Wallingford budget passes with additional cuts

As published in the Record Journal Thursday May 16, 2013
By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD — In adopting Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s $147.4 million budget Tuesday night, the Town Council approved additional cuts to an already tight Board of Education budget.

 

Dickinson revised his initial spending proposal last week, cutting expenditures by $531,411 from his initial $147.94 million request in early April. Spending cuts were made by Dickinson to counteract a reduction in state aid by the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee. Of the cuts made to the budget, the largest was $279,411 in funding to the Board of Education.

 

“Is this something I’d hope we’d be doing right now? Absolutely not,” School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said on Wednesday. “It’s not going to be easy.”

 

Menzo prefaced comments about his concerns by saying he has the “utmost respect for the mayor and the tough position he’s in.” Menzo said that while his job and that of theBoard of Education is to secure as much funding as possible for the school system, “we have to balance that with the realization we are a member of a community.”

 

If Dickinson needs to reduce funding to the Board of Education to create a balanced budget, “we’re going to make that happen,” Menzo said. “I have to trust his decision is the right decision.”

 

The Town Council passed the 2013-14 budget just before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday after a six-hour meeting. It reflects an increase of $2.27 million over the current fiscal year and will raise the tax rate to 26.22 mills, up 0.24 mills. Dickinson said that the owner of the average residential property, assessed at $191,000, will pay $5,008 in property taxes, compared to $4,962 under the current rate, an increase of $46. A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in taxable property value.

 

Besides the Board of Education budget, Dickinson, a Republican, also cut seven projects in the Public Works and Engineering Department budgets in order to adjust forreduced state aid. The second largest cut was $110,000 necessary for the comptroller’s office to perform revaluation.

 

“Very little of anything here is not something that is needed,” Dickinson said of the revised cuts made to the budget. “None of these things are easily thrown away. It’s under the pressure of finding $500,000 to balance a budget.”

 

Due to the budget cut and increased expenditures, Menzo said the Board of Education needs to make up about $550,000 in its budget.

 

“My goal is not to stir up alarm,” Menzo told councilors Tuesday night. “There will be most likely some initiativesthat won’t be able to move forward and we will have to reduce the things we’re doing at present.”

 

Menzo said Wednesday that the board may consider reducing the purchase of technology by $400,000 and development of curriculum by $150,000 to balance its budget.

 

Town Councilor John Sullivan, a Democrat, was opposed to cutting the Board of Education budget any further and proposed an amendment to reappropriate money to the board.

 

“What’s important to us in this town? Education,” Sullivan said. “Next to public safety, it’s education.”

 

Sullivan said he would rather see the tax rate increased to offset reductions in state aid than cut money for education. But Sullivan’s amendment failed because a majority of councilors couldn’t support an additional tax increase.

 

“I think the tax increase here is too much as it is,” said Fishbein, a Republican. “I can’t support expenditure without an offset in the revenue.”

 

Fishbein proposed five budget amendments to offset reductions in state aid through different avenues than the mayor, the largest of which would have reduced the library’s budget by $200,000.Fishbein reasoned that the library has accumulated a $500,000 surplus and could afford the cut. None of Fishbein’s amendments passed.

 

“I’m just not comfortable supporting any additions to the budget” due to the fluid situation with state funding, said Town Council Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, a Republican.

 

Town Councilor Jason Zandri, who supported Sullivan’s amendment, said increasing the tax rate to balance the budget instead of cutting education money would only mean an additional $5 a month for the average household.

 

“The lesser of the two evils here is to charge a little more in taxes,” said Zandri, a Democrat.

 

Town Councilor John Le-Tourneau, a Republican, suggested the town use reserve funds in order to restore the Board of Education budget, but Bowes said using reserves would not be prudent since the town already used $4.3 million in reserves to balance the mayor’s original budget proposal.

 

“We’ve got to get ourselves off that reliance,” Bowes said.

 

“Now is the time to use it,” LeTourneau responded, referring to the reserve, or “rainy day” fund. “It can’t pour any more than it is right now.”

 

Responding to LeTourneau’s point, Dickinson said “inevitably I’m going to disagree,” reasoning that the state’s tendency to spend is what caused cuts in aid to the town in the first place, and “we shouldn’t repeat it here.”

 

The council took two separate votes to approve the budget. On the revenue side, the budget passed 7-2, with Economopoulos and Zandri voting no. On the expenditure side, the budget passed 5-4, with Economopoulos, Fishbein, Sullivan and Zandri voting no.

 

Dickinson said that he was told by the town’s legislative delegation an additional $1.2 million in state aid to the town “is still under discussion.”

Dickinson budget attracts discussion

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday April 11, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD - The Town Council held a public hearing Wednesday night on Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.’s proposed budget.

The public hearing gave residents their only chance to publicly question town employees and officials on Dickinson’s proposed $147.94 million budget for 2013-14, which represents a 1.94 percent, or $2.81 million, increase over the current budget. The council offered no opinion on the budget during the hearing, instead withholding questions for budget workshops that are held with each town department over the next month.

Only four residents asked questions during the hearing, with most of the questions asked by Bob Gross. Of the 46 entities that were budgeted for and available for comment on Wednesday evening, questions were only asked of 12.

One of the more contentious topics of discussion came about when the government access TV budget was opened for discussion. Gross asked about putting town meetings online.

“Why isn’t this being accomplished?” he said.

“It’s not being done because it hasn’t been approved to be done,” Dickinson responded. “We’re not doing it. It means more cost, and we’re not doing it.”

Dickinson said that as long as the state requires the town to provide DVDs upon request, meeting videos won’t be put online. Dickinson also argued that more people can be reached through television anyway.

Gross responded that it being 2013, “the Internet would be the easiest way to reach most people.”

“You are wrong,” Dickinson said. “Most people have televisions. There are large portions that are not going to be on the Internet, but most own televisions.”

Scott Hanley, manager of the government access station, said he estimates it costs about $20 in staff time to make a DVD for one resident.

During discussion of the mayor’s portion of the budget, Gross said that he hopes the Town Council will raise the mayor’s salary.

Dickinson, mayor since 1984, makes just over $73,000 and hasn’t taken a pay increase in more than a decade.

“Whoever the mayor is deserves a salary greater than $73,000,” Gross said.

Dickinson wouldn’t comment Wednesday.

Also discussed were the Police Department, Board of Education, Program Planning and Planning and Zoning.

Town Planner Kacie Costello, asked if the town is moving forward with refurbishing lower downtown, said that “it’s hard to say at this time” whether the Incentive Housing Zone will be approved. The IHZ is a state program that creates an overlay zone, in this case over several areas in downtown Wallingford, that includes zoning restrictions written to attract developers.

Even if the IHZ isn’t approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission, Costello said she’s going to try to encourage development downtown.

The mayor’s proposed budget will next be discussed tonight, with the focus on the Board of Education, in a special council meeting at Town Hall. The meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium, will give town councilors a chance to look closely at and question the Board of Education’s budget. Members of the public will not be allowed to ask questions at this meeting.

PUBLIC HEARING on the 2013-2014 BUDGET

TOWN OF WALLINGFORD, CONNECTICUT

Special Town Council Meeting

WEDNESDAY

APRIL 10, 2013 - 6:30 P.M.

Town Council Chambers

PUBLIC HEARING

on the

FY 2013 – 2014 BUDGET

AGENDA

1. Pledge of Allegiance

2. Roll Call

3. PUBLIC HEARING

Ambulance/EMS Transport Fund
Animal Control

Board of Assessment Appeals
Board of Education
Board of Ethics
Board of Selectmen
Building Department

Cafeteria
Capital Appropriations Reserve
Capital and Non-Recurring
Capital and Non-Recurring Fund
Civil Preparedness
Conservation Commission
Contingency Account

Debt Services

Economic Development Commission
Employee Insurance and Other Benefits
Engineering Department

Finance Department
Fire Department
Fire Marshal

Government TV

Health Department

Inland Wetlands
Insurance-Property & Casualty

Law Department
Library

Mayor

Parks and Recreation
Pension Fund
Personnel, Pensions, & Risk Management
Planning & Zoning
Police Department
Probate Court
Program Planning
Public Utilities Commission
Public Works Department

Registrars of Voters

Six-Year Capital
Social Services Contributions

Town Council
Town Clerk

Utilities –Electric, Water & Sewer Divisions

Veterans Service Center

Youth & Social Services Bureau

Zoning Board of Appeals

Wallingford - Mayor’s proposed budget cuts are smallest in years

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday April 4, 2013

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD – Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. trimmed just more than $1.5 million from general government budget requests for fiscal year 2013-14 — the lowest amount he has cut in the last four years.

Last week, Dickinson proposed a $147.94 million budget for 2013-14, which represents a 1.94 percent, or $2.81 million, increase over the current budget. Government departments other than education and utilities requested $57,918,538, which Dickinson cut to $56,407,204. Even with that reduction, the figure is an $856,571, or 1.54 percent, increase over the current year.

The reduction is the lowest since 2009, when Dickinson reduced general government requests in his budget proposal by $953,900. Dickinson, a Republican, said “two things” played a large role in the lessened reductions.

“Certainly departments aren’t requesting as much,” Dickinson said, and “our ability to add so many items back in through the use of reserves” offset some reductions. Since Dickinson became mayor in 1984, he said, reserve funding has regularly been used to supplement the budget.

In Dickinson’s latest proposed budget, he recommended that certain capital expenditures that were reduced be funded using the fiscal year 2012-13 operating surplus. He also suggested that money distributed by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority be used to fund a shift command vehicle and generator requested for the Fire Department, along with another generator for Public Works.

Comptroller James Bowes said that there is less than $200,000 left in the CRRA fund. The town received a payment of $7.2 million from

CRRA in 2009, a surplus distribution for its participation in a long-term trash disposal agreement. With about $4.3 million in reserve funding earmarked for the current budget, the town still has a healthy balance of $12 million in reserve cash, Bowes said, a balance he’d like to maintain in order to receive a solid credit rating.

There is concern from town councilors over the mayor’s dependency on reserve cash when forming a budget.

“We’ve been burning up these savings,” said Town Councilor Jason Zandri, a Democrat and a candidate in the upcoming mayoral race. “We’re going to hit a situation there where all these monies will be gone.”

Without extensive reserves, Zandri said, the town will have to raise taxes or borrow money to balance the budget.

Town Councilor Nicholas Economopoulos, a Democrat, characterized Dickinson’s proposed budget as “same old, same old.”

“To me, the budget is a facade,” he said. “The mayor over budgets every year ... it’s like an open checkbook.”

Town Councilor Craig Fishbein, a Republican, said “Reserve funding is always a concern,” but added, “It seems every year we’re replenishing that” so that reserve cash “stays somewhat steady.”

Fishbein was happy with the amount of the tax increase, which will cost the average residential property owner only an extra $46 a year, although he’s still “not satisfied.” He said he’d like to see more things trimmed from the budget.

The Town Council makes the final call on the budget.

The small tax increase stands out to Democratic Town Councilor John Sullivan, but “while this all sounds great, I’m concerned about the 2014-15 budget,” he said.

Satisfied with the budget is Republican Town Councilor John LeTourneau, who said he didn’t see anything “earthshattering.”

“I don’t foresee any big issues with departments,” he said.

Vincent Cervoni, Republican vice chairman of the Town Council, said he was impressed with the mayor’s budget. Cervoni said “The use of reserve funds is a good way to use those funds and minimize the tax increase that must take place.”

Dickinson cut the current year’s general government budget by $1.6 million, following a nearly $6 million reduction in 2011-12 and $1.8 million cut in 2010-11.

No pay raise for mayor in Dickinson’s new budget

As published in the Record Journal on Thursday April 4, 2013

Mayor’s aide to earn more in 2013-14 spending plan

By Andrew Ragali
Record-Journal staff
aragali@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224
Twitter:@AndyRagz

WALLINGFORD - Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. will once again forgo a salary increase and some town councilors are concerned his decision could hurt the town in the long run.

In Dickinson’s proposed $147.94 million budget for the next fiscal year, his salary will remain at the figure he’s taken home since at least 2002 — $73,140. Dickinson, a Republican, has yet to confirm whether he will seek re-election this year.

“I think these are bad times,” Dickinson said, adding that if elected officials take raises, it adds to the argument of bargaining units seeking pay increases. “As a general rule, the private sector has had declining raises while the government is increasing wages. That can be troublesome.”

According to the Town Charter, compensation cannot be changed during the term of the incumbent mayor. Since Dickinson’s term ends after this year, the salary for the next term can be set now.

Democratic Town Councilor Jason Zandri, who is running for mayor, pointed out that under Dickinson’s proposed budget, the mayor’s annual salary will be $300 less than that of Joan Stave, the administrative aide to the mayor. Zandri said the information is in a budget proposal booklet that is not yet available to the public.

Dickinson, when asked if Stave would earn more than him in the next year, said “it’s possible.” He doesn’t see the pay difference as a problem.

“She does excellent work for the town,” Dickinson said, joking that Stave bosses him around most of the time anyway so the pay difference is appropriate.

“She’s a very capable person,” he said. “She’d be embarrassed about this. I certainly feel for her, and don’t want her to be the focus” in any budget discussion.

Town Councilor John LeTourneau, a Republican, said he’s baffled by the fact that the mayor’s aide may make more than the mayor.

“That’s embarrassing,” he said.

Letourneau added that Dickinson doesn’t seek a pay increase because “he feels that’s what the job is worth.” He’s not sure that in the future “more money means a better quality person.”

Zandri said that Dickinson, by not taking any pay increase, is “freezing the pay of the position” and making it unattractive to others.

Town Council Vice Chairman Vincent Cervoni, a Republican, said that Stave’s earning more than Dickinson “borders on inappropriate,” but not because Stave doesn’t deserve to earn what she does. He said the mayor needs to earn more so the town can “allow for some succession planning.” Cervoni said that if the mayor ever stepped down, the town needs to be able to “attract someone of similar caliber” with compensation on par with other municipal leaders in the area. As of 2011, Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback was paid $149,000 per year; Meriden City Manager Lawrence J. Kendzior was paid $139,000 annually; and Michael Milone, Cheshire’s town manager, earned $131,350 per year.

“I would think it’s absolutely unusual” that the mayor’s aide makes more than the mayor, said Quinnipiac University Professor David Cadden, who has worked in the department for entrepreneurship and strategy for 30 years. Cadden said that the ongoing mindset in business is that pay increases and higher salaries at top positions are necessary.

“You need salaries like that in order to attract the best and the brightest,” he said.

That mindset has not necessarily been proven, Cadden said, but a lower than average salary “might be an impediment” to attract other candidates. As the chief executive of Wallingford, just as in any business, Cadden said “a hierarchy must be maintained atoll costs,” and that Dickinson’s making less than his aide destroys that hierarchy.

When Dickinson leaves office, Cervoni said, the town will have to form a plan to incrementally increase the salary of the chief executive.

Slim growth of tax base suggests belt tightening isn’t over yet in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal Friday February 1, 2013

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225
Twitter:@RussellBlairRJ

WALLINGFORD – With little growth in the grand list and the threat of reductions in state aid, residents may see an increase in taxes when the 2013-14 budget is adopted.

The town will collect about an additional $1 million in property taxes next year after seeing almost 1 percent growth in the grand list, but the increase in the school and general government budgets is likely to top that. School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo has requested a $2.2 million increase. Town department budgets haven’t been finalized yet.

Coupled with slow economic growth and a stagnant local tax base is the state’s budget difficulty, with major deficits projected over the next two years. State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said that if he were a municipal official, he’d be planning for a 10to 15-percent reduction in municipal aid. “Given the state of the national economy, this problem isn’t going away,” he said. “You have to take a conservative approach. Local government has to continue to reinvent itself and downsize.”

“It is probably unlikely that we are going to be able to hold cities and towns harmless,” House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, said earlier this month.

The majority of municipal aid comes through the state Education Cost Sharing grant. The town received $22.3 million in state aid for education last year.

Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said he doesn’t know at this point whether municipal aid will be cut and is waiting for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to release his budget on Wednesday. Dickinson said even if aid remains the same, it will be impossible to fulfill all of the departments’ budget requests at the current tax rate.

“You have to measure reduction of services against an increase in taxes,” he said.

Dickinson said he didn’t anticipate any major requests for new personnel, but pension costs will increase and he expects departments to submit requests to fund capital expenditures including new computers for the Police Department and snow plowing equipment for Public Works.

Department heads have been instructed to give “careful scrutiny” to every item in the budget, Dickinson said.

“They need to be thoughtful in their requests,” he said. “The ability to fund everything when it’s needed is difficult.”

Board of Education Chairwoman Roxane McKay said possible cuts to state aid were part of the school board’s conversation when formulating a budget.

“It would be unrealistic not to be concerned,” McKay said.

While McKay said she understands the deficit the state faces, at the same time the state Department of Education has required districts to work toward several unfunded mandates, including the Common Core State Standards and teacher evaluations.

Bridging the state budget gap will be more difficult this year because layoffs or changes in employee benefits are off the table. Malloy reached an agreement with the state employee unions two years ago that offered a four year, no-layoff clause in exchange for a two-year wage freeze.

Candelora said even if municipal aid through the Education Cost Sharing grant remains intact, municipalities may see cuts in state grants for services provided by housing authorities or senior centers.

State Rep. Mary G. Fritz, D Wallingford, said she believes cuts to municipal aid will be minimal but she doesn’t want to see any reductions in funding to cities and towns.

“When people pay state taxes, that’s their money coming home,” she said.