Simsbury, CT - Board of Finance

Chairman Paul Henault called the Board of Finance Public Hearing for the 2002/2003 Operating Budgets to order at 7:33 P.M. in the Simsbury High School auditorium, 34 Farms Village Road, Simsbury. The following members were present: Peter Askham, Candace Fitzpatrick, Nicholas Mason, Kevin North and Michael Wade. Also present were First Selectman Thomas Vincent, Finance Director/Treasurer Kevin Kane, Superintendent of Schools Joseph Townsley, Board of Education Business Manager David Holden, Board of Education Vice-Chairman Richard Hogan and other interested parties.

Mr. Henault introduced the Board of Finance members and the other participants listed above. He reviewed the purpose and procedure for the Public Hearing. He then mentioned the upcoming Town Meeting on May 7th and the Budget Referendum on May 21st. He briefly reviewed the proposed 2002/03 Operating Budgets: Board of Selectmen - $13,519,941; Debt Retirement - $4,286,630; Board of Education - $45,734,366; and Non-Public Schools - $345,565 totaling $63,886,502.

Mr. Vincent acknowledged the people who worked hard to help him put together the BOS budget: the members of the BOS, Assistant to the First Selectman Brandon Robertson, Department Heads and Kevin Kane. Mr. Vincent presented the BOS budget (3.49% increase) and noted the reductions that were necessary in order to stay within the BOF's spending guideline of 3.5%.

Mr. Hogan recognized the BOE members and the time they put into the budget process. He presented the BOE budget (7.51% increase). He noted that two major items driving the budget are the projected increase in enrollment (and the resulting increase in staffing) and special education requirements (15.1% of the total school budget). He stated that Simsbury is ranked 100 out of 169 towns in per pupil expenditures (2000-01 comparative data) which is last in ERG A (Educational Reference Group).

Mr. Henault stated that the role of the Board of Finance is to balance the expenditures with the revenues. He went over the mill rate development and the basic mill rate formula. He demonstrated the tax impact from the proposed budget request for homes assessed at 70%.

Joan Coe, 26 Whitcomb Drive, referred to the BOF's 3.5% guideline and stated that while the BOS budget is within this guideline, the BOE ignored the direction of the BOF. She questioned the process involved in the BOE getting to the 7.51% increase. She stated that many classes in junior and senior high have very few students. Classes with under 20 students per class number 582. She questioned why the BOE will be adding a third vice-principal at the high school. She stated that high taxes reduce property values and diminish the expectations of any economic development. She will be voting "no" on the BOE's budget.

Mr. Hogan responded and said that the BOE looked at every facet of the budget and looked for cost-savings in trying to meet the BOF guidelines. He noted that Simsbury's budget increase is lower than many surrounding towns'. Dr. Townsley commented on class size. He stated that the small classes are for students with very special needs. He also noted that class size may be affected by the difficulty in trying to schedule students around all their other classes.

Bob Rumbold, 30 Walker Drive, spoke for Simsbury Little League Softball. He asked that a line item be added into the Central Administration budget to support volunteer organizations, part of which would be used to complete Field #6, the fast-pitch softball field at Memorial Park.

Raymond Dry, 43 Long View Drive, asked that the BOS budget not make cuts to the library. He noted that he served on the BOE for 28 of his 50 years in Simsbury, and preparing a budget was always difficult. He stated that he feels the BOE's proposed budget is reasonable and should be sent as is to the May referendum. He mentioned that Granby has developed a system that makes the annual budgeting process smoother, less controversial and less confrontational. He suggested that the BOF look at Granby's process and consider trying something like it.

Jean Gazzola, 9 Briarwood Drive, said her daughter graduated from Simsbury High School 25 years ago and she and her husband retired three years ago. She stated that she is very upset that the hours at the library will be cut since she goes there often. She always sees loads of people there, and the staff is already very busy. She noted that the school system and library go hand-in-hand, and if you have a good school system, you should have a good library.

Elizabeth Banco, 5 Ryan Circle, co-chair of the Simsbury Tourism Committee, is unhappy with the cutting of the Visitors' Center line item. She feels it is a very important part of economic growth in town.

Wayne Cobleigh, 8 Crestwood Road, supported the original budget increase proposed by the BOE and superintendent of schools. He moved to this town because he values education. He feels that the insurance increase should be considered an extraordinary expense, a special one-time allocation. He also supports the town's efforts on Open Space which will do a lot for preserving the quality of life in Simsbury. He supports the Economic Development Fund. He is very proud of the education system in Simsbury.

Randy Giangiulio, 63 Hildurcrest Drive, questioned the comparisons between tax revenues and cost per pupil. He thought it would be helpful to break the revenue down between industry and residents and show comparable numbers for other towns. He stated that people move to Simsbury for the education and because it's a good place to raise a family. He wondered then why there's always such trouble each year in approving the BOE budget.

Mr. Henault responded by saying that the BOF guideline is based upon a number of factors: Social Security increases, wage increases, salary increases in the public sector, in the private sector, the U.S. and Connecticut unemployment rate. He noted that approximately 16% of the Grand List comes from commercial and that Avon and Farmington have a better commercial base than Simsbury. But when the taxes have to be raised in Simsbury, it goes basically right to the property owners. That's why there's a struggle every year. An onerous tax rate will drive people out, will drive the value of homes down and won't allow for commercial businesses to move into town.

Mr. Vincent reminded the audience of the Annual Town Meeting on May 7th. The $500,000 for economic development would help him in his presentations that he's been making to solicit new business. He stated that one of most important things for Simsbury's economic development is to expand the businesses already in town. He asked the audience to vote "yes" on May 7th.

Chris Drew, 22 Sunset Hill Road, president of Simsbury-Granby Rotary Club, supports Tom Vincent's proposal to allocate $50,000 to offer incentives to community organizations for projects that improve the town.

Barbara Zachs, 27 Canton Road, stated that her son is autistic and that 5 1/2 years ago 60% of autistic people were functionally mute. A recent statistic stated that 80% of autistic children can talk because of the intensive early education programs like the ones Simsbury offers. Simsbury is one of the best in the state and the nation. Her son, who is 7 years old, was not predicted to talk but now has 5,000 words, and he will not go to an institution. Institutions are a burden on taxpayers, and keeping autistic children out of institutions will, among other things, save Simsbury taxpayers a phenomenal amount of money. We can give our children a better life by investing in them now.

Alix Schultz, 949 Hopmeadow Street, came to Simsbury three years ago and was impressed by everything about the Simsbury library. She stated that it is a wonderful resource and asked that the $27,000 be restored to the library's operating budget.

Beth Ballentine, 44 Berkshire Way, stated that there's not a lot of fat to trim in the BOE budget. There's nothing in the budget that's frivolous. Quality will go down if the budget continues to be cut.

Peg Albert, 9 West Ridge Drive, has lived in town for 37 years, and the Historical Society had always been the visitors' center. She stated that it has everything the Visitors' Center has except that it is free. She has no problem with the Visitors' Center cut.

Joyce Howard, 116 Terry's Plain Road, co-chair of the Simsbury Tourism Committee, urges the continuation of the Town of Simsbury Visitors' Center. It is open more consistently than the Historical Society and has played a significant part in reaching out to people. Over the past two years there have been over 1,500 inquiries and about 4,000 individuals who have gone through. Their purpose is to bring fresh dollars into town to help support the businesses that are here. It is a part of economic development.

Jack Sennott, 23 Adams Road, stated that this is a minimum budget driven by insurance costs, collective bargaining and enrollment. The Town needs more commercial development. Say "yes" to the BOE budget and to Economic Development.

Pradeet Bajaj, 12 Massaco Street, stated that his family uses the library often, and it plays an important part in town. It would be counterproductive to reduce funding to the library.

Joanne Perry, 59 Munnisunk Drive, supported the BOE's original budget. She stated that she thinks the BOE has done a very thorough job, and the budget is down to the bare bones.

Jim Gazzola, 9 Briarwood Drive, stated that Simsbury has a very fine school district, and that the library is an important plus in Simsbury. There's a very high correlation between a class school district and a class public library. Please don't cut the library's budget. He noted that the winter was mild, and there should be money left over from the budget. Can that be used for the library?

Mr. Kane responded that there is around $65,000 left over from the snow removal budget. The BOS & BOF need to approve any transfers between line items. But the budget is for only one year, July 1st through June 30th, and money can't be carried over to the next fiscal year. The storm excess must be used for this year's shortfalls.

Vicki Saucier, 8 Musket Trail, stated that she fully supports the budgets as they stand now. She expressed concern over the cutting of the CABE membership in the BOE budget and felt that it might limit our ability to influence state legislators and the State allocation of funds for education. In the BOS budget it looked like $23,500 was cut from a business initiative, and she asked for clarification. She urged the BOF not to cut anything that might potentially affect long-term solutions.

Mr. Vincent stated that the $23,500 is being cut from economic development for marketing for new businesses. Mr. Hogan stated that the BOE did cut $10,000 that is usually appropriated to CABE. They can still take advantage of CABE classes and programs that they offer.

Nancy Haase, 1 Stonehenge Drive, stated that she signed a petition favoring the original 8.94% BOE budget. She added that more than 1,700 people signed the petition. She felt that the BOE has been judged harshly for not meeting the BOF 3.5% guideline.

Diane Roach, 14 Pond Side Lane, supports the BOE budget. She expressed concern over the large class sizes in Tootin' Hills. She questioned whether the BOS cuts would include not plowing the roads until 7:00 A.M. She also asked about the budgeting of legal fees for next year.

Mr. Vincent referred to the $77,000 cut to the highway budget and would at some time affect when and at what time the roads get plowed. The legal fees for the unions going to arbitration is not in the budget. Meadowoods legal fees are also not in the budget.

Joan Coe, 26 Whitcomb Drive, asked what the process is before the BOE gets the budget. Does Dr. Townsley go to his administrators, tell them that there is a 3.5% guideline, and ask them to present to him their needs within that 3.5%?

Mr. Hogan stated that the BOE asks Dr. Townsley every year to propose a spending plan that provides for quality services for children in the most cost effective way. He added that they met with the BOF in December and made it clear that a 3.5% spending plan was not realistic for their needs. After Dr. Townsley gives them his spending plan, they look at it over a three-month period and adopt a budget. Dr. Townsley added that he does tell those responsible for giving him their initial budget requests that there is a 3.5% guideline.