By the time the battery died in my computer, the BOE of speakers was in full swing. I’m surprised to find that these days I really do type faster than I write longhand.
So by 10ish I was wondering whether there were any speakers there not speaking on behalf of sports? I sort of knew the answer, having overheard people refer to an email that was sent out students and parents urging them to stop the cuts to the athletic programs. I have a problem with this tactic. First, I was a 3 sport varsity letter student from a public school system, though not Norwalk’s. Each time a student got up to speak about how important the athletic program was to them, I was right there, empathizing that if if I were in their sneakers I’d be fighting to prevent any attempt to kill my sport, or for that matter any sport at my school. But, it was clear that the students were being used as pawns in a political chess match, because had the students spent any time in social studies (they do still teach that?) they would have known that the BET and Common Council can only set an overall budget amount, and it is up to the BOE to create the working budget, department by department, program by program.
So I ask, did the student athlete’s bother to attend a BOE meeting to plea for their sports? Are they going to send emails out to the BOE members about finding other things to cut?
And what of the teachers? Was there a process to go over the proposed budget with them. Doesn’t anyone think that the teachers who are out there spending their own money on classroom supplies might have an idea or two about saving money?
The reality about the city budgeting process, is that there is a political chess match being played between the Board of Education, the Mayor, the Common Council and the BET. And that chess match is being played out over a question of values. On one side, the homeowners who want their property values to increase. On the other side, the homeowners whose property values are actually decreasing. The question that hovers on the mind the BET last night was not a complex one. Is the price of the Norwalk Swim Team more important than the price of overhauling sewage storm drains and pipes? I don’t know how anyone on the BET can reconcile the property values of Norwalk residents as a whole versus the property values that are declining of the homes in the areas that flood. How can anyone on the BET say to a lifelong, fixed income Norwalker and say it’s more important to raise property taxes on them without doing everything possible to minimize the tax impact?
I think the woman who spoke near the end of the night summed it up when she said that she was embarrassed to be asking for more funding for the BOE after hearing the stories from the flood victims. Norwalk should be embarrassed that such a huge problem has festered for years as the yearly budget battles always favored the most vocal crisis, instead of the one underground.
But maybe its more poignant to look at the retired fire fighter, and ask how can you raise taxes him, when he tells the BET that he’s on a fixed income, and his home floods, and that after all the taxes he’s paid to the city over the decades isn’t it time for his neighbors to see the city step up and fix the flooding?
Doug Peoples had one of the better messages. He said to the BET, give the BOE more money. He said to the BOE, if they don’t give you what you need, find the cuts somewhere else.
So then it was Corda’s turn. He proposed a solution that involved using the undesignated general fund. He produced a chart showing that in 2003 the undesignated general fund was 7% and now its 12% f the overall budget. He suggested that there was room there, to shift some money over to the BOE, just in case that they couldn’t live under the proposed cap on the table. He suggested that this financial maneuver was done in a previous year. He promised that the BET or a designated group could meet monthly to go over over the BOE spending, so that everything was transparent. Corda was in compromise mode.
Some of the best parts of the hearing was the little give and takes between Mayor Moccia and either the speakers or the audience. Another one of these moments occurred when the subject of this years BOE budget was discussed. Moccia asked about the unspent monies, referencing the energy line item. Corda quickly responded that the BOE would hurry to spend any unspent money so that they could spend it on things they planned to buy for the next year. And once again the financial shell game was in play.
Jodi Bishop Pullan spoke next and managed to say the most incomprehensible leap of cause and effect, stating that with the proposed increase, “our children won’t graduate and we’ll have a failing school system.”
Galen Wells had the unlucky task of reading a statement prepared by Kevin Poruban and another by Bruce Morris. She should have shown better judgement in picking that duo to represent. Poruban’s statement in effect was to state he was speaking on behalf of the Norwalk-outers, (Briggs, Miklave, Poruban, Sutton, and Krummel). The only problem with that, was that Miklave spoke for himself earlier, and Sutton and Briggs were sitting up there with the BET. They looked somewhat surprised that they were included.
The statement meandered along the lines that it was the Republicans and Democrats who back them that were proposing a draconian budget, and that only the previous administration Democrats made any effort to improve the schools, getting rid of 20 year old textbooks, managing unfunded mandates and updating the curriculum. Poruban’s statement concluded with that the current council seem to be returning education to a political punching bag. Morris’ statement was that Norwalk was sending the wrong message to hartford by placing the budget cap where it was.
There was sort of a stunned silence in the room, as every political person was simultaneously thinking, Galen really didn’t just make a partisan attack on the whole budget process did she? But that was fleeting, because Moccia leaned forward and chastised her for bring partisanship into the meeting, and then reminded her that it was under a Democratic administration that the BOE budget had in years past been held to 3 something percent, and that it was under a Democratic administration that the BOE sued the city for $2 million in withheld funding, and he went on with more examples.
Joann Romano spoke next and was outraged over the allegation that Republicans don’t care about the students and education. She reminded Wells of her personal commitment to the schools.
There were a few more speakers, and the meeting wrapped at long last. I spoke briefly to Fred Wilms and Tom Hamilton afterwards about Corda’s proposal. Wilms said that the issue was one to research, and that the previous example cited by Corda was not quite the same issue. But he was appreciative of the idea of monthly meetings, and the end of the day this was a great step in getting a better handle on the budget and for everyone to pull together and work on reaching a compromise.
And while this was all going on, Governor Rell announced that she was recommending that towns not raise property taxes over 3% a year. According to the Courant:
In a historic move that caught legislators off guard, Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed Wednesday that local property tax increases be capped at 3 percent annually - except in extraordinary circumstances.She said the proposal would ensure that property owners get relief from her plan to improve public schools by pouring unprecedented amounts of state money into all 169 cities and towns. Local property tax increases across the state have averaged 6 percent annually over the past five years, Rell said.
Critics said a statutory cap could throw municipal finances into chaos, usurping local control over spending and perhaps threatening municipal services in communities across the state.
The governor’s proposal is designed to go hand-in-hand with her five-year, $3.4 billion education plan. She said relief from spiraling property taxes was long overdue.
It looks like the BET and the Common Council had a bit of foresight in how property tax reform was going to come down. Now let’s see if they can have enough foresight to really change the way long term capital budget spending is handled. Joanne Romano said the other night at the non-partisan meeting, “There should be representation from all parties, the council, the BET, the BOE, DPW and regular citizens. This is an important process.”
