Another Budget Challenge

The town’s decision on November 6 to approve a new way of voting on local budgets, giving town officials a better feel for the mood of the electorate through split voting and advisory questions, should help Newtown clear some of the process hurdles it has stumbled over in recent years. It is not going to help pay for the budget, however. And a revenue report released by fiscal analysts for the executive and legislative branches of state government suggests the fiscal picture for Newtown and other municipalities, as well as state taxpayers in general, will not be brightening any time soon.

Rather than reaping the benefits that accrues from economic growth — even the modest growth the nation is now experiencing — Connecticut’s economy is continuing to sap the state’s coffers. The current revenue projections forecast for the next state budget are $128 million less than the current budget and $231 million less than anticipated. State taxes, fees, and contributions from the casinos are off $258 million this year, which has been mitigated only partially by up to $150 million in federal aid. Depending on which side of the political aisle one listens to, the total shortfall in the next state budget is between $300 and $500 million. And this bad news comes on the heels of Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s announcement last week that “I have no intention of raising taxes,” as he noted the reelection of President Obama means there won’t be a drastic reduction in the amount of federal aid reaching the states. (The governor and the Democratic majority in the legislature approved $1.5 billion in new taxes in 2011.) You know Connecticut’s economy is lagging when the brightest revenue outlook comes to us from the direction of the federal government.

These discouraging numbers coming out of Hartford build in a lot of uncertainty for budgetmakers in Newtown. In the last budget cycle, the state held the line on grants to towns and cities, but such assurances are unlikely in future state budgets, putting even more pressure on municipal property taxes. Added pressure on property taxes means ever more difficult budget battles locally and ever sharper debates about sacrifice — in educational programs, in town services, and even in household finances.

The key to success in this year’s budget deliberations in Newtown will not be how the budget is presented in a referendum, but how open and inclusive the discussions leading up to the vote are. There is much to take into consideration this year, and each consideration, each concern, deserves a fair hearing and due deliberation free of the dark political arts of blaming, insinuation, and resentment. That is a good starting place. And how we end up depends in large part on how we start.