January 20, 2009
Dear Resident,
I would like to
invite you to a special discussion of the challenges and priorities facing the
town in the upcoming budget. In this extraordinary time of serious
recession and retrenchment by consumers, financial institutions and
governments,
We have already taken
several actions to control or reduce spending. In October, 2008 the
Town Council deauthorized bonds and eliminated $25
million from our capital budget, there is a hiring freeze in place, out of
state travel is frozen, nonessential spending is carefully reviewed and we are
working hard to reduce our energy consumption. But at the same time
revenues have been declining. Cyclical revenues from building permits,
conveyance taxes and various program revenues have been declining because
residents have been cutting back. Although property tax revenues have
been on budget, we are concerned that revenues in the coming year will not be
because of rising foreclosures and the impact of the recession on
individuals. The State is facing enormous deficits in the coming year and
we are concerned that the State will cut the payments to municipalities perhaps
substantially. All of this means that
It would be easy to
say simply cut expenditures but the demand for our services does not decline in
a recession. For example, we still have 215 miles of roads to plow,
nearly 10,000 students to educate. Additionally, demand for public safety
concerns actually goes up in a recession and our libraries are often
busier. But we are prepared to make difficult choices and I would like to
ask for your guidance as we embark on preparation of our budget. On
Wednesday, January 28th at 7:00 p.m. we will be holding a community dialogue on
budget priorities in the Town Hall auditorium and would appreciate your
participation.
Sincerely,
R. Scott Slifka, Mayor