Branford budget talks begin

Budget talks begin

By John Rook , Staff Writer

03/26/2004

BFD requests include two full-time fire fighters

BRANFORD - The Board of Finance began the process of trying to whittle away at the town's proposed budget increase as town officials look to defend their department's requests. The first of three public hearings took place Monday night with officials from the Police Department, Fire Department, and the town's libraries all appearing before the board to discuss their budgets.

The current proposed budget is $76.9 million, with more than half of that total going to the Board of Education. According to officials, if the budget were passed as is, the town's tax rate would rise from 22.79 to 24.61. To avoid that, BOF members will be looking for ways to cut back on individual department's requests without vitally hurting town services.

"The town prides itself on a certain level of services it provides" said Town Finance Director Jim Finch. "We don't want to do anything that would interfere with those services, but at the same time we are sensitive to the tax rate going up, and the way that would affect people on fixed incomes in town."

Finch stated that much of the budget consists of "fixed" costs - costs the town can't do anything about.

A recent settlement with state and federal environmental agencies has required the town to allocate money for a long-range project to improve the towns sewage collection system, which will require the hiring of three new employees in the Solid Waste and Recycling Department to adhere to the regulations. Also, an increase in tipping fees and an increase in personnel at the towns waste-management company, Bristol Resource Recovery Facility, have helped balloon the proposed budget, leaving little wiggle room for Finch and the Board of Finance.

"When the BOF looks at the budget it has a certain number of guidelines it adheres to," Finch explained. "We want to keep the budget as it is. We want to keep services running. We want to have vehicles on the road and transportation available. You sort of have guidelines for what needs to be protected, and you make the tough decisions based on that."

One of those tough decisions involves the Fire Department's request for two new full-time employees and a replacement engine for Engine 1. The BOF will also deliberate personnel requests from several other services, including the new Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter and Town Hall. The total increase would be nearly $207,000.

"It is essential we get those new fire fighters," said Fire Chief Jack Ahern. "Our day-time coverage is extremely thin. It is imperative that the board recognize how much we need these new men."

Ahern also remarked that Engine 1 was in dire need of replacing. The engine is the busiest in the department with three years worth of continuous hours under its belt. The Fire Department is also asking that the town cover 10 percent of the $370,000 grant it received from the state last year to help in homeland security, which Ahern suggested would be used to update radios and communications.

"There is flexibility in our budget. There are other avenues we can look at to cut back," said Ahern. "Even the grant is not essential. We can delay buying new ambulances. There are other areas we can explore. I look forward to working with the board. They have very difficult decisions to make and I believe they understand what our needs, and the town's needs are."

The board will make its final recommendations on March 13, after all other town boards and departments, including the Board of Education, have had a chance to discuss their requests.

Finch will suggest certain cuts to the board before that date. He did not have an exact number for where he would like the budget to end up, but he did admit that a lot of work needed to be done to get it down to a reasonable number.