At their Wednesday, April 20 virtual meeting, the angst felt by New Fairfield Board of Finance (BOF) Chair Mr. Wes Marsh was palpable, as was the feeling of relief he exhibited as the vote passed to move the budget forward. The town will vote on a 3.11% tax rate increase in May.
After many weeks of deadlocked votes, the 4-2 decision was accomplished with a compromise offer that swayed one member, Mr. Mark Beninson, to agreement. While there continues to be unhappiness among some board members about elements of the compromise–borrowing more from the bond premium and increasing interest income revenue by $150,000—there was enough comfort to secure a majority of votes.
In the lead up to the vote at this meeting, there were lengthy discussions regarding the wisdom of one plan or another. Marsh explained that the plan he proposed, which was accepted, had negligible risk associated with it, as revenues are consistently up in town, especially in light of increased building/construction and interest income revenue. Ms. Cheryl Reedy agreed with Marsh, saying “We have always under-budgeted revenue. We are very conservative in budgeting revenue. So, I definitely think that another $150,000 will materialize next year.” She noted about inflation that “the Feds efforts to get that under control will work in our favor here,” saying “interest rates will go up and so we may earn a little bit more in actual interest.”
“$150,000…ain’t a big deal,” Marsh stressed, “compared to cutting operations from budgets…you’ve got to buy the gas, you’ve got to buy the police car, and you want to pave the roads…the level of risk is worth it this year.” To help assuage fears about increasing the money from revenue, Marsh explained that there will be multiple avenues available to balance the budget, from possibly receiving more state money to more extreme tools they can lean on, such as budget freezes for the Boards of Education and Selectmen.
The board members took a last-minute request by the Board of Education to increase their budget total—due to large special education and other spending increases—as a recommendation but did not include any updated financial information in the ultimate vote.
There are still some fears that the current plan will come around to bite the town in the future. Ms. Thora Perkins, who had held out for a lower tax rate increase, observed that she “knew right away—and I think we all knew—this was going to be a very, very unique budget year.” She said that she believes that everyone, including the boards, staff, and public, “has tried to do their best and that’s how I really feel. Everyone is trying to do their best.” Reedy summed this process up by saying that members of the BOF see “the glass as half full or half empty, I think, and I guess we’re all kind of agreeing that it’s half something.”
Dozens of community members attended the meeting to implore the BOF to pass along the budget for vote. Alternate Mr. Greg Williams agreed with many of them, saying that “any budget is better than no budget, and we seem to be getting whittled down by both inflation and obstruction. So, let’s get something passed. Good Lord.”
The BOF also discussed and approved a requested transfer of funds to cover town employee overtime in the communication center. They have been experiencing staff shortages in that department, which is driving up costs.
The next regular Board of Finance meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 7:30 p.m.
By Sarah Opdahl