Board of Finance Adopts $112M Town-School Budget

The Board of Finance (BOF) Monday night unanimously adopted a $112 million Town-School budget that includes a property tax increase of less than 1 percent.

The BOF set the town’s mill rate for the 2018 – 19 fiscal year at 28.64 mills, which is a 0.6 percent increase over the current mill rate of 28.47. Last year, there was a 3.85 percent increase in the mill rate. Click here to read the story.

Finance Director James Finch (pictured) said the mill rate increase for the coming fiscal year means that a property owner who pays $10,000 in taxes will see an increase of $60. During the 2017 – 18 tax year, a property owner paying $10,000 in taxes saw an increase of $385. Last year the state budget process was in turmoil for a variety of reasons and cities and towns found themselves in unusual circumstances. The mill rate is the factor upon which property taxes are determined.

Following the meeting, BOF Chair Joe Mooney (pictured below) told the Eagle this year’s budget process was easier than last year.

“It was much more predictable, and in that respect it was much easier because we knew what the (state) numbers were. We’ve got a good finance group. The board works well together with the first selectman’s office as well as the finance department.”

Last Year’s Prudent Planning — This Year’s ​“Good Fortune”

Following the meeting, Finch told the Eagle that last year’s budget process was ​“exceptionally challenging” because of the state budget crisis. He discussed those issues with the board.

“A year ago, things were looking a lot worse. We planned for it, then things were better,” Finch told the board. We’re taking that good fortune and trying to be good stewards … and putting ourselves in a position to be stronger down the road.”

Last year, municipalities across the state were faced with budget challenges because the state budget was not set until months after the local budgets were enacted. The state was considering major funding cuts to towns and cities.

At one point last year the state cuts, which included the possibility of towns paying for teacher pension costs, could have resulted in a mill rate hike of 7.64 percent in Branford for the 2017 – 18 fiscal year.

“There were a lot of things we were faced with. One of the things we talked about back then was how do we basically insulate the taxpayer. What we did was increase our fund balance to $6.4 million,” Finch told the board. That action meant that although taxpayers had a notable increase in property tax during the past year, it was not nearly as much as it could have been.

When the state budget eventually passed in October, the towns did not fare as badly as predicted.

“Things ended up better than our worst-case scenario,” Finch said in regard to the state budget. ​“We did better in revenues that we thought we would.” Finch said the revenues allowed the town to pay down debt and re-designate funding for some projects.

No Change to RTM Cuts

The BOF made no changes to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) budget that emerged May 8. 

The RTM spent weeks discussing the BOF’s proposed budget that was approved in March, but that scrutiny resulted in only $106,581 in cuts. Here the RTM Republicans vote.

Mooney on Monday referred to those cuts as ​“minor.”

At the RTM May 8 meeting, Republican RTM members who typically show eagerness to reduce costs, made few reductions as they took the final steps in arriving at a budget.

After weeks of committee discussions, the RTM adopted the $57.2 million school budged recommended by the BOF, without making any cuts.
What changes were made came on the town side of the budget, with $106,581 in cuts for what is now a $54.8 million town budget. These cuts came from the town’s contingency fund, from police overtime expenses, from the Branford Counseling Center and from the Blackstone Library’s budget. A $37,000 cut from the counseling center was transferred to the town’s Information Technology maintenance and repair budget.

By a vote of 21 – 5, the 2018 – 19 RTM budget was adopted with five Democrats voting against it. The no votes were cast by Representatives Robin Comey, Peter Jackson, Peter Hentschel, Chris Sullivan, the Democratic minority leader, and Clare Torelli. All RTM members were present with the exception of Rep. Sean Kelly and Rep. James Stepanek. There is one vacancy in the 4th District. The moderator only votes to break a tie. 

RTM Tone is Testy

The Republicans hold the majority vote on the RTM. Several of the Democrats voting against the budget did so, they said, because they were dismayed by the Republican refusal to restore funds to certain entities, especially the Blackstone Library. Overall, the exchanges from both sides of the aisle were testy.

The RTM Republicans proposed a $19,703 cut from the operating budget of the Blackstone. Rep. Frank Twohill Jr. (R‑1), said the RTM wanted to ​“scrutinize the bills and scrutinize the contracts and possibly, if they can do it, costs can be cut.” He said the town pays 86.4 percent of the operating costs. The proposed cut passed 4 – 3 in an earlier committee vote.

Rep. Peter Jackson (D‑3) disagreed with the library cuts, and said it was ​“mean-spirited” and seemed like the library was being singled-out.
​“I think all that money should be restored to them,” Jackson said.

Rep. Marc Riccio (R‑6) disagreed with Jackson, saying ​“We have the right to question, we have the right to ask for invoices, and I think your statement is unfair.” 

In recent months, some RTM Republicans waged war against the Blackstone library’s expansion. In January, the RTM approved the project by a 15 – 11 vote, with objections from the Republicans, although a few voted in favor of the expansion.

In recent months, Rep. Ed Prete (R‑6) and others sought and obtained bills and receipts for the library’s operating costs. Prete insisted ​“we are not micromanaging them.” But it is rare for the RTM to seek scrutiny of bills.

In the end, Prete asked the RTM to restore half of the Blackstone’s proposed cut, about $9,852. He did so after having a discussion with Republican RTM member Robin Sandler, who also serves on the Blackstone’s Board of Trustees. Prete apparently had a better understanding of the library’s needs after Sandler explained the process to him, he said.

Hansen Resigns

At the outset of the May RTM meeting, Jessica Buchanan, (D‑1), who is serving her first term, was named interim clerk of the RTM. The position was recently vacated when Adam Hansen resigned from the RTM following the death of his father.

Hansen (pictured) was serving his fourth term as a Democratic representative from the 4th District, and held the clerk position for four years.

Buchanan is a member of the Administrative Services and the Rules and Ordinances committees.

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