Town Council Approves Budget With 3.97 Percent Tax Increase

After six hours of discussion Saturday morning, the Town Council passed a bipartisan budget. While each member said the numbers are not ideal, they agreed it is the best budget they can present for 2011-2012. Charlie Keniston alone voted against the budget.

The final number results in a 3.97 percent increase in taxes and a tax rate of 21.27. The Board of Education’s proposed 5.79 percent increase was cut to 4.83 percent.

The Board of Education’s requested $54,472,399 was reduced to $53,978,296 and the $275,000 recommended for a wireless network was cut to $230,000.

The Board of Education's operating budget included $173,000 to fund technology equipment, which Council Chairman Mike Clark suggested putting into the capital budget to reduce the school side without risking teachers or programs. But as numbers continued to decrease, and teacher layoffs looked inevitable to reach a percent tax increase the councilors could agree on, CJ Thomas suggested they move the funding back to the operating budget. The move didn't change the bottom line, but it does allow the Board of Education to choose what it will spend the money on – teachers or technology.

Though trying to provide the schools with as much funding as possible, council members voiced a commitment to not raising taxes by more than 4 percent. CJ Thomas asked what $450,000 in cuts to the Board of Education budget would look like.

Betsy Kaplan, acting chairman of the Board of Education, said Superintendent Kathleen Greider had identified $261,000 in cuts that could be made without impacting students. Beyond that, Kaplan said, children would be affected, with cuts most likely being made to athletic and remedial programs, and then possibly layoffs.

The town operating budget, which Town Manager Kathy Eagen brought in at a 3.04 percent increase over last year, was reduced to 2.8 percent. The decrease will result in cuts to streets and fleet overtime accounts, various supplies accounts, and a decrease in the library budget, among others.

Fire and police capital project requests are fully funded, including the replacement of 20-year-old fire hose, technology and communication upgrades for the police department, and a patrol shift supervisor's SUV. The Town Hall upgrade plan will also continue next year as part of a multi-year project.

The Town Council’s budget uses $800,000 of the bonded money left over from the Westwoods Upper Elementary School capital project. The money totals $1.1 million that Eagen had recommended spending equally over three years. But, the council said, next year’s budget should not be as difficult as this year’s, if for no other reason than the teachers’ union contract will be renegotiated this summer. The union refused to give back any of a 2.65 percent wage increase and a 2 percent step increase over the past three years.

After hours of talks and several party caucuses, Clark urged the council to present a unanimous budget to the town. Clark said he was impressed with how the council members worked together to try to maintain the value Farmington offers, both in quality services and a low tax rate.

“I’m very proud to be a part of this team. … I’m pleased that we were professional, that everyone was open-minded and could work together … and I think we all brought something to the table — new ways to approach things that resulted in this budget,” Clark said.

John Vibert, one of two council Democrats, said the amount of collaboration between the two sides of the table encouraged him to support the budget, despite it not being ideal.

“What’s critical to me is that we get through this last year of a difficult contract with our teaching staff, with the educational foundation in tact. Obviously we’ve gone back and forth with these numbers and there’s some question about whether this is in fact a number that can do this, but I think we’re close enough to a workable number for it to occur, so while this is not obviously the number I would put forward, it is a number I can agree to,” Vibert said.

Mike Demicco, the other Democrat, said the budget is disappointing, but “the best we’re going to be able to do considering the economic times that we’re in.”

The Annual Town Meeting will be held on April 25 and the referendum will be May 5.