Hebron Dollars & Sense

www.townhallstreams.com

Trial run this month. All meetings reviewing budget every Tue/Thurs will be streaming. Not meeting St Patricks Day! Slancha!

I watched it, it worked great, nice job by Bonnie T, Donna L, and Linda B!! These get archived for a year so you can go back and watch if your Lunesta isn't working!

Just watched tonight's presentation, and I have to agree about the snooze factor.

But tucked in here tonight I noticed that the Parks and Rec dept additional funding for park maintenance appears to be doing a great collaborative, cost effective job with other depts like public works, etc., and Public Works has taken advantage of state Surplus items like a copier and possibly a replacement truck from UConn. They have save us thousands and deserve kudos.

Equally surprising - and alarming - is that the proposed overall flat budget option presented by the Town manager will cut open space to a mere $25,000 (which is way down from the half-mil or roughly $400,000 max from the initial town ordinance) from last year's $100,000 allocation. We passed the open space ordinance to save the town money, and it has been consistently cut over the years. It has proven to save us millions, and enhanced existing property values. Mr. O'Connell noted that we could probably get by at flat funding this year, but we'd effectively be "dead in the water" at $25,000.

I believe that the community supports Open Space more than the town manager thinks, and I encourage the town officials to reconsider the funding level and restore open space to allow us to continue with our well-established, effective plans.

And of course, kudos to that nice young man who became an Eagle Scout. People like him are why our community is a nice place to live.

Thanks for posting your thoughts, Auntie! Wouldn't it be great if we could get BOF and BOE streaming too? We are heading in the right communication direction.

I think the loss of open space funding is a reflection of the dire situation we find ourselves in fiscally. I recognise what a cost savings open space brings but think it is difficult to tell the taxpayer with immediate needs, like failing roads, that open space is more important. Sadly, I think this is a budget that was arrived at by triage. Kudos to Bonnie and her staff!

so the meeting on the 15th will be webcast?

Will the BOS/BOF ask the following?



Specific questions I would like to see the BOF/BOS address are the following -


What alternatives could be considered for items that haven't been changed?



Have administration costs been reconsidered? Why do we need a curriculum director - might we be better off with a consulting firm reviewing the curriculum every 3rd year or so? Perhaps cut the costs by a third.

What's the fallback plan in the event ECS or stimulus money is not restored? Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail.

How were decisions made on potential cuts last year? Were there budgetary "scare tactics" used, as some community members have charged? Consider the surplus in the heating oil account - why was that not known by the late May referendum? Make sure they understand that last year's process eroded taxpayer confidence in their numbers

Why was administration apparently not considered for cuts last year, or for that matter, this year?

Why the refusal to provide the community with any meaningful detail in board meeting minutes? Does the BOE believe what we don't know won't hurt us?

The Supt. Blog last year provided an opportunity for community dialog in the budget process, and sharing of information. What happened to the loads of questions that were submitted but were never responded to?

The community priority survey was a joke - with no controls on who voted how often. Would they reconsider doing a survey with effective controls?

What have they learned from last year's process, that they are applying to this year?
The BOS/BOF requested multiple budgets from each dept, including the BOE. We understand the BOE is not obligated under state law to provide anything other than a single proposed budget. In the interest of keeping the community informed, what is the sense of the board as to how serious they are about the priority of reductions to get to a zero percent budget?


If the ECS/stimulus funding is not replaced, what would the impact be - what would they propose to cut? If they might have to cut as much as another 4-5%, what would a half-million dollar cut look like to them?

How has the current bad weather affected this year - will they be coming back for more?

For other departments, the BOS does a review as to how close the current year's budget compares to actual. Why are the following areas more than $10,000 off from their current year budget? Textbooks, Tuition, SPED Trans, Transportation, Comp_Lease, Other_Svcs, Legal, WC, Insurance, Para, Pre-school, Certified
If they are that far off, how good do they feel about the projected budget?