Ellington Holds Public Hearing for Budget

The Ellington Board of Finance held a public hearing at Tuesday evening to promote discussion between town municipalities and residents. 

With the budget vote less than a month away, the board is now preparing to make cuts to the budget. Before those cuts are made, residents are able to voice their opinions on what they believe should and should not be on the chopping block, which is exactly what happened Tuesday.

Chairman Robert Clements reminded the audience that there were “no cuts made to any budget” up to this point or during the public hearing. 

Any cuts will be made at upcoming budget deliberations and a final recommendation will be made on May 10 before it goes to a town vote. 

Clements said they requested from all departments a “no growth budget” this year, which is due to the grand list shrinking 1.67 percent. Clements said towns are being told to “do more with less.” 

However, Clements added that it’s more difficult for a town like Ellington to do more without as much funding because of a growing population. 

The Board of Education’s budget for 2011-2012 deals with the population growth.

Clements said he realizes how challenging it is to keep up with state and federal mandates, all while coming in second to last in terms of per pupil spending. 

He does not think this is a tragedy, though. 

“We have been extremely fortunate in that we’ve had a Board of Education that has worked very hard…to give us the most bang for the buck,” Clements said. “Education…is not the sink hole everyone thinks it is.”  

He went on to blame the larger government. 

“There’s something wrong with the basic system,” he said. “They don’t into account that some towns grow, and other towns decline.” 

With that said, the chairman told the residents that the town needed to decide what was necessary, and what they could live without. 

“In the end, I doubt that anyone is going to be pleased with the end result,” Clements said.

He told the members of the audience about the upcoming budget deliberations, and the floor was then opened up for comments and questions. 

Rudy Luginbuhl discussed the bad economy. He suggested a 5 percent decrease across all of the budget items and told the board that the town could not afford to go up this year, but acknowledged that he was not in a position to tell them how to do their jobs. 

“Maybe we have to say no,” he said, in regards to voting for an increase. 

Clements addressed Luginbuhl’s position by saying, “Budgets used to come in like wish lists,” but that currently departments are better about cutting beforehand what’s not absolutely essential and keeping only what’s necessary. 

Supporters of the Board of Education budget followed. A letter was read on behalf of Matthew Luginbuhl, who supports the education budget. He expressed concern over an increase in class sizes, and the problems large classes cause for teachers and students. 

Clements told the residents of Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to take back funding from the towns if he can’t get $1 billion from unions. In this case, Ellington’s state funding would be cut by approximately $3 million. 

Clements then said, “I want to urge you to call him (Governor Malloy)…Tell him what a hair brain idea that is.”   

Rich Gelsomino, a football coach and member of the football boosters in town, spoke to support not only the education budget, but also the athletic budget. In the past, football players were charged $500 to play, but it has been reduced to $250. Nonetheless, parents and boosters are hoping to only charge the players the same fee as other student athletes with the full athletic restoration plan. 

The hockey team is similar, except that they are charged $1,800 to play for the season. A concerned mom spoke and said she would hate to see funding go away.

Dan Keune, Chairman of the Board of Education, spoke on behalf of his own budget. 

“We’re stretched as far as responsibly possible,” he said. 

The Board of Education budget got a lot of attention at the public hearing. 

If residents have further question or comment on any other piece of the budget, budget deliberations will be held today at 7:30 p.m., and Tuesday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. 

Those are the last opportunities before the big budget vote in May to decide what’s most important.