Seymour’s Board of Education doesn’t want the town to spend $377,000 to hire a full-time school resource officer for each of the town’s four schools.
The new money was included in the town’s $53.8 million budget proposal for 2013 – 2014 — and was expected to be discussed during a public hearing on the proposal Wednesday (April 10).
But Board of Education Chairman Yashu Putorti deflated that conversation by making his announcement at the beginning of the hearing.
“While we’re grateful for the commitment the town has made to this position, we do not think an expansion of school resource officers should be a first step in addressing district-wide security,” Putorti said.
The public hearing was held solely to get feedback from the public on the proposal, which would result in a 3.3 percent tax increase if approved as-is.
The Board of Finance will meet on Monday to review the feedback and potentially make changes. Putorti’s statement will likely be the focus of discussion, according to Board of Finance chairman Trish Danka.
“If the Board of Education is not interested in having those officers … it will be something we will strongly consider removing,” Danka said during the hearing, noting that she couldn’t speak for the full board yet as they haven’t discussed it.
The Board of Education wants to wait until the town-wide security committee — formed in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December — has a full recommendation before it starts making major changes, Putorti said.
“Yes, we want to protect our kids,” Putorti said after the meeting. “But we need a plan… To jump in and do this now is really not a good decision.”
The topic only came up a couple times during the hearing.
“Thank you for using a little common sense with the officers,” resident Fred Dean said to Putorti during his brief comments.
Budget Details
The total budget proposal for town and schools is $53,803,630. If that figure was approved at referendum, the town’s tax rate would go from 32.83 mills to 33.91 mills — a 3.3 percent increase.
That means a person who owns a house assessed at $230,000 would see their property taxes go from $7,550.90 to $7,799.30.
But if the finance board does take the $377,000 for the school resource officers out of the budget, the mill rate would be 33.59 — meaning taxes on the same house would be $7,725.70.
The proposal endorsed by the finance board fully funds the Board of Education’s budget request for next year, which totals $31,113,984.
The proposal looks different from years past, according to First Selectman Kurt Miller, who made a short presentation before the hearing.
“This packet is designed to make it as easy to read as possible,” Miller told the crowd of about 50 people. “The Board of Finance is trying to be as proactive as they can, trying to improve our communications.”
The proposal now includes footnotes below major budget changes — both increases and decreases.
For example, under the line item for Highway Wages and Maintenance, the footnote explains that the department will hire four seasonal employees from May through September to maintain town parks (a $20,000 increase).
Specifics
Miller addressed some of the departments that saw the biggest increases in the proposal.
For example:
- The assessor’s office has a new $33,000 line item to start planning for another revaluation in three years. The department would increase 16.3 percent in the proposal.
- Town Building is proposed to increase about $53,636, or 15.6 percent, because of added maintenance and utilities for LoPresti School, which the town is trying to sell.
- The Police Department budget has a proposed $56,200 increase, or 1.52 percent, which would fund all open positions in order to reduce overtime costs. It also includes two police cars.
Public Feedback
Only a handful of people spoke during the hearing — including one resident who stood up simply to say he was happy with the town in general.
Steven Kulas, a member of the town’s Library Board, asked the Board of Finance to give the library half of the $6,000 increase it had requested. The library budget will decrease by $730 in the budget proposal.
Kulas said the board pays for its own heat and most of its books from other funds.
“If you were to restore just half of your cut, that would give us an additional $3,000,” Kulas said. “We’re asking for just half of it back, and we probably can make ends meet.”
Board of Education member Ed Strumello asked Miller if town employees were given the same scrutiny that school employees were. His main concern: Is the town’s Economic Development Director being reviewed?
Strumello said he was concerned watching Derby add new business while Seymour has struggled.
“And we’ve got this $42,000 in the budget (for the director’s pay),” Strumello said.
The Economic Development Director has had one review, and will face more, Miller said.
“But we need to understand it’s not as easy as snapping our fingers or waving a magic wand,” Miller said.
Seymour needs to continue to improve its image to attract new businesses, he said.
The town’s annual budget meeting, where taxpayers can comment on the final budget before it goes to a vote, is tentatively scheduled for April 30.
The budget referendum is scheduled for May 9, at which time citizens vote on the town and the school budget separately.
