Shelton Aldermen on Thursday passed a $118.1 million budget for 2014 – 2015 that will result in an unchanged tax rate.
A majority of Aldermen said the spending plan would give the city’s schools enough funding to implement full-day kindergarten — discussion of which has dominated this year’s budget discussions — but two board members who voted against the proposal disagreed, and after the meeting school officials said the program couldn’t be implemented with the numbers passed Thursday.
The Numbers
The bottom line on the budget is $118,103,813, an increase of $2,274,906, or 2 percent, over the current year’s budget.
But the mill rate will remain unchanged at 22.31 due to a modest increase in the grand list and other projected increases to items like permit fees, state and federal grants, and other miscellaneous revenues.
A person with a house assessed at $150,000 will pay $3,346.50 in property taxes next year.
The school district will receive $67,845,000 in 2014 – 2015.
That’s an increase of $2,245,000, or 3.4 percent, over the current year.
It’s also $245,000 more than Mayor Mark Lauretti proposed giving to the school district when he presented a budget proposal in March.
In the interim, the city’s tax board made a number of adjustments to the mayor’s proposal — click here and here to read the minutes of their last two workshops — that included using $632,000 of the city’s fund balance with a view to funding full-day kindergarten and eliminate “pay to participate” fees for school sports.
Aldermen on Thursday voted to reverse many of the finance board’s changes after an unusually rancorous debate over the budget.
Debate
Board of Aldermen President John Anglace began Thursday’s discussion with a statement saying the spending plan “demonstrates our ability to work together in the best interests of Shelton’s citizens and taxpayers,” and that the budget won’t raise taxes in tough times.
“This budget provides a spending plan to make all-day kindergarten happen,” Anglace said, adding that the budget also gives the school board enough cash to eliminate pay to participate fees and cover rising costs to special education.
But he said using $632,000 of the city’s fund balance could hurt Shelton in the eyes of credit rating agencies.
Click the play button below to see Anglace’s statement. Article continues afterward.
While discussing the proposal, Alderwoman Noreen McGorty raised doubts over Anglace’s statement.
She said Aldermen discussed a number of adjustments during a workshop Tuesday with a view to giving the schools enough to fund full-day kindergarten and other obligations.
But she said those discussions weren’t reflected in the numbers presented at Thursday’s meeting.
“The discussions that I walked away with on Tuesday was all these numbers are adding up that show our support for full-day kindergarten and I’m trying to decipher if that’s what’s really happening,” McGorty said. “And I don’t have a clear answer.”
McGorty was joined by John “Jack” Finn, the board’s lone Democrat, in criticizing the plan. He said the $245,000 increase for the school system wouldn’t be enough to cover implementing full-day kindergarten.
“I have never seen such short-sighted analysis in my life,” Anglace responded, saying Finn was mischaracterizing the board’s earlier discussions regarding other savings in the school budget.
Anglace and Lauretti pointed out repeatedly that the Aldermen can’t dictate how the school district spends its money, only give them a bottom line.
The mayor complained that the school board gave a “moving target” to city officials regarding its needs for next year.
Click the play button on the video below to see the first part of the discussion. Article continues afterward.
McGorty wasn’t convinced by Anglace’s explanations.
“It’s not clear to me that we are truly assisting them in funding full-day kindergarten,” she said. “Can you show me that that’s what we’re doing?”
“It’s hard to see anything anywhere,” Lauretti responded, appearing to get irritated and again complaining that school officials’ requests have changed over the course of the budget process.
“I don’t get your rationale how you think that we should be basing decisions based on what someone wants or what they think they should have as opposed to what they need or what they need to get something done,” the mayor said.
McGorty said the school district’s changes to its request showed that the school officials were willing to work with the city to effect a positive outcome, but that the city wasn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
“From the numbers standpoint, I don’t know that we’re really doing what we’re saying,” McGorty said.
“When it comes to the Board of Education budget, I don’t think you’ll ever really be able to,” Lauretti responded.
Article continues after video.
McGorty went on to complain that the numbers discussed earlier in the week were only delivered Thursday, a day later than promised.
“This is the 11th hour,” she said.
Aldermen Anthony Simonetti said the school board would have enough funding for full-day kindergarten, pursuant to discussions board members had with the superintendent.
Another board member, Lynne Farrell, wondered whether the numbers added up.
“Do we all feel comfortable that there is enough money in that budget to fund all-day kindergarten?” she asked.
“That’s what we think,” Anglace said.
But Finn read a statement saying otherwise, and said he couldn’t support the proposal as a result.
Article continues after video.
Reaction
After the vote, Board of Education Chairman Mark Holden posted a dismayed update to the Facebook group “Shelton Taxpayers For Full-Day Kindergarten” saying the Aldermen’s budget wouldn’t be enough to fund full-day kindergarten or eliminate pay to participate fees.
Click here to read reaction to Thursday’s vote from among the group’s other 260 members.
Holden told reporters he was “disappointed” with Thursday’s vote.
“The budget that they just proposed looks nothing like the deal that we said was the minimum we could do to fund full-day kindergarten and eliminate pay to participate,” Holden said.
Thursday’s numbers left the school district $1 million short in terms of accomplishing of those goals, he said.
He said school officials would take a closer look at the numbers but doubted any savings they could identify would be enough to cover much in the way of additional programs.
“I just feel at this point that as much as we want full-day kindergarten, it is very unlikely we will be able to make it happen,” he said. “(And) pay to participate is certainly off the table as far as I can see.”
He said the school board would meet over the course of the next 10 days to discuss how to move forward.
“We may actually need to lay a teacher or two off,” he said. “I hope that is not the case but it is a possibility … What I’m seeing here does not look encouraging to me.”
Immediately after the vote Superintendent of Schools Freeman Burr held out the possibility that the school district might be able to get “creative” to save full-day kindergarten, but after a closer look at the numbers said “There is not full-day kindergarten in the picture with this budget.”
“This does not put us in a good place whatsoever,” Burr said.
The superintendent said it was “unconscionable” for Aldermen to say the budget they passed Thursday supported full-day kindergarten.
“You can’t get up there in front of constituents and say you support full-day kindergarten and you don’t put your money where your mouth is,” Burr said. “I respect John Anglace, but I don’t know how anyone could get up there and make that statement, because it’s not even close to being accurate.”
