First Selectman's Corner - May 2 2019 - Budget Vote
May 2, 2019
After several months of hard work, our local budget process is nearing completion. The Boards of Selectmen, Finance, Education and the Regional #7 Board of Education have spent countless hours working together to review budget estimates to provide our residents with a reasonable spending proposal for the next year fiscal year. This budget has been posted and is ready to vote at referendum on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 with voting occurring at the usual polling places. Those who reside in the First District will vote at the Town Hall in the Senior Center located on the 3rd floor. Second District residents cast their ballots at the South End Firehouse located on Antolini Road. Polls open at 6:00 AM and remain open throughout the day, closing at 8:00 PM.
If you are unsure as to which district you live in, please visit the Registrars of Voters webpage on the Town of New Hartford website where you will find “Polling Locations and Districts by Street Name.”
While we have completed our budget work here locally in New Hartford, there is still some level of uncertainty within the State budget. As I write, the General Assembly at the State Capitol in Hartford continues to debate different bills that can impact us right here in New Hartford – and the outlook is not positive. Legislation that could impact our budget immediately includes: the State of Connecticut billing us locally for teacher retirement payments, a reduction in Educational Cost Share (ECS) grants and implementation of a massive state car tax proposal. To account for this uncertainty, your Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance have taken a very conservative approach and forecast that local teacher pensions will become a reality (a $42,000 payment that will double next year and continue to grow) and a reduced level of ECS grant funding will be received (a $100,000 reduction this year). Remember, the Governor and State Legislature is not reducing ECS in Hartford, they just want to send this money to the cities instead of small towns like New Hartford. Sadly, our having to account for these unfunded State Mandates will increase your local tax burden this year. Nearly half of this year’s 1.4% tax increase is attributed to these two items alone. Please remember - you’ve already been taxed for these issues at the state level through your income tax (as well as countless other taxes) and since the State hasn’t kept their budget promises – they are now mandating that you be taxed again. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in Hartford. The State has slowly been eroding our education funding for the past five years (the grant has been reduced roughly $360,000 since 2014) in favor of the cities while other state costs have been significantly increased.
The car tax is a whole other debate that could not be addressed within this year’s budget without a massive change in our budget format. Our Grand List includes roughly $60 Million in vehicles that generate $1.8 Million in local taxes. To remove this $1.8 Million in car tax funding from our local budget and have this revenue go to the state would be devastating! If this legislation is approved at the State level, this would require a massive tax increase on our homes in the future. Sometimes I wonder what those folks in Hartford are thinking!
Our team of elected officials try their best to maintain New Hartford as an affordable place for you to live. It’s a message that I’ve been trying to convey to our friends in Hartford for quite some time – and they’re not listening.
If you would like to review the local budget, prior to the vote next Tuesday, it’s available on the town’s website at www.newhartfordct.gov. Please exercise your right to vote! And if you have the time, contact our legislators in Hartford and tell them not to raise our taxes.
As always, I am available to answer any questions you may have regarding the budget. Call me at 860-379-3389 or stop by at your convenience.
Dan