Politics & Government

Budget, Unchanged, Goes To Referendum

Madison voters will be able to vote on a proposed 2013-2014 budget Tuesday, May 14 when it goes to referendum. 

Voters will be asked to approve a combined town and school budget of $74,023,741 for 2013-2014, a 2.99 percent increase over the 2012-2013 budget. The total town government budget would be $22,142,877, and the school budget would be $51,880,864. 

If the budget passes at referendum, the mil rate will be set the day after the referendum, based on the budget, anticipated revenues, the grand-list, abatements, and deferrals. The town also sometimes chooses to reduce the mil rate with an allocation from the unassigned fund balance.

Mil rate would increase to 20.41 percent, or 3.24 percent under proposed budget

The present mil rate is 19.77, which was an increase of 1.75 percent form 19.43 in 2011-2012, Tung said. The estimated mil rate increase with the present recommended budget would be 20.41, an increase of 3.24 percent. 

Following a public budget hearing Monday night at Polson Middle School, the Board of Finance voted to send on the Board of Education budget, unchanged, to referendum. The vote was 6-0. The Board of Finance also voted to send the town budget, unchanged, to voters. The vote was 5-1, with Board of Finance Chairman Jennifer Tung as the sole dissenting vote. Again. 

Tung said budget should be smaller, more precisely focused

Board members Lisa Marshall Favre, Scott Gyllensten, Sandy McKissick, and Bennett Pudlin voted in favor, along with Vice Chairman James Matteson. Tung also voted against the town budget following the board's deliberations during budget workshops.

Monday night, as before, she said she thought the budget could be smaller, tighter, and more precisely focused on priorities. 

Details are in minutes of the meetings

When asked for specifics, she said they were included in the minutes of the workshops conducted by the board over several months. The minutes of those meetings can be read here. 

"We discussed $213,000 of possible cuts," she said, of the town side of the budget. Instead, the Board of Finance cut about $126,000 from the town side of the budget.

"I heard [from the members of public who attended the meeting Monday night and via email] that people wanted more cuts," Tung said after the meeting, seated at a table with her fellow board members. All of them had already spent countless hours poring over the budget, discussing it with with various town departments and with each other. 

Members of public debate merits of proposed budget

"I also heard from people who wanted it to stay the same," said Vice Chairman Matteson. 

In fact, both Matteson and Tung were correct. More than a dozen members of the public who attended Monday night stood to speak after the budget was presented.

The arguments for and against the budget went back and forth like a ping pong ball. 

Concern about the town's emergency shelters

George Egan started things off by saying he thought seniors in towns were getting short shrift because there is no generator at the senior center, to keep it running during emergencies. He also said there were not enough showers for it to serve as an adequate shelter for seniors during an emergency. He said has for many years served as a volunteer with the American Red Cross and has seen firsthand how emergencies can affect seniors. 

He said the town's emergency shelters are inadequate.

"During Sandy, we had people from Madison sheltered in Guilford, fed in Guilford, and showering in Guilford," he said. He urged town officials to improve the town's emergency shelters. 

Owen Charles in favor of proposed budgets

"I'm George Egan and I approve this message," he said, walking away to friendly laughter. 

Owen Charles was next. He spoke in favor of the school budget. "I would ask the Board of Finance to approve the budget without further changes," he said.

Carol Altieri said she thought town officials should take another look and reduce the proposed budgets. 

Global economic slowdown cited

"We still have a global economic slowdown which weighs down confidence. Seniors on pensions are languishing and enormously struggling. Yet I thank and am grateful for the generous-spirited volunteers that organized the food bank in Madison," she said. "The Wall Street Journal in this morning's paper wrote American economists worry about a spring drop and default in the American economy. The economy is largely unchanged from 2012. In Connecticut, we have serious financial weaknesses now, and unfair burdens on taxpayers." 

Altieri called for no new taxes. 

"Your increased budget costs are outrageously high. Too much money is spent on education ... No new taxes. We desperately need an escape from spending hell," she said. 

Support for vision of school superintendent

Karen Gulcicek spoke in support of Madison School Superintendent Tom Scarice's "vision for the schools," as did Ann Kaminsky. They both asked that the education budget be passed "as is." 

Joe Zimmerman urged town officials to come up with "a more honest and accurate way to present the budget." He said he found it upsetting when a project goes way over the original estimate, such as the Strong Field project. 

Dave Anderson said he "wholeheartedly" supported the budgets as presented and spoke in favor of the implementation of full-day kindergarten. He called the addition of full-day K, "overdue." 

Questions about the town's priorities

Henry Owen said he thought the job was doing an "excellent job" when it came to keeping the mil rate low, but he also said he thought per capita spending on taxes was rising too fast. He asked town officials to go back and look at the budget, asking themselves, "are we spending money wisely and in the right place." He said the town's priorities were not always clear to taxpayers.

Spider Bulyk said he fully supported the budget. 

Tax and spend liberal

"You can think of me as a tax and spend liberal if you'd like," he said, "because that's who I am." He urged his fellow citizens to think of the education budget as an investment. "One of the main reasons people buy houses here is because of our education system" he said. "You, your children, or your estate will benefit" from any investments made in the school system.

"Your home is your biggest asset," he said, adding that the Madison school system is one of the highest performing schools in the state, while also having one of the lowest costs per capita.

In addition to being know for educational excellence, Madison is famous because of it's football team and Tiger Band, he said. 

"Thoughtful and responsible" 

Alisa Masterson spoke in favor of both the town and school budgets. 

She characterized them as "thoughtful and responsible." 

Peggy Lyons did as well, and asked the town not to make any more cuts.

Improvements to a road help improve a neighborhood

Jim Ball thanked town officials for repaving Overbrook Road. "It has changed the environment on our road," for the better, he said. He also spoke in favor of the education budget, saying that "our school system is excellent." 

Barbara Davis said she would have to differ with some of the speakers that preceded her. "I would like to update or correct some of those comments," she said. "I believe property values have gone down." She also said the school system population peaked many years ago. 

"Who are we attracting? Not parents of young children," she said. She said the teachers' contracts were "overly generous." She said the town should look for "greater productivity" in the classroom. 

"Sorry to say budgets should not be approved"

"I am sorry to say that both of these town budgets should not be approved," she said. "They should be looked at more carefully. I am personally going to vote no on both budgets." 

Christopher Traugh thanked the Board of Finance for their hard work and asked that it be passed on to voters "as is." 

No matter where you go ... 

Mary Lorenz said she was speaking as someone who was educated in the town's schools. 

"People know Madison no matter where you go," she said. "People know Madison because of its students, its student athletes, and its artists." 

"You guys have done a great job. Maintain the town budget, maintain the education budget," she said. 

Gram says he cannot support budget

Herb Gram said he's lived in town for 43 years and has earned his spot in the "curmudgeon class." He said he could not support the budget as presented. "I beg you to turn around and do it the right way."

He said the town used reserve funds like a "slush fund." He said full-day kindergarten was nothing more than "babysitting." 

Having their say

"Oh my gosh, that is so insulting," said one of the parents sitting behind Gram. 

Gram said he was concerned that people in town had little or no say over "how things are done." 

Board of Finance Chair Tung said she did not agree. She said that there are meetings for every special appropriation over $50,000. At the meetings to approve special appropriations, there have to be 75 people there to vote on it. "We generally do not get to 75 people" she said. 

Public encouraged to get involved, speak out

"We wish more people would come to our meetings," she said. "Or you can send an email to town hall, to the first selectman's office. It is important that you have your say."

She noted on the Board of Education budget, according to state regulations, the Board of Finance can only approve a lump sum, it cannot tell the Board of Education where to cut funding.

Some members of the public asked why the town had not done more when it comes to regionalization, in an effort to save money. 

Efforts to regionalize not always successful

Tung said that efforts to regionalize services often revealed that possible partner towns were not running their operations as efficiently as Madison. So that would leave Madison actually spending more, or possibly subsidizing other towns' operations. 

When it comes to the high cost of special education, Tung said that there are state mandates that the town must comply with. "Your complaints on that should go to Hartford," she said. 

Barbara Davis asked to speak again and said that with the growth of the budget, "we should have gotten a lot of new services. I don't know what they are. Do you?"

Disagreement a healthy part of process

While Tung did not agree with her fellow board members about the town budget, she noted that civil disagreement was all part of the process, and a sign of a healthy process. 

"It is important to have a Board of Finance that disagrees," she said, nothing that opposition prompts board members to delve more deeply into the numbers and think about them carefully. "Also, it makes the job more interesting," she said, prompting some chuckles from the audience. 

Afterwards, chatting and catching up

After the public comment portion of the meeting, the Board of Finance members met in a corner of the room, and members of the public gathered in the aisles, chatting and catching up.

Topics in the aisles ranged from what people had for dinner that night to the relative merits of a Jeffersonian democracy, where average folks get to have their say in how their government is run. 

Board of Education member Robert Ruggiero, for one, said he was pleased so many of his fellow Madisonians came out Monday night to have their say. 

"It's kind of like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting," he said, smiling, as he walked off into the night to his car. 



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