-mail: okjt@aol.com

Website: www.JamesOGaston.com (work)

Family:  wife, Stephanie, children, Tara (19), Jimmy (17), Kelley (13), Owen (11),  two Siberian Huskies, two cats and a rabbit

Party affiliation: Democrat

Newtown residency: over 16 years

Education: Lehigh University, BS, 1980 (double major – finance and economics, concentration in public finance), minor in government; Duquesne University School of Law,  Juris Doctorate 1983

Occupation: Lawyer for 24 years - Law Offices of James O. Gaston 239 Golden Hill Street  Bridgeport, CT  06604

Question responses:

1. Maintaining the character of Newtown, including its schools, recreational facilities, affordability, and “Pristine Early American Elegance” (New York Times)

2. The Democrats believe in a balanced government that works for all of Newtown, children, families and seniors alike.  I will continue to work to balance the financial needs of all and keep the town in a solid financial position.  A strong financial Newtown helps keep taxes down.

3. As a lawyer with a finance and economic background I am able to evaluate both financial and legal issues that arise. 

4. I believe that the town’s Capital Improvement Plan, though covered well by The Newtown Bee, needs more explanation and circulation to the public. Despite what some people are campaigning on, there is actually a significant amount of planning that goes on in the town.  The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is one of several key planning tools.  People need to know that over 70 percent of the CIP goes to education facilities, presently the High School, Hawley, the Middle School and Sandy Hook are included (no request from the Board of Education has been left out).  The Senior Center and turfing Tilson field are some of the things in the CIP on the town side. 

5. Each school should set three to five year goals and itemize what it is estimated to cost to achieve these goals. This is not zero based budgeting (which would seriously undermine the school system, be prohibitively costly to administer, would result in thousands of lost teacher hours, is highly subjective in outcome results, and is now almost universally recommended against for service work that has significant legislative requirements) .This is a form of performance planning.  For example, one goal might be to raise the high school math SAT scores by 10 percent (that doesn’t mean teaching to the test…just improving the score).  The recent Newtown average math SAT score of 512, where the overall average is 510, in an affluent town such as Newtown, is discouraging.   Such performance planning could then be reviewed and the costs to performance achievements weighed.  The public would feel more assured with such accountability.

6. I believe there should be smart-limited commercial development to help offset the costs of the recreational facilities.  One new baseball field is underway, there is agreement that one additional all-purpose field (soccer, lacrosse, football, field hockey) will be completed, and the Newtown Academy sports complex is taking hold.  This is all good.  With the demolition of the buildings there should be even more open space than before Newtown’s acquisition.

7. I do believe there is less tolerance now than over some previous years.  We have gone through this before, one need only recall a half dozen years or so ago the then Independent party called the N.I.C.E. party.  Before that on the national level was Ross Perot and his Independent movement.  Presently, division and lack of tolerance for other’s opinions is spearheaded at the top by such people as Karl Rove and talk radio.  This lack of tolerance has permeated down to the local level.  We see it in nearly all communities.  What everyone can do to make it “Nicer in Newtown” is to remember a few things, “reasonable minds can reasonably disagree”, “the fact that one disagrees (disagreement can even be healthy), doesn’t mean one has to be disagreeable,” and “we live in a pluralistic society, you won’t get everything you think you need, and when you don’t there is no grand conspiracy plotted against you…just democracy at work,” and “ask not what your [town] can do for you, ask what you can do for your [town].”

John Torok, Jr.

17 Old Hawleyville Road, Newtown

364-9652

E-mail: john.torok@winchesterschools.org

Family:  Divorced, two daughters, Ashley 14 is a freshman at Newtown High School, Sarah is 24 is a medical assistant and pursuing a degree in biology at Southern Ct. State University

Party affiliation: Democrat

Newtown residency: 15 Years

Education: BS Business Administration, Certified CT School Business Administrator 30 years experience in corporate, public and non-profit organizations.

Occupation: Director of Finance and Operations Winchester Public Schools for the past three months.

Question responses:

1. In general Newtown is now faced with dealing with the phenomenal growth it has experienced  over the past decade. This essentially impacts infrastructure: schools/education, roads, parks/recreation, Fairfield Hills, level of services to be provided. All these have to be dealt with in both long term and short term planning cycles.  This must be dealt with in such a fashion as to not disenfranchise senior citizens and those families that have lived in town for generations. It must be balanced to meet the needs of the general population and not cater to special interest groups!

2. My position is appointed/voluntary. I plan to focus on expanding the planning methodology. I believe the Capital Improvement Plan is a good beginning; however having said that I feel it needs to be updated into a quarterly rolling reforecast so as to be a dynamic document; thus we would have a five-year CIP and a Rolling Reforecast Plan. These are tools and like budgets they are dynamic documents-planning tools! Circumstances change from period to period, be it day to day, month to month, or year to year and we must be flexible and intelligent enough to deal with the changes.

3. My background as a school business administrator and my corporate operations experience dealing with budgets, construction and real estate.

4. Yes, I feel both our children and our seniors needs should be better addressed. We need more facilities and activities for seniors along with larger tax breaks after the age of 70 for seniors. In addition to sports and education we need more activities for the 12 to 18 crowd of young adults. I would work to fund and create more programs, make this a priority.

5. Work as much as possible toward teaching a solid broad education instead of strictly teaching to the Connecticut State Mastery Test. We need broad, versatile independent thinkers, not test robots! The BOE and school administrators can not do this alone they need the help of parents, politicians and educational interest groups. Our voices must be collectively heard!

6. We need to deal with both long and short term planning at Fairfield HIlls. This is a very difficult challenge but we have some good people on the authority such as Dr John Reed, Amy Dent whom I have personally worked with. I’m certain the others are well qualified as too. The typical tax incentives for the first three to five years for commercial, clean and green businesses and when and where possible we should try to recruit businesses that will participate in the community. We should earmark the parcels of land for the town’s recreational programs and projects and get them started. If we do not already have a national marketing program to solicit corporations, schools, and venture capital groups then we should consider that.

7. I agree Newtown has a prevailing negative influence existing presently. I believe that “mood” is made up of hidden agendas of special interests, people with political ambitions and just plain old frustration. Hidden agendas and politics have little value to me, that’s why I am in an appointed position that suits my professional background. Frustration of the ordinary citizen is my prime concern and I would focus solely on those genuine concerns.  Politics and special interests in my opinion, are not looking out for the best interest of the community.  I think we need to have quarterly meetings that are informal where town leaders and citizens can meet over coffee and just talk about various current topics and concerns. Those “Get Together’s” can be flexible and held at different town places, like schools, parks in the summer, Edmund Town Hall, Fairfield Hills, etc. People have to participate though for this to be successful and not just the same people all the time! Otherwise no matter what the town fathers do it will not be successful!

Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers

(Due to a technical error, this candidate bio did not appear last week)

Mary Fellows

120 Walnut Tree Hill Road,  Sandy Hook

270-1820

E-mail: mflmf@aol.com

Website: www.littlemerryfellows.com

Family: My husband John Conk, and daughter Cleo Conk, My Dad Billy Fellows, dogs Spike & Coco and 12 chickens and 1 cockatiel, Sydney “the wonder bird.”

Party affiliation: Newly Democratic

Newtown residency: a very long time.

Education: All the Newtown schools and The Institute of audio research in NYC

Occupation: Designer, stylist, producer and mother. Just recently wrapped the film, The 6 Wives of Henry LeFay, with Tim Allen, as a decorator. To be released sometime in 2008

Question responses:

1. Population and economic growth, we need more reasons for people to move here and bring their companies with them, not just move here for the schools, raise their kids and then split, this town should be a place to raise a family, have an outlet for their interests and retire.

2. In a nutshell: Create more things for people to move here for.

3. What I would like to contribute is my talent in organizing public events for entertainment; The Edmond Town Hall is one of Newtown’s gems! there should be shows there weekly like children’s theater, author readings, a film festival etc.  As well as movies, and I think we need a good cappuccino machine in the concession stand (but that’s just me)  among other things, but all in good time.

4. Zoning, I have been to so many meetings for development ideas, the good ones are obvious as well as the bad ones. The town is challenged constantly by developers who bully. A town should have a three rejections your out policy. (but I’m told it’s not that easy) So many times they have to listen to a bad idea, the round robin on the laws are endless, so I think it boils down to endurance and that last board was beat-up so badly on a monthly basis. That needs to change.

5. Space. We keep adding on, and out growing it as soon as its finished. Times have changed, schools need more every year, and that’s a fact around the country, It truly is the main reason people say they more here, so why don’t we just embrace it, and if we keep growing the retirement condo market, (not that we don’t love the people in them!) you will never pass a budget, ever.

6. Wait and see what is brought to the table and decide. What else can you do? Offers will present themselves, and hopefully it all works out. I have always thought the town should give away the buildings and lease the land forever.

But I have one question for the authority? why don’t you give that green house behind the town garages near Reed to the Dog Pound? A greenhouse for green grass all year long and a youth volunteer population so close? What’s to think about?

7. I think it’s how much Newtown has had to play catch-up to the demands of population growth (schools, emergency services and highway) the old-timers (and I mean in the last 20 years) see their taxes go through the roof, for what? Because next door to their cape on and acre is a $1.5 mil house that’s easy to commute to Darien? And that makes taxes higher? They haven’t as so much as painted and they have gone from $3,000 per year to $10,000 all because of perceived value? It does not make sense. The more land and living sq. footage the more you pay, not because you live near Meatloaf on Poverty Hollow, Alice Cooper at the end of Mt. Nebo or what ever rock star you have in your hood?

But bring that neighbor (or rock star) a basket of cookies!  To say, ”It’s Nicer in New-town”