VNA Not At Fault For Late Budget

To the Editor,

According to an article in The Newtown Bee last week, the Legislative Council cut the Newtown Visiting Nurse Association’s meager budget by $50 as a penalty for submitting a late budget! The true facts in this case support that the VNA was unfairly penalized for what was, in fact, negligence on the part of the finance department. The Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurse Association adamantly believes the budget cut should rightfully be restored.

In the normal budgetary process in Newtown, the finance department provides budgetary forms and information to the various agencies receiving town funds. Agencies then make their budgetary decisions and requests and fill out the forms and return them to the finance department. This year the finance department did not provide the necessary budgetary forms to the VNA in the usual timely fashion and consequently, the VNA did not have the opportunity to submit our budget to the town as requested by the Legislative Council.

As soon as the finance department omission of the VNA budgetary forms became apparent, Visiting Nurse officers immediately contacted the finance department and the error was corrected. The VNA immediately filled out the budget request and submitted the forms. The late submission of the Visiting Nurse Budget request was due entirely to the failure on the part of the finance department to provide the VNA with the budgetary forms in a timely fashion.

The Visiting Nurse Association of Newtown is run by a Board of Directors comprised of hard working, dedicated Newtowners who voluntarily contribute an enormous amount of time and effort and heart to providing health services to the residents of Newtown and regardless of anyone’s ability to pay for their health services.

The Board of Directors of the Newtown VNA adamantly believe that we have been unfairly penalized for an error on the part of the finance department and firmly believe the $50 should be restored to our very small budget. All things being considered, this year, of all years, the Legislative Council has some really significant and enormous financial decisions to make on behalf of spending and taxing in Newtown, the very least of which might well be the VNA.

The Board of Directors of the Newtown VNA respectfully request the Legislative Council to restore the $50 late penalty to the VNA budget. Perhaps consideration might be given to transferring the $50 from the finance department budget.

Sincerely,

Mae S. Schmidle, President

Visiting Nurse Association

Echo Valley Road, Newtown                                       March 7, 2000