The Westport Board of Finance tonight received the proposed $161.3 million 2007-08 budget, which is a 6.9 percent increase over the current budget, during its meeting tonight.
The proposal includes a $57.5 million selectman’s budget, which is a 5.9 percent increase over the current budget, and a $89.2 million Board of Education operating budget, which is a 8.4 percent increase over the current budget.
First Selectman Gordon Joseloff and Board of Education Chairwoman Mary Parmelee gave presentations of the two proposed budgets.
Joseloff said much of his budget proposal this year, like last year, involves “catching up,” including in public safety and technology.
“(The increase) is higher than I obviously would like it to be, but it is necessary to maintain the health and safety of Westporters and the services that Westporters expect to be delivered by our town government,” he said.
Town officials hope to offset some of the budget increase though additional state funds, an easement sale proceeds with Connecticut Light & Power and the continuance of the property conveyance tax, he said.
Much of the budget increase, Joseloff said, is from the addition of new firefighters, which includes 16 new positions over the next few years. The first new firefighters would be hired in September if the budget is approved, he said.
The fire department operating budget increase is slated at 10.8 percent, he said.
“What we could tolerate 16 or 20 or even 30 years ago as far as manning levels go is no longer tolerable,” he said. “There are lives at stake here—lives of our residents, our visitors and our firefighters, and I don’t want to risk one of them if we don’t have to.”
The technology budget is also increasing by 30 percent, he said, to a budget of just over $850,000 in an effort for residents to do their business with the town “on your schedule, not ours.”
Town officials have also advanced culvert improvement projects in the capital forecast, he said, to answer the concerns of increased flooding.
Parmelee said while town officials are moving forward to catch up, school officials are not.
“I know the number is large and you’re not happy with it, but we are taking a step back,” she said.
She urged the Board of Finance to look beyond the numbers and at the assumptions about enrollment, contractual obligations and maintenance projects.
The board spent many hours reviewing the budget and didn’t take the $600,000 cut from the operating budget lightly, Parmelee said.
“It was a decision not made easily,” she said. “We know the impact.”
The board reduced eight full-time positions, including three teachers, she said.
At Staples High School, she said, there will be a new way on how students can take courses.
Unless there are sufficient numbers—which is at least 15 students in most cases—to take a class, an additional section of a course will not be added, Parmelee said.
The result will be an increase in class size numbers, she said, because school officials want to tell as few students as possible that they cannot take a course.
“We will put as many kids as possible in a class, which means there is the possibility of classes with up to 30 students,” she said.
The Board of Finance will hold its budget hearing on March 26 at 8 p.m. in Town Hall, which is when it may make any changes to the proposed budget.
The final budget vote before it moves on to the Representative Town Meeting will be on April 11, which is also when some or all of potential budget cuts could be restored to the proposed budget.
