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BUDGET PROCESS FY 2009 - 2010 OVER NOW...

CHANGE IN DATE!!! Board of Finance met Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 8pm at Town Hall and talked a long time - read story from the FORUM here!
"Kids in Crisis" story here.
ABOVE: Town Seal; March 16th, Board of Education talks health insurance - major number in the budget increase proposed;
workshop" by Board of Education brings out the public; First Selectman Woody Bliss and Boards of Finance and Education; and link to the Board of Selectmen's schedule for the entire budget process. For everything else, there is money;
Whidbey Island deals with financial crisis too...

AT ATBM: WARNING ISSUED BY ONE SPEAKER WHO PARTICIPATED IN EFFECTIVE ATTACK THIS YEAR ("zero" increase): Next year the high school pool is on their radar as a big budget hog (i.e. extra-curricular activities will be cut before teachers/class size).

Prior to the events at W.H.S., the Board of Selectmen conducted a Special Meeting at 7pm in Town Hall. Approved with small comment were: date for Selectmen's Driveway Ordinance Public Hearing (May 7, 7:15pm); discussion of Stimulous Package opportunities, date for discussion with Nature Conservancy re: Lachat; Executive Session on contract negotiations (no vote taken after).

On to ATBM! We counted 250 or so in attendance in WHS auditorium (including the non-voters); more came in after our count (school budget supporters arriving in time for that vote). Prior to ATBM, announcements: Carbon Monoxide Detector for every home in Weston (Fire Department project); Police Commission's "Citizens of the Year" Teri Gaberman and Betsy Pereiyne received their award to full throated roar of approval (their latest project: getting a new Food Pantry up and running).

The business of the meeting began @8:30pm and lasted until @9:30pm. Town, School and Capital Budgets all approved as is for fiscal 2010.

THEN AT THE SELECTMEN APRIL 2...
Board of Selectmen meeting hears from Building Committee, and approves unanimously and conditionally (until Board of Education and Board of Finance give the OK) feasibility study request. On the agenda also - renting fields to outside groups; procedure at ATBM for secret ballot, most likely not necessary after Finance Board's cut. The way "secret ballot" has worked at Special Town Meetings in the past is, I believe, that the Moderator reads the "Call" then the penalties for false voting and then sets rules - which would include things such as "if a secret ballot on any or all items is requested, the Registrars of Voters will at the time explain the voting process...") e.g. Special Town Meeting May 30, 2002 purchase of 16 Parade Ground Court - http://www.lwvweston.org/townmtg.htm#may30vote

DELIBERATE DELIBERATION
"About Town" was at the Board of Finance "deliberation" meeting for a short while @9:30pm with our cameraphone - and we figured that there would be a cut made when strong schools supporter on Board commented that of all the e-mails received since the Public Hearing the previous night was a short one from a resident who said (as best as we can recall it) he couldn't afford it (someone who had lost his job, perhaps?) and to please make a zero budget this year.

Finance board members Melissa Koller and Michael Carter confer on the budget on Wednesday, April 1. —Patricia Gay photo

When a Board of Finance member reported on his 20% pay cut @9pm,it was clear the experienced hands that this would be the result!
BREAKING NEWS: Weston finance board cuts school budget request to 0% increase
Weston FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Thursday, April 02, 2009

BREAKING NEWS: Weston’s Board of Finance will send a 2009-10 budget to the taxpayers that is 0.30% less than the current fiscal year.

After a lengthy meeting last night, Wednesday, April 1, that ran close to midnight, the board approved a total gross budget of $63,227,023, a total of $190,563 less than the current fiscal year.

But with revenues expected to be about $436,163 less than they are now, the total net budget is proposed at $60,353,381, which amounts to a 0.41% increase.

Keeping in mind the troubled economy, finance board members said their goal was to get the budget as close to a 0% increase as possible.

The board voted unanimously to set the school operating budget at $43,975,601, the same amount as the current fiscal year, representing a 0% increase. The school capital budget was set at $396,800, which is $21,800 more than the current fiscal year, a 5.81% increase.

On the town side, the finance board set the town operating budget at $10,793,490, which is $167,220 more than the current fiscal year, a 1.57% increase. The town’s capital budget was set at $807,333, a 20.93% decrease from the current fiscal year.

The estimated mill rate is set for 23.50. A mill is equal to one dollar for every thousand dollars of assessed value on the grand list. At a mill rate of 23.50, a taxpayer with property assessed at $500,000 would pay $11,750 in taxes.

Taxpayers will have the chance to vote on the budget at the annual town budget meeting Tuesday, April 21.

Full coverage of the board of finance meeting, as well as of the budget public hearing held March 31, will be in the April 9 issue of The Weston Forum.

FULL HOUSE, ALMOST, AT WMS CAFETERIA FOR BOARD OF FINANCE PUBLIC HEARING: 8pm -10:35 or so (2008, 30 minutes).

Click above for story about Island County, WA problems

The "silent majority" not silent any more, as Finance Board reminded over and over that the economic problems are not going away, everyone is half as wealthy as before and many have lost or will lose jobs and not be able to sell houses in this market. The "F" word as in "foreclosure" mentioned. Meeting lasted more than an hour and a half (only 30 minutes last year). No one pointed out that a shrinking Grand List means higher takes just to stay even with existing service levels.

FIRE ALARM GOES OFF HALFWAY IN...NO ONE LEAVES (SHIVERING OUTSIDE, WAITING FOR THE CHANCE TO SPEAK [AFTER ALL CLEAR]). Board of Finance Public Hearing on the FY09-10 budget almost full house, takes 150 minutes (5 times as long as usual) - out-of-the-box and union contract thinking suggested....

SCHEDUE OF BUDGET PROCESS MEETINGS FY2010

"Any other business" re: A.T.B.M.
Board of Selectmen, March 19, 2009

Just an after thought...following up on the previous meeting's discussion of the rumblings about keeping the budget at zero increase--on the Education side as well as the Selectmen and Capital sections, too--March 19th saw the Selectmen discuss how the process works to get this to happen.

The First Selectman outlined the Weston Charter process as well as section 7-7 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which deals with this budgetary procedure.

Our advice: go to the Town Clerk's office and ask. And/or, attend the Board of Finance Public Hearing on the Budget for FY09-10, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 8pm in the Weston Middle School cafeteria. Be prepared to speak of your reasons for asking the Board of Finance to cut or not to cut the budget. In the meantime, here is some information about how to find out online about these same matters!

WHAT DOES THE CHARTER SAY?

One publication that might inform the electorate in Weston can be found here: http://www.weston-ct.com/media/file/westontowncharter.pdf

WHAT DO THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL STATUTES SAY?

Here is a link to the C.G.S. pertaining to this issue: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/pub/title7.htm

Weston for Fiscal Responsibility forms to urge budget freeze
Weston FORUM
Thursday, March 05, 2009

Weston for Fiscal Responsibility, a community group representing parents and retirees who are mutually concerned about rising tax rates, has begun a petition campaign urging the Weston Board of Education to freeze all salaries and expenses at their current level.

The group already has gathered nearly 250 signatures and expects to be present at popular Weston locations throughout the next four weeks leading to the Board of Finance’s public hearing on the budget, scheduled for March 31.

According to Nina Daniel, one of the group’s founders, Weston for Fiscal Responsibility was created “by popular demand” when it became clear Weston residents were feeling the blows of the current economic crises as much as anyone, including families where jobs have been lost or reduced to part time, and retirees whose savings have been drastically reduced.

Robert Machson, also a founder, noted that teachers’ compensation is expected to increase more than 17% over the next three years, with administrators’ salaries to increase by almost the same amount. “With most taxpayers fearful of losing their jobs altogether, now is not the time to pay large increases,” Mr. Machson said.

The group does not support any cuts that will adversely affect the quality of education. Said another group founder, Martha Diamant, “We hope that school employees will follow the lead of the town and agree to freeze their salaries at the current levels.” However, she pointed out, Weston now has the highest per pupil costs of any comparable school district and the highest property taxes per capita.

“If the school employees aren’t willing to put a cap on their own salaries, then our Board of Finance may have to find other ways to keep the lid on taxes,” Ms. Diamant said.

The group may be contacted via e-mail at WestonFiscalResponsibility@yahoo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.WestonFiscalResponsibility.com.

Members will be collecting signatures and petitions this coming weekend at Weston Town Center and other locations.

Weston finance board examines school budget
Weston FORUM
Written by Kimberly Donnelly
Friday, February 27, 2009

ONLINE FIRST: Teacher salaries and health insurance costs account for the largest chunk of the Weston school budget. As such, they were also the topics most closely examined at Wednesday night’s finance board review of the 2009-10 school budget proposal.
“Approximately 80% of the total school operating budget can be attributed to people,” said Jerome Belair, superintendent of schools. “We’re a service. We are people.”

The school board approved a $45.13-million budget for the upcoming school year, a 2.62% increase over the current budget.

Of that, more than $7 million is being allocated for employee health insurance — a jump that translates into about $764,000 more than this year. On Wednesday, the finance board was interested in several options that might lower that increase.

The schools are self insured, unlike the town, which switched to a fully funded insurance several years ago. Finance board member Michael Carter pointed out that the town’s health insurance costs have remained relatively flat since making the change, while the school’s insurance costs have climbed steadily every year.

“What can we learn from their experience?” Mr. Carter asked.

Jo-Ann Keating, director of finance and operations for the schools, said she and the other administrators are in the process of analyzing bids from four health insurance providers — Anthem, Cigna, Aetna, and Health Net — which include quotes on both self insured and fully insured options. Only after that analysis is complete will the school board be able to make a decision about the best and most economical course of action, Dr. Keating said.

Reserve account

In the meantime, the district is looking at its internal services fund (sometimes called the health reserve account), which was set up to record health insurance revenues and expenses. The goal was to build the fund to adequate levels to be able to cover all insurance claims, she said. “We’ve been adding to it every year.”

Dr. Keating said the schools “originally agreed we would not use it to offset the budget.”

However, the school’s insurance advisor has said the school’s estimate of how high the reserve account should be next year may be higher than necessary.

“They felt fairly comfortable that we could go $600,000 lower,” Dr. Keating said.

Because of this, the Board of Selectmen strongly suggested the school board lower the reserve account by that amount. On Feb. 12, the selectmen voted to recommend a school budget of $44.26 million, about $870,000 less than the schools are requesting.

Finance board members agreed that lowering the proposed $764,000 health insurance increase by $600,000 would be a tremendous help.

Member Jerry Sargent warned, however, that if the money were simply used to offset the budget increase, it would simply defer the problem. “It could be a good one-time savings, but we would be dealing with this next year,” he said.

“The idea originally was to build up the kitty until we had enough money to absorb the conversion to fully funded insurance if we choose to do that,” Mr. Sargent added.

Salaries

The other largest budget increase driver is teacher and administrator salaries. Much of this increase — more than $896,000 — is due to contractual obligations.

Several board members asked if it would be possible to re-negotiate teacher contracts or to ask for a salary freeze, rather than just considering laying off staff as a way to cut salary costs.

Ellen Uzenoff, school board chairman, said entering into new negotiations (a contract was just agreed upon with the teachers’ union a few months ago) would be “opening a whole new can of worms,” and would likely cause more difficulties than it would solve.

“It’s important to know, we didn’t just negotiate [the new teachers contract], we went to arbitration,” she said. “We heartily pursued some prioritized important things for us as a school district,” and many of those would be jeopardized if negotiations were re-opened. The administration can’t just open portions of the contract to discussion, it would have to open up the whole thing and start over, Ms. Uzenoff said.

Mr. Sargent suggested that taking another look at the teachers contract might be worthwhile nonetheless.

“It’s possible we would find the town situation and the economic situation are a lot different” than when the initial negotiations took place, Mr. Sargent said, garnering applause from some of the 50 or so members of the public in attendance.

“This is clearly an issue,” said finance board member Melissa Koller. “There’s not a family in Weston that wouldn’t be happy to freeze [teacher] salaries.” But, she added, there must be a “decent probability” that it would be worth re-opening negotiations, and, she added, she doubts that exists.

Town example

Mike O’Brien, finance board chairman, said the school administration should perhaps follow the example of town leaders, many of whom voluntarily froze their salaries. They need to pay attention to upcoming contract negotiations, as well, he said.

Finance board member Dave Muller agreed. “We need to ask what kind of precedent we are setting now for any other contractual obligations we have in the coming school year.”

Mr. Muller went on to say that he, like many in town, is taking a salary cut this year. “I don’t like it personally, but I think it has to be looked at across the board. But,” he added, “I’m concerned about spending another $30,000 [in legal fees] to open up negotiations.”

Mr. O’Brien said because of state laws about arbitration, “the odds are stacked against us 2-1 in winning out.” But, on the other hand, “we need to stem the growth rate in salaries somehow,” he said.

Mr. Sargent said the schools must have some options, though, including the possibility of voluntary or negotiated salary freezes. “I’d like some commitment that we’ll look at [salaries] again... I really want to push on that.”

TV studio

Over the course of the nearly three-hour meeting, the finance board asked about other areas of the budget in which savings might be realized.

One was a $35,000 request for a TV studio at Weston High School. Superintendent Belair said the studio was part of the high school auditorium renovation project completed in December. The space is already built, and the Weston Education Foundation has already agreed to help with funding, but the school “needs to live up to its commitment,” Mr. Belair said.

Mr. Carter asked the board to find out how many Weston students go on to be communications majors. If there are a lot, “it would be a good investment,” he said.

“There’s no question it would be useful,” Ms. Koller said. “The question is is this the year to do it?”

Per pupil expenditures

Board members also asked about Weston’s per pupil expenditures. Mr. Belair calculated that at $16,256, Weston’s per pupil costs are the highest in the District Reference Group (DRG-A), a group of comparable socio-economic school districts.

Mr. Belair identified four main reasons why Weston’s expenditures are so high when compared to other districts:

•    In other districts, many capital projects are bonded, so those costs are not included in the per pupil calculations, like they are in Weston;

•    Energy costs are high because Weston has several inefficient 50-year-old boilers;

•    Weston’s benefit costs are high;

•    The districts relatively small size plays into the per pupil cost, because expenses are divided among fewer students.

Tech budget

Mr. Carter questioned the schools’ technology budget, asking whether purchasing equipment might be cheaper in the long run than leasing.

Mr. Sargent suggested looking into net books and stripped down freeware as ways to save money.

There are about 1,200 computers throughout the district. Of those, approximately 91% are more than three years old and about 60% are more than five years old.
“Our purchase plan for replacement has been scaled way back,” Superintendent Belair said, but it would not be wise to get too far behind, he added.

The school board meets next on Monday, March 16. The finance board rescheduled its next meeting to Thursday, March 19, so that school administrators can return to the board with the answers to some of the questions raised on Wednesday.

A public hearing on the school and town budget is set for Tuesday, March 31.

Weston's proposed budget: Some jobs eliminated, some salaries are frozen
Weston FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Thursday, February 26, 2009

What a difference a year makes. Last year, most town employees received a 3.5% salary increase.

Reflecting the troubled economy, in the proposed 2009-10 town budget, non-union department heads will receive no wage increase. Town employees belonging to a union are budgeted at a 2.5% salary increase (although a new contract for 2009-10 has not yet been agreed upon), and four part-time positions have been cut from the budget. The first selectman has even taken a 2% salary cut.

Salary increases account for 38.6% of the $188,620 increase in the proposed 2009-10 town operating budget.

As of July 1, four part-time jobs will be eliminated — secretary to the fire marshal ($23,111), town hall “floater” ($17,091), benefits coordinator ($8,222), and town treasurer ($19,713).

The treasurer’s duties will be added to those of the finance director, adding $2,000 to the finance director’s salary; and 3.5 hours per week will be added to the finance assistant — making it a full-time position.

The town administrator’s salary of $117,335, reflects a step increase received in December 2008.

After the board of finance holds a public hearing and approves a final overall budget plan, the town and school budgets will be voted on at the Annual Town Budget Meeting on April 21.

Proposed salaries for Weston town employees in the 2009-10 budget:

Town Administrator $117,335

First Selectman $43,875

Selectmen’s Admin. Assistant $62,702

Finance Director $108,426

Payroll Accountant $58,662

Part-time Accounts Payable (.48) $23,307

Town Engineer $86,052

P&Z Admin. Assistant $48,015

General Maintenance $50,763

Tree Warden $1,000

Info. Systems Manager $72,214

Info System part-time help $7,000 (Records storage program)

Registrar (.25) $10,412 (x2)

Deputy Registrar (.05) $1,543 (x2)

Board of Finance Secretary $3,000

Tax Assessor $84,600

Assistant to Assessor (.70) $26,737

Tax Collector $71,855

Asst. to Tax Collector (.75) $35,996

Town Clerk $71,855

Asst. Town Clerk $45,222

Zoning Enforcement Officer $56,062

Land Use Director (.53) $41,343

Conservation Planner (.85) $47,540

Building Inspector $71,621

Building Admin. Asst. $43,795

Building Committee Secretary $1,200

Chief of Police $96,791

Lieutenant/Captain $2,575 salary differential*

Police Secretary $49,422

Police Sergeant $86,600 (x2)

Police Sergeant (vacant) $11,473 differential

Police Detective $79,199

Police Officer $74,017 (x10)

Police Officer $68,219

Fire Dept. Secretary $11,784

Fire Marshal (.47) $30,010

Animal Control Officer $43,526

Asst. Animal Control (.40) $17,168

Communications Center Managing Dispatcher $62,553

Senior Dispatcher $54,771

Dispatcher $52,384 (x2)

Dispatcher $49,867

Public Works Director $99,955

Foreman $69,695 (x2)

Spec. Equip. Operator Senior $63,725 (x2)

Senior Equip. Operator $63,725 (x2)

Senior Mechanic $68,842 (x2)

Maintainer $58,140

Transfer Station Operator $62,851

Transfer Station Operator $46,051

Conservation Planner (.80) $44,911

Wetlands Enforcement Officer (.20) $15,838

Recreation Director $86,005

Recreation Supervisor $53,985

Rec. Bookkeeper/Secretary $37,504

Rec. Summer Help $1,640

Parks/Fields Maintenance $37,734**

Field Employee (.50) $16,623**

Middle School Aquatics Director $41,751***

Pool technicians $1,948***

Lifeguards $18,450***

Social Worker (.73) $49,963

Part-Time Social Work Assistant (.37) $12,813

Director of Children and Youth $57,058

Program Coordinator (.75) $31,550

Senior Center Director (.64) $31,285

Senior Center Van Driver $27,721

Senior Activities Assistant (.32) $9,469

Back-up Van Driver (.10) $2,666

Library Director $74,294

Senior Librarian $53,985

Children’s Librarian $48,015

Library Assistant $37,496

Library Assistant (.16) $6,214

Library Assistant (.30) $11,243

Library Assistant (.32) $10,234

Library Pages $11,602

Positions less than full-time are designated with a decimal percentage after the job title.

*This position is currently vacant.

**The town pays 30% and the schools pay 70% of these salaries.

***The town pays 60% and the schools pay 40% of these salaries.

OTHER SELECTMEN BUSINESS FEB. 12th...
Director of Finance introduces individual who will operate the Custodial Agreement on G.A.S.B funds

THURSDAY, FEB. 12, 2009: Board of Selectmen votes on the First Selectman's budget, Capital Budget; recommends a number for Education budget and Education capital projects.

We watched it live and in person. The room was packed with pro-cut and pro-no cut proponents. Applause at times.

The individual Townside budget reductions already discussed were from: Arts Commission, Veterans' Committee, Tree Warden, Assessor, Legal representation, litigation, Fire Department, SW Medical, Ravenwood Water System, SW Mental Health; First Selectman reported that Town department heads agreed to no increases or steps; Selectmen to forego stipend and First Selectman takes a 2.5% cut.

Bottom line, we think, was a flat budget at $10,814,850; Capital Budget number not final yet, but that is the intent there, too.

RECOMMENDATIONS ON SCHOOL BUDGET: The school budget was set by the Board of Education at an increase of 2.62 (expected to go down to 2.5%) - or $1,154,289 more the FY09..

By Charter, the Board of Selectmen cannot touch the school budget - but they can let their feelings be known to the Board of Finance, and they did! The Selectmen took a whack at the school budget, recommending the following from the request for a $1,154,289 increase: first came a suggestion to cut $600,00 (Bliss); then the Board of Education found $51,000 to cut, making the amount, now expressed as an increase, of $503,289 (from the previously mentioned total over $1 million)..

At this point, everybody on the Board of Selectmen started to refer to the cuts as "increase over this past year's budget." Why? Because they were actually recommending a $700,000+ cut, and it looked as if the Selectmen didn't want the viewing public to realize that their number was so huge.

All Selectmen said to cut the $35,000 for fittings for the TV studio at the high school. A few more cuts here and there were suggested, with a final agreed upon unanimously number of $44,260,000 plus $389,832 in capital expenses (from Kaestle-Boos Report).

All three Selectpersons noted the LWV of Weston "Speak Up" crowd and the overwhelming requests by young and old and inbetween to keep the budget level this year ("zero" increase). NOTE: "Speak Up" will be shown this weekend on Channel 79, hopefully beginning a continuious run after 12 noon Saturday, Valentine's Day.

LWV of Weston SPEAK UP 2009 notes:
More than 200 in audience at Norfield Church Parish Hall on a nice day!

Q&A: 18 questions/statements total, 14 on the economy, 10 of which were directly noted to be school-budget related, 4 general; other: reassessment, flag procedure, need for cemetery and air traffic. In the order that these questions werer asked:

1.    Reval: how come assessment went up if nothing was done?
2.    Class size: if it increases, familites will leave town.
3.    Taxes: if taxes increase, no one will want to move here.
4.    School budget: how about zero increase? Questioned budget approach. (Superintendant of Schools and Vice-Chair. of the Board of Education answered; Chair. of the Board of Finance as well - pointed out that the suggestion was actually the approach that had been taken.)
5.    School budget: zero increase or people will have to move.
6.    School budget: "arrogance of denial" by administration to financial crisis.
7.    School budget: other towns are cutting down on school expenses - can we?
8.    School budget: what would it take to get to zero increase? (Superintendent of Schools explained the 2.62% increase - which might go down when insurance contract bids come in - is only 0.3% for school program [$900k for insurance at present or estimated prices and $100k or more from reduced special education aid rate.)
9.    School budget: supporter of schools says maybe the time is right to take another look at class size?
10. School budget: philosophic remark, well chosen words.
11. Schools: contract negotiations-binding arbitration question: (All three Legislators responded, with different observations--short version, "not likely.")
12. Budget general: time for "Weston first" programs only?
13. Flag: it still flies 24/7 with no light at night-been asking for three years); "no one seems to care."
14. Financial melt down: general observation of loss of wealth.
15. Cemetery: will we ever get one in town? (First Selectman responds that he hasn't been able to find enough volunteers for yet another try at this - asks if the questioner would care to join...)
16. FAA-air traffic-noise: what's happening? (First Selectman reports that 13 towns are employing the 2nd best attorney to fight the FAA - first best attorney taken by FAA - New York politicians are pushing the flyover routes in our direction, but recently the FAA officials in charge of that agency have been removed because of their bias...)
17. Economy: what will happen when there is hyper inflation (after all the bail-out $$ kicks in)? No answer.
18. Economy: needs v. wants - example of Food Pantry user increase.

CLOSING STATEMENT: Moderator ends the meeting quoting Jefferson. NOTE: More discussion of where Weston is headed to take place, in a land use arena, on Feb. 26, 2009 (a Thursday) from 7:30pm to 9:30pm at Weston High School careteria.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 4, 2009: Board of Selectmen goes over School Budget. We watch the first hour...and the very end.

Presentations by Board Chair. Ellen Uzenoff, describing how the Education budget building transpired; Superintendent of School Belair gives full accounting of where the changes to style and substance are; Director of Finance Keating answers questions about insurance bid process. We watched for an hour on Town TV, noting that when the Selectmen noted that they thought the number of teachers in a particular grade was excessive, there was a smattering of applause.

Resuming watching @9:50pm, I was in time to hear the Selectmen congratulate the Director of Finance and the Superintendent on how understandable the document was this year; a member of the audience was permitted to speak and asked the Board of Ed and Selectmen if they had tried exploring other ways to get the cost of insurance down.
------------------------------

TUESDAY, FEB. 3, 2009: Play-by-play of First Selectman's budget as reviewed by the Board of Selectmen: long, long meeting, bad night for driving...so we stayed home and watched the action on Town TV. By the way, no increase for Channel 79. High points:

INTRO WITH POWER POINT: Grand list growth .7%; current budget over by $167k (snow removal); budget surplus still@$7.5+ million. Helpful indicator of the Weston economy is the numbers on pools, cabanas and tennis court permits - down this year. Collection rate projected at 97.7% (down) for the coming budget cycle. Four part-time positions eliminated by July 1. And a note: collections at 95% for the recent tax bills.

QUESTIONS: Do we have to pay for First Night? Luncheon extras for Memorial Day? Is there money for a Referendum (on the budget)? GIS training? Increase to legal fees?

SPECIAL MEETING ON STRATEGY: at the end of the long, long meeting, Selectmen decided to call a Special Meeting on Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 7:30pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room. The reason is to hold an Executive Session on strategy on union negotiations--since the budget document requires that salaries for next year be reflected in tax bills to be sent out mid-year.

Meetings held at Town Hall except for Board of Finance Public Hearing and ATBM.
Weston schedules times for new budget review
Weston FORUM
Written by Kimberly Donnelly
Saturday, December 06, 2008

Budget packages have been sent to all department heads in preparation for putting together next year’s town budget. The following budget review schedule has been approved for Weston’s 2009-10 municipal budget. All meetings are open to the public.

Joint meeting: Weston boards cautious about budgets
Weston FORUM
Written by Patricia Gay
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

In an era when many are suffering through hard times because of the bleak economy, the town of Weston’s three major boards are taking a hard look at the upcoming 2009-10 town and school budgets.

While the selectmen and the school board talked about possible 3% increases to next year’s budget, the finance board cautioned that even that may be too high.

“This is a different budget year than in the past; there is clearly a difference this year,” said finance board member Melissa Koller.
In an effort to get an idea of how the current financial crisis is affecting the town and schools, members of the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education and Board of Finance held a special joint meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Though no direct action was taken at the meeting, the boards left with the understanding that it was critical to keep costs as low as possible.

“This is reality time. Everyone I talk to is asking what we are going to do about taxes. No one is saying don’t cut them. I have to listen to what people are telling me,” Ms. Koller said.

Mike O’Brien, finance board chairman, opened the meeting by asking the selectmen where the town stood as far as tax delinquencies, bankruptcies, and repossessions were concerned, and if unemployment was on the increase. “We need to get a feel for these things as we plan the budget,” he said.

Fellow finance board member Dave Muller said it would be good to have some kind of metric, or standard of measurement, so those economic issues could be factored into the analysis.

But First Selectman Woody Bliss was not certain a metric could be devised because economic factors are difficult to calculate. For example, he said, a notice of foreclosure on a piece of property did not necessarily mean the house would in fact be foreclosed on.

“There are many foreclosure notices recorded on the land records, but only one actual foreclosure has gone through that I am aware of,” he said.

Revenue stream is OK

As to the impact of personal economic factors on the town’s revenue stream, Tom Landry, town administrator, projected that the town’s revenues would be fine despite possible foreclosure increases because town taxes have to be brought current when the property is reconveyed. “Foreclosures do not affect the tax collection rate,” Mr. Landry said.

Selectman Gayle Weinstein said she is more concerned about what will happen a year from now, and whether homeowners will have trouble paying their taxes then. She said many banks have tax escrows set up and taxes due in July were paid from those escrows. “It will be interesting to see how things are in a year,” she said.

She noted that the town’s social services department is much busier now and has had an increase in families needing financial assistance this year.

Town budget

Mr. Bliss said the selectmen were considering a possible 3% increase for the town side of the budget in 2009-10.

For a 3% hike, that would mean the town’s current budget would increase by $318,000.

Mr. Landry explained that the town had estimated an increase in expenses totaling $465,650, which was $146,850 more than the 3% target.

“Cuts will have to be made in the budget just to get to 3%,” Mr. Landry said.

Several of the estimated increases were employee related and include a $146,000 payroll adjustment for salaries, $9,250 in Social Security increases, $100,000 in health insurance increases, and $7,650 in pension increases.

Other items include $30,000 in energy increases, $71,000 for the Kids in Crisis program, a $37,250 GASB liability, a $5,500 liability insurance increase, and $97,000 for 3.5% increases in other budget items.

The estimated increases were offset by $38,000 from a projected workers’ compensation reduction and expiration of a planning and zoning consulting contract.

School budget

Ellen Uzenoff, chairman of the school board, and Jo-Ann Keating, the schools’ finance director, said the schools were also looking at a 3% increase in their budget for 2009-10.

Ms. Keating said the schools had already implemented some ways to cut costs in the current year’s budget, which would carry over into the next fiscal year.

Finance board member Patrice Kopas asked if the schools were looking at the money spent on such things as conferences, and Superintendent Jerry Belair said they were definitely taking a look at those things. “There may be areas of cost containment, rather than savings, as well,” Mr. Belair said.

Ms. Uzenoff said the schools were also looking at reducing transportation costs by examining current bus routes. “Hopefully, we can turn the octopus into a squid,” she said.

School board member Joe Fitzpatrick said it was also important to look carefully at capital projects and repairs. He said the middle school roof may need to be replaced, and if so, it would be a high-ticket item.

Mill rate impact

In addition to expenditures by the town and schools, Mr. Landry said there were three other factors that will likely increase the mill rate next year.

The first factor is an estimated decrease in building fees ($115,000) and investment income ($250,000).

Mr. Landry said those decreases will be offset by an estimated increase in town clerk fees ($100,000), for a total of $265,000 in decreased income.

He said the second factor is an estimated $171,000 loss in state aid.

The third factor is a $300,000 payment for the construction of the Lyons Plain firehouse.

On the flip side, Mr. Landry noted there is expected to be a decline in the debt service, to the tune of $466,000 in savings.

The items net out at $270,000, or a 0.45% increase in the estimated mill rate.

Not acceptable

After listening to the town and school budget proposals, Mr. Muller said a 3% increase was not necessarily acceptable in light of the tough economic times.

“Although 3% might work, you should be thinking 1%, too,” Mr. Muller said. He added that he didn’t want to wait until the 11th hour to tell the boards they needed to cut their budgets further. “Prepare for it now; that’s why we are having this meeting,” he said.

Mr. Bliss said a 1% increase in the town budget would likely mean some services would be eliminated.

Finance board member Michael Carter said he, too, was concerned about the 3% number. He cautioned the boards not to get trapped into a certain percentage increase.

“Don’t just look at 3% or 4%. There is a mindset that contractual obligations are fixed, but more times than not they are not fixed costs. We need to break the mold,” he said.

Selectman Glenn Major said if building applications were down the town might have to look at reducing staff that is currently manning those departments. But Mr. Landry said he didn’t want to get employees “whipped up” on a maybe.

The joint meeting was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., but because of two lengthy executive sessions at the beginning, it started after 9. Although several members of the public were initially in attendance, only two remained when the meeting started.

Absolute zero budget increase will be required, board concludes
DAY
By Joe Wojtas
Published on 3/12/2009

Stonington - Most of the town's Board of Finance members grudgingly agreed Wednesday night that they must cut the proposed 2009-10 budget to a zero-increase level if they want voters to approve it.
After listening to the Board of Education answer questions and outline its proposed $31.1 million budget, finance board Chairman Glenn Frishman polled his members to see where they thought the board needed to go in terms of a tax rate.

KEY BUDGET DATES
(Times and locations to be announced.)

April 8: public hearing

April 20: town meeting

April 28: referendum

Most agreed they needed to cut the overall $54.8 million budget so there would be no increase in the current 15.1-mill tax rate.

”We have to get to zero if we want to have any hope of passing this budget,” Frishman said.

Director of Finance Maryanna Stevens said to do that the board would have to use a combination of revenue and cuts that total $1.8 million.

Board members agreed they should probably use $500,000 from a debt reserve account as well as $430,000 that has accumulated in interest and money left over from completed capital projects to partially get to that figure.

That would mean the board would still have to cut almost $900,000. Board members said such a cut will force them to look at laying off town and school employees. The school board has already cut 14.7 positions when it cut $900,000 from its original proposal.

Frishman said the board should also look at reducing the money it gives to outside agencies such as libraries and ambulance companies before it begins to lay off employees.

The board will decide exactly what cuts it will make when it meets at 7:30 p.m. on March 18 at the Pawcatuck Middle School.

From AARP FY08-09 study, above...previously, below...
State ranks 3rd in nation for most debt
CT POST
ROB VARNON
Article Last Updated: 07/31/2008 01:15:42 AM EDT

Is the frugal Yankee about to land on the endangered species list? According to a new survey, he or she could be joining the polar bears, as Connecticut ranked third in a national report on monthly credit card debt.

Boston-based Americans for Fairness in Lending released a report Wednesday on the median credit card debt per borrower by state. Connecticut, with $2,039 in median debt, ranked third behind Alaska, with $3,384, and New Hampshire, with $2,109. Massachusetts ranked 10th and Rhode Island was 15th. Vermont was the most frugal of the New England states, ranking 28, with median debt of $1,619.

Incomes somewhat correlated to the debt level as higher income states recorded higher debt levels. Connecticut in 2006 had the third highest household median income, with $63,422. Alaska had the seventh highest and New Hampshire the sixth. As some pointed out, a high debt level combined with high income isn't necessarily a sign of poor fiscal management. Mississippi had the lowest median income in 2006 and also the lowest credit card debt of $1,098.

The Americans for Fairness in Lending is a lobby established by several consumer advocacy groups, some of which include community lenders. The group wants to reregulate the credit card industry — banning certain fees and sudden jumps in interest rates. The group points to the rising level of credit card debt in America as partial proof that lending standards should be tightened to stop predatory lending that's leaving the most vulnerable part of our population drowning in debt.

Jim Campen, executive director and a doctor of economics, said lenders have instituted a number of practices that unfairly penalize lower income people and leave them in financial pits so deep it takes years for them to dig out. At the same time, the banks are profiting by continually whacking these people with higher interest rates and penalty fees. He said many of these borrowers shouldn't have been given these loans in the first place.

"They're blaming consumers, but the banks should say no," he said. Since the banks aren't, Campen said Congress should force them to.

But the American Bankers Association, a lobby for major banks and lenders, including issuers of credit cards, said regulation isn't the answer, it will just add costs at a time when the economy is vulnerable to a slowdown. Carol Kaplan, an ABA spokeswoman, said the free market will work things out. And if consumers don't like the practices of a card issuer they should go to another one. She said regulation will just increase the cost to lenders and tighten credit even further.

Kaplan pointed out that 40 to 50 percent of Americans pay their credit cards off monthly, so this is not a problem for all Americans.

Local economists said the report is out of date because debt levels have expanded well beyond the figures cited. Edward Deak, a Fairfield University professor of economics, said the situation will continue to look worse and he's concerned there will be higher levels of credit card default because people are using their cards to cover expenses their incomes can't cover. But Deak questioned whether it made sense to have Congress controlling spending or consumers.

Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist of New Haven-based DataCorps Partners, said today's debt levels are well past what they were in 2006. He said in 2006, people could still take equity lines of credit on their houses, but that line has been severed by the housing crisis. Because many houses are worth less than the mortgages on them, homeowners cannot take out credit against their equity. Klepper-Smith said today's credit crisis is part of a system- wide problem with our consumer economy, where we've spent beyond our incomes. He noted the federal debt is so high, every man woman and child owes $30,000 on it.

"At some point, we have to start living within our means," Klepper-Smith said.

To do that, it will take national leadership to focus on investment rather than consumption, he said. That means raising interest rates and creating an environment where it's more attractive for people and corporations to invest in new technology and infrastructure, the things that can drive job creation, he said.

While that transformation will take leadership at the very heights of power, Klepper-Smith said every American should be taking charge of his or her finances.

If they don't, he said, "They're living on borrowed time."

Kids in Crisis may lose funds
Greenwich TIME
By Colin Gustafson, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/11/2009 11:16:25 PM EDT

At a time when its counseling services have grown all the more vital to financially distressed families, Kids in Crisis is bracing for the costly double whammy of losing state funding amid shrinking private donations.

Under the two-year budget proposed by legislative Democrats earlier this month, the Cos Cob-based family crisis center could lose all of the nearly $40,000 in annual state funding for its 24-hour crisis intervention and hotline program for families across lower Fairfield County.

Because these funds are allocated solely for the intervention and hotline program, the nonprofit organization won't be able to spread the losses out to the other services it offers, such as temporary shelters for children and one-on-one counseling, staffers said. Compounding these difficulties is a projected $300,000 decline in private donations to Kids in Crisis that is expected to slice its overall budget from $5.2 million in the fiscal year 2007-08 to $4.9 million this fiscal year, according to Executive Director Shari Shapiro.

That's bad news for a nearly 40-year-old organization that, today, relies on charitable giving to pay for 63 percent of its operating budget.

"We have people who are very committed to us, but in tough economic times they're cutting back because they have no choice," she said, adding that the potential loss of state funds "is a blow on top of another blow."

The budget proposal, first presented by Gov. M. Jodi Rell in February, would also target more than $28,000 in funding for the Windham Regional Community Council Inc., one of the only other 24-hour crisis centers in the state. State lawmakers face a June 3 deadline to pass the budget, though political wrangling may drag out the process.

"It's always particularly hard when we have to cut services for kids," said state Rep. Lile Gibbons, R-Greenwich. "(But) to be fair, everything is on the table."

For Kids in Crisis, the loss of state funding would wipe out more than 11 percent of its roughly $350,000 budget for the hotline service and would likely force the center to lay off one of the four crisis counselors who answer the phones, Shapiro said. That could put a strain on the roughly 60-person staff if employees who normally work with children staying at the Kids in Crisis shelter are pulled away from the job to fill the gap in the hotline service, she said.

The 24-hour hotline, she said, serves as a round-the-clock lifeline to children across the region, from infancy to age 17, suffering crises of abuse, neglect, homelessness and mental illness. The center has been receiving the state funding for more than 15 years, she added. Crisis counselors receiving calls from children in severe distress often drive to their homes, sometimes as far as Ridgefield, to conduct a face-to-face "interventions" with families to resolve disputes on the spot, Shapiro said.

When children seek refuge voluntarily, or get referred by police, state social workers or schools, Kids in Crisis houses them in one of two 10-bed shelters, one for kids ages 12 and under, the other for teens ages 12-17. Though headquartered in town, the center serves Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Weston, Westport, Wilton and Ridgefield, and works with more than 70 agencies that help troubled families. Now, as the economy sours and as families' anxiety over finances mounts, Shapiro says her organization is seeing a dramatic growth in demand for its services.

In fiscal year 2007-08, which ended in June, for example, counselors took more than 600 emergency calls on the 24-hour hotline and conducted nearly 200 in-person counseling sessions as follow-ups, she said. Nine months into this fiscal year, the number of calls and visits is about to surpass that tally. On top of that, she said, more children are staying longer at the shelters, where 18 of the 20 beds are now typically filled, compared with about 15 beds, on average, that were filled at this time last year, she said.

Part of the reason, according to Shapiro: Many of the recent arrivals have had no place to go, having been left homeless after their families or families' landlords were foreclosed on. With demand for emergency counseling on the rise, for rich and poor families, Democratic Selectman Lin Lavery says potential funding cuts and revenue losses would come at the worst possible time for both the center and the community it serves.

"We already know domestic abuse is on the rise across all economic lines," she said. "Without Kids in Crisis, there is no other place for children to go in the middle of the night."

Stuart Adelberg, president of the United Way of Greenwich, shares those concerns.

"The incredible value in the (24-hour) hotline is that a mental-health crisis can be handled immediately," said Adelberg, whose organization donated $62,168 to the center in July.

"A kid in a domestic-abuse situation does not want to be told to call in the morning.

"Sometimes there's no guarantee they're going to call again."

Weston's grand list increases by 2.9%
Weston FORUM
Written by Kimberly Donnelly
Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The actual growth in Weston’s taxable property was negligible this year, but because of revaluation, the town will see a slight increase in its grand list.

The town’s net grand list has grown by more than $73.9 million, a 2.9% increase, compared with a 1.9% increase last year and 2% the year before.

“The increase came predominantly from the recent revaluation of real property, which makes up about 95% of the grand list,” said Ken Whitman, the town’s assessor.
Actual growth, Mr. Whitman said, accounts for 0.65% in the grand list increase. The remaining 2.58% was the result of real estate market fluctuation from 2003 to 2008, reflected in the October 2008 revaluation.

The change in values reflected by the recent revaluation is for the period from Oct. 1, 2003 to Oct. 1, 2008, in contrast to last year’s grand list assessment, which was based on the October 2003 real estate market.

“From Oct. 1, 2003 to the end of 2006, the real estate market showed significant appreciation prior to the more recent downturn,” Mr. Whitman said. “Charting the change in real estate prices over the five-year period between revaluations, prices peaked in late 2006 at an increase of about 21% from Oct. 1, 2003 values, then decreased in 2007 and more rapidly in 2008.”

As of Oct. 1, 2008, when state law requires the assessor to value property, “the overall effect on values was about a 5% increase from October 2003 levels,” Mr. Whitman said.

The net grand list, an inventory of all taxable property in town as of Oct. 1, 2008, is $2,629,155,215. That’s $73,970,977 more than the 2007 grand list of $2,555,184,238.

The annual mill (or tax) rate is determined after the fiscal year’s budget is completed and all known revenue sources are projected, with the exception of tax revenue. The town then determines the value of a mill, which is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value on the grand list. The mill rate is derived by dividing the town’s grand levy (its debt) by the town’s grand list.

The grand list is made up of real estate, personal property and motor vehicle assessments.

Real estate

Real estate assessments make up the bulk — about 95%, with residential real estate accounting for about 96% of that — of Weston’s grand list and are figured at 70% of the Oct. 1, 2008, real market value.

Net real estate assessments total $2,499,897,300, an increase of more than $78 billion or 3.23% from last year’s total of $2,421,702,910.

Business and personal property

Net personal property assessments grew 2.02% from the previous grand list, less than the 5.55% growth seen last year — which was down from a 9% increase the year before.

The business personal property increase was “fueled mainly by an increase in the filing of Connecticut Light & Power. Otherwise, the overall trend of the remaining accounts was down,” Mr. Whitman said.

Personal property includes commercial and industrial furniture, fixtures and machinery. These assessments are generally based on 70% of depreciated acquisition costs.

Personal property assessments total $17,789,963, which is $352,765 more than last year’s total of $17,437,198.

Mr. Whitman said there are 287 business accounts in Weston, up slightly from last year’s 281.

Motor vehicles

“Evidence of the economic downturn is reflected in the motor vehicle grand list, which decreased for the first time in memory,” Mr. Whitman said.

Net motor vehicle assessments are down 3.94%, a decrease of $4,576,178 to $111,467,952. Motor vehicle assessments had been running just about flat in recent years, with a 0.31% increase last year, and a 0.6% increase in 2006.

This year, 9,027 vehicles were reported by the Department of Motor Vehicles, 145 more than last year.

Motor vehicle assessments are based on 70% of average retail value. Pricing guides provided by the National Automobile Dealers Association are used to determine value. The state Office of Policy Management recommends the use of these guides.

Top taxpayers

Mr. Whitman said that, as in prior years, Weston’s top taxpayer is Connecticut Light & Power, with real and personal property assessments totaling $11,769,182, followed by Aspetuck Valley Country Club at $9,592,970, and Aquarion Water Company at $7,002,090.

Revaluation and appeals

This past year, the town, under the direction of Mr. Whitman and the assessor’s office, Vision Appraisal Technology of Northboro, Mass., conducted a full measure and list revaluation of all properties in Weston.

The state mandates revaluations be performed every five years; every 10 years, a “physical inspection” is required, meaning that every building is visited and measured. Weston last underwent a revaluation in 2003.

The purpose of regular revaluation is to create an equitable distribution of the tax load. The process is an attempt to determine accurate and equitable values for all properties within a municipality.

Taxpayers who wish to appeal the new assessment to the Board of Assessment Appeals must do so in writing on the approved application form, available in the Weston assessor’s office, or online at www.westonct.gov.

Applications must be completed in full and received in the assessor’s office by 4:30 p.m. on March 20 to be considered.

REVAL ADVISORY

Weston revaluation notices are being sent this week
Weston FORUM
Written by Kenneth Whitman, Weston Assessor
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The 2008 revaluation of Weston real estate is coming to fruition.

The physical inspection and field review stages are complete, as well as the analysis of market sales and the establishment of preliminary values.

Notices will be mailed shortly to each property owner showing the current value, based on the 2003 real estate market, and the proposed Oct. 1, 2008 value. The 70% assessment upon which taxes are based is also included.

Taxpayers should bear in mind these values reflect the change in the real estate market from October 2003 to October 2008, a period in the market that showed significant early appreciation before the more recent downturn since 2006-07. Therefore, over the five-year period between revaluations, the overall effect on values is minimal.

It is also important to note that Connecticut state law requires the assessor to value as of Oct. 1. Sales after October are not allowed to be used in the rigid performance-based testing required for the state to certify the accuracy of the revaluation.

Because the real estate market has continued to decline since Oct. 1, these changes cannot be reflected in the 2008 revaluation figures.

Another important fact — and misconception — about revaluations is that they do not raise revenue for the town. Assessments of all taxable property are simply used as a base for establishing how much each taxpayer will pay in taxes. However, the total amount of the tax levy (total dollars raised through taxation) is based on the budget process, i.e., how much the town needs to fund the schools, public safety, public works, health and sanitation, social services, library, parks and recreation, and general government.

If the propery values increase, the tax rate will decrease, and if the values decrease, the tax rate will increase based on the revaluation alone.

Finally, let me stress that the values being mailed this week are preliminary values. The assessor encourages each taxpayer to review the value and the information contained in the property record for each of their properties.

Consider this phase of the revaluation to be the “public participation” phase. Information on all real property in the town of Weston will be available for perusal by all Weston taxpayers to compare and analyze.

Information on the Web site (www.westonct.gov) and how to request an informal meeting to discuss your property will be contained on the valuation notice that you will receive.

After reviewing the public feedback, the assessor will carefully re-analyze the values and methodology of the revaluation company and issue final valuation and assessment notices, probably toward the end of February.

What we would highlight from the tape is the suggestion that the 4 schools make sure to communicate with one-another, that all three administrators were new to us (altho' we realize that Dr. Ribbons was and is presently Hurlbutt's Principal). Our prediction: the Board of Finance is going to need much more detail than what is available now to satisfy themselves that the taxpayers are getting their money's worth. But maybe we are wrong!

More research was done between workshop #1 and workshop #2 to provide "apples to apples" comparisons between Weston and the other systems in ERG 'A' - not abvailable to the general public yet, so we will do our own research...

NOTE: Board of Education Workshop #1, Tuesday, January 4, 2005 (7pm Weston Public Library)
PROPOSED WORKING DRAFT NOT DISTRIBUTED BECAUSE, AMONG OTHER REASONS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS CONSERVING PAPER - the information below is thus in no way to be considered formal or accurate, and it definitely will change anyway, because even if it were perfect, the Board of Education will not approve it as-is (they never do give 100% approval to staff recommendations)..."About Town" attended first budget public meeting on overall school budget for FY '05-'06 and found out the following (what we heard, since nothing in writing was distributed):