The Capital Improvement Plan -

A Better Way

To the Editor:

I respectfully disagree with The Newtown Bee editorial of November 27[Editorial Ink Drops, “The Council Should Wait Its Turn In Capital Planning”] in which the editor supports the present system of approving capital projects (CIP) that the town will sell bonds to finance.

Currently, the process works this way: 1. Department heads present their requests to the Board of Selectmen 2. The selectmen choose the projects to fund for the next five years 3. Their recommendations go to the Board of Finance, which 4. May invite department heads to make presentations and give explanations 5. The Finance Board decides which projects can be funded and sends their recommendations to the Legislative Council 6. The council makes the final decisions.

In an imperfect world, personal views of worthiness and special interests are likely to influence all decisions at every stage.

I attended the November finance meeting and was privileged to hear: the chief of police present his request for a new police station, the Newtown Hook and Ladder funding request, and the Public Works request for replacement of bridges. Four members of the Legislative Council were present: Amaral, Davis, Llodra, and Murray; they were allowed to ask questions. Under the system advocated by the editor, absent council members will never hear the department head presentations because the system now in place leaves them officially “out of the loop.” When the CIP arrives at their designated meeting to determine the final document, eight will rely on hearsay, comments from the four who attended, and perhaps constituents with special interests

Mr Davis and Ms Murray have suggested a better way. The council would join the selectmen and Board of Finance to hear the early presentations by the town and Board of Education department heads, ask questions, and enter into an intelligent discussion of the town’s needs and the results of delaying or denying such funding. Informed council members will make wiser decisions than those only partially informed.

Fortunately, in this tight financial year, the new Board of Selectmen decided to revisit the entire CIP beginning with its December 21 meeting. Department heads will be invited to present their requests again, and council members may attend. The entire procedure needs to be officially changed to include the council from the beginning.

The next major change recommended by Mr Davis and Ms Murray is to allow these projects to be voted on separately by the council when it reviews the Board of Finance recommendations. While an integrated package is important, an “all or nothing” vote is irresponsible.

I think we should go one step further. When the town votes to adopt the next year’s budget, residents should be allowed to vote separately on each CIP request up for public approval.

Democracy depends on an informed electorate and a well-informed council. Until the process is officially updated, we should expect every council member to attend the December 21 selectmen’s meeting.

There is no substitute for enlightened public officials.

Ruby Johnson, PhD

16 Chestnut Hill, Sandy Hook                           December 9, 2009