Somers School, Town Budgets May Need a Trim

To survive the 2011-12 budget deliberations and vote, officials here must find the right balance between cutting spending and raising taxes.

After a delayed start Monday night, finance board members said that they do not want to excessively raise taxes, but that they understand there is only so much that can be stripped from the government and school budgets before programs and services are affected.

Multiple times during the meeting, finance board Chairman James Persano said if town officials continue to dip into the undesignated reserve fund (the town's savings account) Somers could end up as a ward of the state.

Persano admitted his comments were more "saber rattling" than truth - the town has a healthy surplus of 18 percent - but stressed the importance of officials being frugal with the town's and taxpayer's money over the coming years.

During the meeting school board Chairman David Palmer looked stunned when Persano said that there is a chance that next week finance officials could ask that the schools and town to trim another $750,000 combined from their budgets.

Palmer said that taking even the slightest amount from next year's school budget would dismantle some of the programs.

"You're talking about a game changer," Palmer said of the revelation that the school budget might need to be reduced further.

Superintendent of Schools Maynard Suffredini gave a brief overview of the proposed $19.5 million education budget for 2011-12, finishing with the fact that the proposal is about $8,000 more than the current year when all grant funds are applied.

Although the dollar amount wasn't available at the meeting, school officials cautioned the finance board from cutting too much from education saying that if the total amount dips below the state’s minimum budget requirement the town could be penalized.

"We've tried to be very fiscally responsible with this budget," Suffredini said. "We're at a point now that if our budget needs to be cut we're definitely going to have to cut programs and increase class sizes."

First Selectwoman Lisa Pellegrini had a similar argument in regards to what would happen if the proposed $6.7 million town government budget for 2011-12 is reduced. She said services, such as hours at the library and town hall, public works jobs and senior center functions would be limited.

As of now, when compared to the current year, the proposed government budget is about $300,000 more. The increase is attributed to utilities, insurance, putting money aside for the future property revaluation and other miscellaneous items.

Persano said he understood the concerns, but that they must strike the delicate balance between maintaining or limiting services and raising taxes. He said if taxes must be raised, it should be done over time, not with a spike in one year. Persano added that although the town has a healthy surplus, if officials continue to apply it to the budget to lessen that effect on taxpayers, the fund will eventually deplete to a point that the town is without cash.

The Board of Finance is scheduled to meet Monday, March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall to continue its discussion on the budget.