Council Pushes 2011-12 Budget Forward

The Town Council voted 6 – 1 Monday night to approve its proposed 2011-2012 operating budget, with Charlie Keniston opposing. Introducing the proposed budget at the preceding public hearing, Town Council Chairman Mike Clark called it a budget that “meets the needs of the entire community.” The proposed budget includes a 3.22 percent increase over last year.

The challenge in crafting the budget was to maintain town services while also maintaining a reasonable tax rate, Clark said. The Town Council also bore in mind the loss of state revenue and previous years’ cuts to the Board of Education budget, Clark said.

Several speakers throughout the night took a historical perspective. Clark pointed out that since 1994 the town’s population increased 16 percent, causing a rise in calls for service from the fire departments and increases in athletic fields, town buildings, parks and open space. Even though services have grown, Clark said, the employee head count has decreased.

Council member CJ Thomas recommended the budget, likening it to the story of the ant and the grasshopper.

“I have looked at the last four years of spending increases and I’ve seen the town and the Town Council as the ant, working very hard,” he said. The average tax increase over the past four years has been 1.765 percent per year over the last four years, although the inflation rate was 2.14 percent, Thomas said. “When I look at this budget, it’s a result of not just this year but the past four years.”

Others compared Farmington’s numbers to those of other towns. Farmington’s average tax bill, Clark said, was about $5,297 for last year, while Avon’s was $6,327, Simsbury’s was $8,176 and Glastonbury’s was $7,673.

“Farmington is a full 4 mills lower than our surrounding towns,” Clark said. “West Hartford is closing in on doubling us.”

In a presentation on the education part of the budget, Board of Education Chairman Mary Grace Reed called Farmington “a lean school district.” She named several categories of expenses, including special education and transportation, where Farmington falls in the bottom third of the state for spending.

Farmington Taxpayer Association President Harry Kraiza, one of three residents who spoke against the budget, said the current proposal for next year gives Farmington a 30 percent increase in taxes over the past 6 years.

The difference in the tax rate accounts in part for how high Farmington’s proposed percentage increase is compared to other towns, said resident Pierre Guertin during the public hearing. The small percentage  increases of other towns represent a substantial increase in dollars, he said.

Keniston, the lone dissenting vote on the budget, again asked what happened to the 2 to 3 percent target increase the council had set. He said the town’s older citizens are worrying about being able afford to stay in their houses.

“This may be pushing the public a little too far, however, my gauge says it’s probably going to be a very, very close decision,” he said. “Here it’s whatever group gets the voters out.

The average voter turnout according to Mike Clark's presentation is 30 percent. “The entire town budget is usually decided by less than one-third of our citizens,” Clark told the crowd In 2007-2008, the vote was won by four votes.

“We’re talking about taking minutes out of your day that will have an impact on every aspect of your life,” he said. “Talk to your friends, neighbors. Get people out to vote.”

The annual town meeting on the budget will be held April 25.