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Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Finance Board Hears 2013-14 Town, School Budgets

By James Lomuscio

With the theme of doing more with less while “maintaining our excellent services,” Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff tonight presented the Board of Finance his proposed $75.6 million municipal budget for 2013-14, a 2.5 percent increase over the current year.

Board of Education Chair Elaine Whitney tonight explains the board’s requested 3.95 percent 2013-14 budget increase. The town is asking for a 2.5 percent increase. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

Elaine Whitney, Board of Education chairwoman, also presented the school’s proposed $104.2 million budget for next year, a 3.95 percent increase. She stressed the bump was due to “contractual salary and benefits increases” for the school system’s 883 employees, most of them teachers.

Joseloff said Westport is in a more favorable financial situation than other towns, but that challenges remain due to “increasing health costs, pension and OPEB (other post employment benefits) obligations—and increasing costs to maintain our quality of life.”

During Joseloff’s budget address (full text available here), his eighth and last since the two-term Democrat is not seeking re-election in November, he reaffirmed public safety remains his No. 1 priority and asked for funds to hire an additional police officer as well for more than the current one-day-a-week tree warden “to properly maintain our trees.”

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