The final budget recommended by the BET is sort of final because it still has to pass by the Common Council. The Council can choose to adjust the spending cap up or down. So what’s the final BET recommended budget? From the Hour:

That $246.3-million cap represents the $264.5 million budget recommended by city Finance Director Thomas S. Hamilton less nearly $16.2 million in estimated state aid less an additional $2 million.

“We came in under the cap by roughly $84,000,” said Fred Wilms, Board of Estimate chairman. “We believe that this is a very sound budget. At this point, the average tax increase is about 4.5 percent and that includes the reval(uation) impact. So we’ve reduced the tax burden and we’ve done this without assuming any increase in Hartford aid. If the governor’s approved budget happens and we get the additional aid— upward of $2 million to $3 million, that could further reduce (the increase in) taxes.”

To reach the cap, the Board of Estimate backed Moccia’s request to defund the assistant-to-the-mayor position for a savings of $89,911. The position has remained vacant since he took office in November 2005, but money was left in the budget. The board also trimmed $954,000 from Hamilton’s recommended budget for the Board of Education; $174,590 from what the finance director recommended for the Department of Public Works; $106,349 from his recommended budget for the Police Department; and $120,073 from the recommended budget for the Fire Department.

While Director of DPW, Hal Alvord was not happy with the budget, Superintndent Sal Corda was wasn’t quoted in the article. Perhaps he wasn’t in town. The Norwalk High Parents group was quoted, and provided the following; “We recognize that this may mean an increased tax burden will be placed on Norwalk taxpayers and, with this knowledge, we still support providing full funding of the Board of Education budget request.”

In the same issue, Board of Ed member Bruce Kimmel wrote an op-ed piece critical of the common council. He wrote:

But the council made an irresponsible decision: It did not even discuss possible upward adjustments in projected revenues as a way to control property taxes; instead, it arbitrarily adopted a spending cap that was $2 million below Hamilton’s. The council also recommended that the BOE’s budget increase should not exceed 3.8 percent, the region’s cost of living, even though 5.7 percent of the board’s increase was due to contractually mandated salaries and benefits. The council’s spending cap — which I believe should be raised at least to the level recommended by Hamilton — put the BET in a bind; it now has very little room to maneuver.

The council’s operating budget decision made lots of people angry, particularly parents of public school children who have no idea what their schools will offer and not offer next year. But they’re not the only residents who are concerned. I’ve talked to people devastated by the city’s severe drainage problems. They recognize that the lower spending cap could make it extremely difficult for the BET to adequately address flooding and other infrastructure items.

The strange thing is that Kimmel, a former council member, was well known for his criticism of the Board of Ed while on the council, where he previously leveled accusations that the BOE never trimmed the fat from their budget proposals and left a lot of waste to inflate budgets. It’s surprising then, that Kimmel hasn’t taken the lead to show how this BOE budget differed from years past ones where he was urging the budget scalpel over the budget gravy.

That would make his next statement;

“I was a member of the Common Council for eight years (1997-2005). I had the privilege of serving on its Finance Committee during that time and was the committee’s chairman from 2001-05. I cannot recall a single council majority, either Democratic or Republican, drastically reducing the recommendation of the finance director.”

Rather interesting don’t you think?

Kimmel then adopts the slash and burn rhetoric of Corda, and concludes with this telling paragraph:

A serious analysis of the city’s resources, both existing and anticipated, will probably lead to the conclusion that these adjustments can be made without raising property taxes to the level projected by Hamilton.

Ok Kimmel. Where’s the serious analysis of the BOE budget? Why the silence from the BOE over what has been trimmed from the BOE budget? Is it because nothing was decreased, and everything was increased?

And here’s another puzzler. If Bruce Morris was at the capitol on Thursday day, and at the Firefighter panel on Thursday night, did he take the day off from his BOE job? And where’s the response to Hal Alvord’s questions on how to better manage DPW resources used by the schools?

Let’s see the BOE come to grips with showing some management ability and budget tightening, before whining about how there isn’t enough money when the final budget recommendation includes a $5.2 million dollar increase.

source: The Hour,  City’s 2007-08 budget proposal lighter by $2.1M, By ROBERT KOCH