On a snowy Wednesday night, dozens of people gathered at the Stafford Senior Center for the first – and possibly only – public budget hearing. This was not, however, the first time the First Selectman, Superintendent of Schools, and Board of Education (BOE) Chair presented their budgets. In fact, if you’ve been following along, there was not much new – except the good news that Superintendent Steven A. Moccio and his team have found another $125,000 in savings. It’s important to note these are not cuts but savings. (More on that later.)
In addition to getting an early start on the budgeting process, the Chair of the Board of Finance (BOF) Steve Geryk, First Selectman Bill Morrison, and BOE Chair Sara Introvigne-Kelley have been meeting regularly to identify alternative funding for specific items and projects within the budgets. This has ultimately allowed the budgets to remain more or less the same as presented while decreasing the tax burden on citizens.
Take a deep dive into the town budget here, learn about possible paving projects here, examine the proposed reorganization of the building department here, and see how the BOE budget has transformed over time here.
A (not so) quick recap of the public hearing
Both sides of the budget presented their proposals again. Moccio and Kelley again pointed out that of the 3.86% increase, only .8% is not a contractual or mandated increase. That .8% translates to about $240,000 in real dollars, meaning any cuts over $240,000 would start chipping away at the services and offerings the schools currently provide.
However, the school side was briefly interrupted by an impatient member of the audience who began demanding Moccio and Kelley answer questions before they were done fully presenting the budget. Other audience members urged the man to be polite, and the meeting carried on.
Moccio also told the BOF about the aforementioned savings that come from locking in a lower rate than expected for diesel fuel, being able to hire a physical therapist instead of having to outsource the service, increased state funding for collaborative education, a shift in data collection, and increased tuition from Pre-K (due to more students being eligible because of a shift in state laws about eligible kindergarten age). Moccio has to present these savings to the BOE at the April 1, 2024, meeting, but it’s hard to imagine a reason they would not enthusiastically accept any savings to be found.
During the question-and-answer portion of the hearing, the aforementioned impatient member of the audience asked the BOE to explain the budget cuts they made over the past few months (you can learn about the first iteration of the budget here). Kelley and Moccio then walked the audience through all of the places they were able to find savings, transfer funds from one line item to another, and otherwise reduce the budget (which we covered here and here). The commenter then went on the express support for the schools but suggested that if something is not done about roads like his, school busses won’t even be able to get down the roads.
Others asked for clarifications about terms like “excess cost reimbursement.” Moccio explained that the State is supposed to reimburse towns for any special education costs that are more than 4.5x the per pupil cost ($21,000 in Stafford). Stafford is supposed to have 91% of those excess costs reimbursed but because the state underfunded the program by about $75 million, Stafford has only received a 72% reimbursement.
Someone watching on Zoom asked about oversight of budget transfers in the school budget. Any transfer over $20,000 on the town side requires approval at a town meeting (one of which was just held; you can read the minutes here). Moccio said that anytime money moves between object codes, it must go before the BOE.
Dave Walsh, a member of the BOF, broke tradition to speak as a member of the audience and a citizen of Stafford. “What the gentleman said about the roads can be said about anything in town...We have disinvested in this town for too long.” He went on to say that the roads are in bad condition because we have never adequately funded a repair program and that the town is now doing the same thing to the schools. “We haven’t exceeded inflation since 2016,” Walsh added before explaining how he benefitted from the good school systems in Massachusetts and wants to see the same opportunities extended to today’s students.
Someone watching on Zoom asked about the possibility of direct ownership of busses, but Moccio said that would be far more expensive than contracting with M&J transportation. Not only would the district have to buy the buses, but it would also have to maintain them, pay drivers, and insure them.
Another person asked how the town prioritizes paving projects, specifically regarding rural versus more central roads. Director of Public Works Devin Cowperthwaite jumped in to answer the question, saying that the reason we see progress on roads like Furnace Avenue is because they are grant-eligible as “major collector roads.” At the same time, New City Road is considered a “minor collector” and, therefore, is not eligible for grant funding. That being said, Cowperthwaite says New City is the worst road in town that doesn’t require significant engineering to fix, and will likely be finished this year with a combination of funds taken from savings realized elsewhere.
Laura Lybarger spoke to remind the audience and the boards that while small to no increases may save money in the short term, it costs more in the long run. Lybarger used the example of a long-throw projector replacement that has been repeatedly cut from the school budget. The price of that has increased by about $10,000 in the intervening time. She urged the BOF to “listen to the people we elected and hired” when they tell the town what they need, not what they want.
Desiree, who said she was new to the process, closed out the public hearing by saying she voted against the budget multiple times last year and that she found the public hearing “eye-opening.” She said she now understands the cuts that were made and praised the transparency of the process. “My road doesn’t need to be paved,” she said, but in the spirit of helping her neighbors, she would be happy to pay a little more in taxes. The public hearing, she said, had completely changed her perspective.
BOF makes its recommendations
After the public hearing closed, there was a brief intermission while board members Matt McKenney and Tony Pelligrino joined via Zoom. Most of the audience left at that time.
Geryk said the BOF aimed to create a budget that is fair to the town and provides the services Stafford needs, and that will pass. The budgets, as requested initially, would have required a 2.55 mill increase, but the BOF did not think this would pass at a town vote. Instead, they had a suggestion that would both reduce the burden on taxpayers and still provide the town and schools with what they need.
The BOF cannot direct either board on where to cut from the budget; they can only make reductions. It’s up to the Selectmen and the BOE to decide where the cuts are made. The BOF, however, had suggestions for how both sides of the budget could make smart cuts and find funding elsewhere—ultimately getting most, if not all, of what they asked for.
Geryk explained that the school district could cut a targeted $210,000 worth of capital improvements from its budget. Those expenses could then be paid from the BOE’s Capital Improvement Projects account, which the BOF oversees. Combined with the $125,000 of savings Moccio already identified, that results in an overall “reduction” to the budget of $335,000.
The BOE Capital Projects account had $186,000 in reserve, but after the Borough School was sold, $238,500 was added. That makes the current balance approximately $424,000. Together, the BOE and BOF have identified a list of qualifying projects that could be paid for from this fund instead of through taxes.
Typically, these funds are held in reserve for an emergency, and board member Tony Armelin reminded everyone, “It’s not free money.”
Walsh said, “There is already a catastrophe,” referring to the cuts to staff and programming made after last year’s budget was slashed.
On the town side, Geryk suggested that if the town chose to reduce the paving budget by $300,000, the remaining ARPA funds – which need to be allocated by the end of the year – could be used to restore some of those funds to the paving budget. Amber Wakley-Whaley, Director of Grants and Community Development, and Selectman Rick Hartenstein, both members of the ARPA committee, were present. Wakley-Whaley said there were about $130,000 left in unallocated ARPA funds. Other funds, however, have been earmarked for paving-related engineering and design projects, as well as other uses, and may be able to offset some costs associated with paving projects.
Geryk acknowledged that paving is important to everyone in town. First Selectman Bill Morrison said, “This could be the beginning of a program.” It's important to note that, even if there were no ARPA money left for paving – which doesn’t seem to be the case – this budget would put $700,000 into the paving line item, as opposed to $150,000 last year. That is a more than 300% increase in paving funds.
The board unanimously approved the budget with the suggested cuts (and savings), which would result in a 1.83 mill increase for a total of 38.59 mills, or a 4.967% increase. Based on the median home value, that would be an increase of $248.19 per year for homeowners (or $20.68 per month).
McKenney said that even though this would be the largest increase in 10 years, he thought it was an increase the town would approve.
BOF alternate Shelley H. West said that she felt awful after last year’s public hearing on the budget but that there was “a different mood today.”
“A new collaborative effort between all the boards made a difference,” said Geryk
Walsh said that this was still one of the lowest mill rate increases around. As if to prove his point, CT Insider reported that Vernon just proposed a budget of $109 million and asked for a mill rate increase for the first time in six years: “If passed, the budget would result in a tax rate increase of 1.86 mills or 4.23 percent, bringing the tax rate to 35.25 mills.”
Before the budget can be put to a referendum, there has to be a town meeting, which can only be held two weeks after the public hearing. In the meantime, the various boards will continue to do outreach to discuss the budgets with the public. After that, it’s up to the voters to decide whether this budget will pass on the first try. (FYI: Morrison says it costs about $4,500 per referendum.)