By DANIEL P. JONES
March 28, 2008
Four
residents — count 'em, four — spoke Thursday during
the first of two hearings on the proposed $215.8 million town budget for
2008-09, and all four panned the proposal.
Linda DiNapoli, a Mohegan Drive resident, and Theresa
McGrath, who lives on Richmond Road, characterized the proposal as full of
"fat" or including "questionable and unworthy" items.
Both called for a "forensic audit" of the proposed budget so, as DiNapoli put it, "we as taxpayers can really
understand what's going on here."
The afternoon hearing Thursday was the first of two town council public
hearings on Town Manager James Francis' proposed budget, which calls for a 6.9
percent spending increase. Town council leaders say it is merely a starting
point for what promise to be tough deliberations.
The council expects better attendance at the next hearing, scheduled for April
3 at 6 p.m. at town hall.
Francis earlier this month presented an overall education, municipal and
capital budget that would increase spending about $14 million, up from the
current 2007-08 budget of about $201.7 million.
The town will enter the second year of a five-year phase-in of the effect of a
2006 revaluation, which showed a shift of part of the property tax burden from
commercial to residential property owners.
In the current budget, the first year of the phase-in, tax bills reflected 25
percent of revaluation change. The next budget will apply 25 percent of the
remaining 75 percent of the effect; the result will be that each homeowner's
property tax increase will be different, according to Francis.
Homeowners can compare their property tax bills under the current budget with
an estimate under the proposed budget on the town's website at: www.westhartford.org/taxestimator/index.aspx.
McGrath, a Republican who said she's running for the 19th House District seat
against incumbent Democrat Beth Bye, helped to lead a petition drive last year
to force a referendum on the council's initial budget, which voters rejected.
She ran unsuccessfully for town clerk last November against newcomer Essie Labrot, a Democrat.
During Thursday's hearing, McGrath focused part of her criticism on the town
clerk's office, saying it is slated to get what she characterized as a
significant increase.
Francis' proposal shows a 4.4 percent increase from the current budget for that
office. Labrot said after the hearing that the
increase is not significant and that her office has fewer employees than other
towns that have a similar population, or even a smaller population.
"The increase is for items that are not controllable, such as dues and
fees for associations that the town belongs to, pension costs, risk
management," Labrot said. "We actually cut
office expenses in this budget."