Showing posts with label 2012 budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 budget. Show all posts
September 28, 2012
Bristol couple among sponsors for Paul Ryan
May 22, 2012
Council seeks cuts, finance board refuses
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| Bristol Taxpayers Association President Bob Fiorito joked with Paul Keegan, a city union leader, following Monday's Joint Board meeting. |
In a rare twist, city councilors Monday pushed for spending cuts in a proposed
$177 million municipal budget that Board of Finance members refused to support.
The
spending plan for the coming fiscal year won approval on a 9-5 vote that saw
four Republican councilors and one finance commissioner argue unsuccessfully
for lowering the 6 percent property tax called for in the budget.
The
majority gunned down proposals to slice spending on parks, the library, a
contingency account, money set aside for salary hikes and other measures that
might have reduced the tax burden a bit.
The
fiscal oversight panel, created during the Great Depression to stifle
spendthrift politicians, said that last-minute cuts would hurt services, weaken
the city’s finances and undermine its work during the past few months.
Finance
Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said the tax hike will hit the average homeowner
for about $240 extra in the fiscal year beginning July 1, an amount he called “minimal.” Click here for the rest of the story.
May 12, 2012
New plan would ax 44 city workers, slash services
A new budget
plan floating around City Hall would freeze property taxes this year but not
without some real pain.
The spending
proposal would lay off 44 municipal workers, close the Manross branch library,
cut park programs in half, ax Dial-a-Ride and cut off funding for everything
from the after graduation parties to the Mum Festival.
The plan was
prepared by the city comptroller’s office in response to a query from city
Councilor Ken Cockayne about what it would take hold property taxes in check
this year.
To pull that
off, the city would need to reduce its proposed $177 million spending plan by
$6.5 million, officials said.
Topping thelist of proposed cuts was a 50 percent reduction in the salary of city
councilors, from $9,700 annually to less than $5,000 – a symbolic step that
probably couldn’t be done because officials only have the power to set council
salaries for those chosen during the next municipal election.
Also eyed
for cuts are the code enforcement and community services allocations, both of
which would be eliminated completely. Click here for the full story.
April 27, 2012
Cockayne: Some on Board of Ed not truthful
As a resident of Bristol in your district, a voting taxpayer and a former school board member, I want you to vote in favor of the budget request presented by the BOE. That is, I want your approval for the fully funded budget to the level of the $105 million request made by the Board of Education.
And Cockayne's response the next day, which he shared with the other Republican council members:
Thank you for your email. Unfortunately I will not be supporting the full budget. I believe the BOE must do a much better job managing the money. I believe the BOE is very top heavy with Administration and the money does not make it to the teachers and students. I also have a problem with the Minimum Balance Requirement. Any increase we give the BOE will now be the new minimum for the following year.
I also don't believe some on the BOE are being truthful with the parents. For example....I was at the Feb 14th meeting for a bit before I had to go to City hall for a meeting of my own. During that meeting, the BOE when through a presentation explaining why they were cutting band and choirs...( my son who is in 6th grade is in both). The presentation when on to explain that it was not about the money but that the curriculum was changing, doing away with flex and making each period a bit longer. However, a few weeks later after pressure from the parents, the BOE now said if the city gave them the money they would put back the music and choirs. When I asked point blank to a BOE member why they would tell the parent this since I was at the Feb 14th meeting, they could not answer the question. So I ask......are they changing the curriculum or is it about money?
Yet another example....The BOE has told the lacrosse parents if the city gives them the money... I believe its about 50k... they will put in Lacrosse. So again, I asked a BOE member (veteran member) if I make a motion to increase whatever the number is for BOE by the amount lacrosse needs will they put in Lacrosse as was stated at the BOE meeting to the parents. I was told in no uncertain terms NO! Again, when I asked why then are they telling parents one thing at the BOE meeting and have intention of following through. The answer I received was this is not the place to talk about it!
The BOE has also said publicly they cannot take another flat budget....how quickly they forgot about the extra 2.5 million dollars the city was forced to give them last year.
Hopefully you can see why I will not fund the BOE in full. In my opinion some on the BOE can not be trusted to do as they has said they would do. The BOE needs to do as many households have had to do and thats tighten the belt and start managing the buget. The city can no longer be a open checkbook.
This is nothing I take lightly. I have a son who is currently in 6th grade at Chippens. I'm also engaged to a teacher..not Bristol...so I see first hand what the teachers are dealing with.
Please feel free to call with any questions.
April 26, 2012
City budget hikes property taxes nearly 6 percent
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| Board of Finance member Robert Vojtek, left, speaks with the panel’s chairman, Rich Miecznikowski, before Wednesday night’s Board of Finance meeting. |
Finance Chairman Rich Miecznikowski said the focus during budget preparations was to maintain municipal services “while maintaining the city’s strong financial condition.”
The budget maintains education spending at last year’s level — a level that hasn’t changed much in four years — but officials said that educators can pay $1 million less for health care, freeing up cash for other uses, and tap some of the excess bond money from construction projects to buy books and other equipment for the new schools.
That’s still considerably less than the $3.1 million in additional funding sought by educators, perhaps opening the door to more layoffs and making it less likely that music and lacrosse programs that many are seeking to preserve will wind up with the money they are seeking.
Falling short in funding is going to have “a dramatic impact” on the ability of Bristol schools to ensure all children achieve to their capacity, said Chris Wilson, chairman of the Board of Education. LINK TO FULL STORY
Mill rates for Bristol since the last revaluation year:
For 2008-2009 budget - 25.99
For 2009-2010 budget - 25.99
For 2010-2011 budget - 27.24
For 2011-2012 budget - 27.24
For 2012-2013 budget - 28.75
Astute observers will note that taxes have gone up every other year by about the same margin. It is almost certainly not a coincidence that they rise in non-election years while mill rates stay frozen whenever there's a municipal election that fall.
So perhaps next year there will, once again, be a freeze.
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