BET made missteps, but necessary steps too
Our community has been through a crucible of sorts. We have seen a pandemic that has forced the unprecedented closure of our economy, upset our day to day lives, curtailed our personal freedoms and closed our schools. Friends, neighbors and familiar faces have lost their jobs. Personal income has suffered. Economic uncertainty is pervasive, and racial tensions have resulted in social unrest on a scale unlike anything America has seen in generations. The last three months have been truly historic.
Our town has also seen a heated and emotional debate over the Board of Education budget. Debates involving the schools are almost always contentious, to a degree. Unfortunately, this one has devolved into a more heated and negative discourse that has included personal attacks on my Republican Board of Estimate and Taxation colleagues; a disappointingly harsh use of social media to denigrate our neighbors with differing opinions; and a well-organized public effort to shame anyone who supported our budget decision.
I acknowledge that the BET made missteps in how we handled the public presentation of our budget decision. With COVID looming, we undertook our public meeting process as we would have in any normal time. These were not “normal” times. It is now clear that more public communication and input would have been helpful to the process.
From the time the BET Budget Committee completed its initial budget in early March, and the point where the BET revised that earlier budget to send to the Representative Town Meeting, all of the members of the BET agreed that there was serious financial uncertainty due to the COVID pandemic. The primary difference between the two political caucuses centered on the amount of the reduction in the BOE’s requested budget. Democrats wanted to reduce the superintendent’s proposed budget by $700,000 and Republicans by $3 million. Ultimately, and unfortunately too late in the budget process, the Democrats offered a reduction of $1.5 million. This meant the proposed gap that separated us was $1.5 million, or less than 1 percent of the operating budget. Was this worth all of the angst and defamatory debate that ensued?
The Democrats on the BET have wrapped themselves in a shroud of glory, posing as “protectors” of schools, when they were willing proponents of a $1.5 million reduction in the proposed BOE budget.
Instead of essentially inciting a riot over what could have been a modest reduction in the BOE budget, Republican BET members have been focused on the need to steer the town through the current financial crisis.
Step one: We will record and confirm all associated costs associated with the COVID pandemic and make sure we seek maximum available state and federal reimbursements for these extra expenses. All town departments and the BOE should be properly reimbursed for what they have spent. It is important to remember that all these expenses may not reimbursable, so the town needs to be prepared to pay for those that aren’t.
Step Two: Monitor tax and revenue collections, especially during the 90-day deferment permitted by the governor’s executive order. The BET should be prepared to decide if we need to issue short term debt to cover any revenue shortfalls. While our comptroller believes our current position will not require this, this could change.
Step Three: Develop a complete understanding of the pandemic impact on town departments and programs, especially the schools. A reduction in various programs will naturally lead to a reduction in expenses. Unfortunately, the BOE currently has no clarity as to what their needs will be. They are relying on guidelines currently being developed by the state and federal government. Their budget was designed for normal school operations, not those mandated by a pandemic. If the guidelines and directives result in higher expenses, the BET will be prepared to act swiftly.
About the state of our economy, there has been a lot of recent speculation that the economy is rebounding faster than expected. A rising equity market has offered some hope that the skies are clearing. However, yesterday the Federal Reserve Board issued a forecast for a protracted economic recovery, not the fast one many had projected. As a result, as I write this, the Dow Jones average is down more than 6 percent. The BET needs to base our economic assessment on a much broader set of local, state, and national economic data, not just the stock market. What we see is still troubling, and we believe there is still a need to be cautious as to how we approach taxpayer spending.
How has Greenwich built its longstanding reputation as a beacon for responsible municipal fiscal management? With very prudent and conservative fiscal decision making.
Many have suggested we did not need a reduction in the Mill Rate. The answer is simple. Because of an increase in our Grand List, we needed to lower the mill rate to keep taxes flat this year. There are those who certainly would not have suffered if they had to pay more, but we need to provide relief to every resident in our community. This includes those segments of our population that rely on low-income housing and free school lunches. It includes those who have endured economic hardships due to this recession. This relief to those segments of our community, is more important than non-emergency spending in these uncertain and difficult times for our most vulnerable residents.
Unfortunately, my Democratic colleagues on the BET have continued to exploit this budget debate for political advantage. Recently, they sent out a blast email titled; “To Supporters of Our Public Schools.” This title is disingenuous and unfair. It infers that anyone who disagrees with them is an opponent of the school system. We all want to support our schools, and, after providing for public safety, I view them as the most important job of our town’s government. I understand everyone’s desire to see them funded adequately. However, in an environment that has been referred to as the greatest economic dislocation in generations, I am disappointed and saddened by the hostility in the recent debates encouraged by BET Democrats.
I am proud of the record of the BET over the years, especially as it applies to our schools. We keep hearing that we need to “keep our schools as the best in the state.” It has been the funding provided by successive BETs over the years that has helped make our school system one of the best in the state. Complaints about the BOE budget have used the word “draconian.” Draconian is defined as “unusually severe or cruel,” and in no way does that define the budget provided to the BOE for the upcoming year.
These times require difficult decisions to be made, and we understand that our residents may not always agree with us. However, that is the job of an elected official. Our singular focus will always do what we believe is in the interests of all the citizens of our great town.