KENT — The Board of Finance did not make any decisions on the proposed fiscal 2010-11 town budget during a special meeting on Tuesday, April 13, at Town Hall.
Instead, board members debated whether or not changes should be made to the budget.
As of the special meeting, the proposed budget for fiscal 2010-11 proposed by the Board of Selectmen is $2,645,477, a 1.4-percent increase over this year’s budget.
The total budget for fiscal 2010-11 proposed by the Board of Education is $6,220,339, a 0.15-percent increase.
During a budget workshop in late March, the Board of Selectmen voted to reinstate several items that had previously been cut.
A 10-percent salary decrease to five Town Hall department assistants has been taken out of the budget. And the transfer station attendant position has been reinstated.
Also reinstated are line items for an assistant to the town treasurer and an additional transfer station attendant.
At the finance meeting, board member Lynn Perry said she is concerned about the amount of the proposed budget increase.
“I think these are tough times, and while everything seems like little bits of money, they are not little bits these days,� Perry said.
“With each budget, the town is building a trajectory for the future. We have an obligation to the town to control the budget. A 1-percent increase during one year becomes a multiple percent increase over a number of years. I think this should be the year of fiscal responsibility.�
Tax reduction possible
Board member Edward Epstein disagreed with Perry and said it is not realistic to have a zero percent budget increase every year.
“I would agree with you if we were talking about raising taxes, but I think it’s clear we’re not going to have to raise taxes,� Epstein said. “There is ample town revenue, ample funds and ample money that was not spent last year that we thought would have to be spent. I think not only will we not have to raise taxes, I think it’s possible that we could reduce taxes.�
Board Chairman Chris Garrity said he was “somewhere in the middle� between Perry’s and Epstein’s opinions.
“I see a very strange philosophy in the budget made by the Board of Selectmen,� Garrity said. “I don’t understand why some people get raises and others don’t. I don’t see any sacrifices and this is a time of sacrificing. The pulling of the assistants out [by the selectmen] then their reinstatement does not say to me that the efficiency of the system has been looked at well enough. However, I don’t believe that this is a budget that’s out of whack. I think they’ve done a good job.�
Board member Marc Sebetic said he is concerned about how the town determines how it pays its employees.
“It doesn’t make any sense that the selectmen have to take a cut. Some employees get a 2-percent increase while other employees get nothing,� Sebetic said. “What about health insurance, including family plans versus single plans? If you have a family plan that costs more, [the town] is giving more money per year versus someone who is single.�
“You can’t look at a person’s health insurance and adjust their salaries on the basis of their marital status,� Epstein said.
“I’m not suggesting taking any benefits away, but I think it should be looked at as part of compensation,� Sebetic said. “It’s only fair. I don’t know if there’s a good way to figure it out, but I do think there is a problem there.�
Board member Tom Sides said he agreed with Perry and that there are no easy issues when it comes to dealing with the budget.
Discretionary raises?
“I don’t think this is the time for growing budgets,� Sides said. “These are very difficult times. Not everyone in this room is having a difficult time, but everyone here knows somebody who is dealing with difficult times. I’m not suggesting we have supreme sacrifice budgets, but I don’t think we should have budgets with discretionary increases in them. In this environment, raises are discretionary, with the exceptions of contractual union increases.�
At a budget workshop early in March, First Selectman Bruce Adams voluntarily reduced his salary by $5,000. The other two selectmen, Karren Garrity and George Jacobsen, voluntarily reduced their salaries by $400 each.
In Kent, the first selectman earns $59,081 and the selectmen earn $4,156.
Sides said he supports the voluntary reductions. Epstein said he would make a motion to restore the salaries at the town meeting in May, when taxpayers will vote on the budget.
“I think it’s a mistake because you’re not going to put the raises back in when the economy gets better,� Epstein said. “It’s going to remain permanently lower than the salaries of the other towns around here.�
No motions or decisions were made at the special meeting.
Schedule of meetings
The Board of Finance has one more scheduled meeting to discuss the budget, on Tuesday, April 20, at 7 p.m.
Also, a special Board of Selectmen’s meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 21, at 1 p.m. at Town Hall.
Both meetings are after The Lakeville Journal’s deadline for this week.
A public hearing on the town’s proposed budget for fiscal 2010-11 has been scheduled for Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m. at Town Hall.
Town residents can request changes be made at the hearing. However, once the budget goes to town meeting, voters can only approve or not approve the spending plan.
The town meeting for residents to vote on the proposed budget is scheduled for Friday, May 21, at 8 p.m. at Town Hall.
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