Passing this budget next week (05/18/2010) will maintain our current level of services, not least of which being all day kindergarten, high school electives, middle school teams, leaf collection, bulk pick-up, the pool, the library, et al.
I see no other option. A reduction in the tax increase means a reduction in town services means a reduction in town value so far as I can figure it. Saying "no" probably feels justified and satisfying, but it does not resolve any of this town's issues, or the state's, or the country's.
I urge all parents of school age children and all residents who enjoy the quality of our community to turn out and vote "yes" on this upcoming referendum. Voting "no" will only lead to chaos in terms of writing a budget somewhere between bad and worse.
Ann Rocco (I apologize for having misspelled her name during my blogging last night) made an excellent point from the other side of this argument last night. She said that if the mill rate goes up, it is not likely to come back down. I don't disagree with her and I don't enjoy having to concede that point. However, I would interject likewise that lost services that this town has historically enjoyed will also never return if cut. It's one thing to add paramedics. It's quite another to return to leaf pick up if we lose that town service and somehow contract out for it. I am of the unpopular opinion that we will then have less, not more, control over the cost of providing such a service. I don't want to be guilty of adopting a "wait and see" attitude, like our First Selectman.
13 comments:
I"m going to vote "No" on the budget and I want to urge your readers to do so as well.
A 3.42 mil increase is just unacceptable as it would bring our overall mil rate to 26.9 from 23.48. This will result in a 12.7% increase in my property taxes.
That's a double digit tax increase on my home that lost 15% of it's value. These numbers are staggering to see in an already recessed economy.
Mike Freda needs to do a better job and make some seriously tough choices and be more fiscally responsible to the tax payers of North Haven.
I can certainly respect your argument. This is a bitter pill indeed. I just fear what happens if we reduce the value of our town when continued investment is such a challenge. There is a tipping point here somewhere. I have no desire to live in many or any of our surrounding towns; I do not want to become more like them by cutting our services and programs. I would also like to avoid being responsible for lay-offs in this economic downturn. My children benefited from all day kindergarten; I can't in good conscience deny someone else that opportunity.
I hear you, you make a sound case, and I respectfully disagree.
Thank you for being here and speaking your informed view.
I just fear what happens if we reduce the value of our town when continued investment is such a challenge.
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I definately understand your fears..but you have to also look at the effect that a 3.42 mil rate increase will have on existing small businesses and business that may want to move to North Haven.
This may make Norh Haven be even more unattractive which will keep businesses away and further shrink the grandlist. If that happens we will be caust in a cycle of higher taxes and shrunken grand lists.
Mike Freda has his work cut out for him keeping existing businesses in North Haven, passing this bill will only make it harder to attract new business.
The town's revenue has shrunk...so must it's expenses.
Your last line there is unquestionably sound. The problem is: what do we cut and what do we lose in the medium and long term for cutting an expense/service in the short term.
I'm all for reducing bulk pick up, though its peanuts to the size of the budget issues.
Likewise, as I understand it from Mr. Freda's presentation, leaf pick up.
I would prefer not to reduce pool and library any further.
Education is off limits so far as I am concerned - and not purely for personal and familial reasons. I know many people working in and for the schools: they are kept very busy and are very thriftily paid.
If you know of anything else we can afford to lose, feel free to let me and everybody know.
Jackson, if you want a cut in services, you don't have to urge others to as well. People should be able to make their own financial decision. The bigger problem is Chris Peterson voting for this budget and then leaving town without having to live with its consequences. How disrespectful to North Haven citizens!
Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic, but I think we need to at least begin the process of some cuts as expenses will only be going up and there is little on the horizon to think revenues will be going up.
Bulk trash and leaf pick up are a start. And frankly so are library hours. With the prevalence of high speed internet, our children need the library at lot less than they did not too many years ago.
It's not a question of good programs, it's a question of what we can afford. I'm concerned that if we don't start now we will find ourselves like surrounding towns with real problems.
I have to object. Libraries are for a LOT more than research. High speed internet does not give students or older citizens the chance to peruse thousands of interesting and informative texts for free and without limitation. Sure, they can shop Amazon, but they won't really know what they're getting. They can surf Wikipedia, but who really knows the validity of anything there - without fact-checkers for publishing houses whose fear is lawsuit. They can wander Barnes & Noble, but there is much that a bookseller does not carry - out of print, reference, etc.
I have to strongly oppose that argument.
Yes, the library has thousands of texts, but the internet has millions of primary source documents, encyclopedias, reference sources, etc. Perhaps it's generational. Students don't sit in a library and peruse books. Many college "textbooks" are computer downloads. Very few people go to the library to do research. I don't advocate eliminating it, just reducing the hours to match it's usage. People take books out and read them at home. A very worthwhile expense for the town. But it doesn't require full time hours.
I agree that certainly something is lost by not sitting and perusing thousands of books, but those days are gone and little is gained by keeping an empty building open full time.
Again, it's not what is good. It's what people can afford.
I'm horrified to think that we are trading trained librarians for bloggers and random wiki sources. But you're right, it's probably generational.
Jackson, if you want a cut in services, you don't have to urge others to as well
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I'm not urging a cut in services directly. I'm urging citizens to reject the budget as is.
It may mean a reduction of services and/or layoffs but this town needs leadership that it's elected leaders are not providing it.
Mike Freda needs to do a better job with this budget and flex some fiscal responsibility.
We shouldn't just accept this budget as is.
Jackson, why would you lay people off when it is unnecessary to do so. Most people who work in this town also live in this town. No one should be laid off unless you are a fake engineer holding an engineer II spot that Rescigno created for you.
Jackson, why would you lay people off when it is unnecessary to do so?
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Oh, I don't know. Maybe a 6-10 million dollar budget defecit. A proposed 3.42 Mil rate increase that translates to almost a 13% tax increase on property owners.
Did you read my earlier posts or any info on the budget proposal? If so, please explain why you think it's unnecessary?
Also, why is it "ok" to spend more then we bring in? and if it' not "ok", then why is a huge tax incraese the only solution on the table?
Just curious, how do you make ends meet when you are spending way more than you make? Because, that's what our town is doing.
I'm not advocating layoffs as the only solution to the budget issues. As a matter of fact, I would love it if Mr. Freda could propose a budget that was fiscally responsible that solved the budget gap without layoffs and huge tax increases, but I just don't think that is going to happen.
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