Hartford Courant

West Hartford Sets June 17 Budget Vote

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

Courant Staff Writer

May 28, 2008

Residents will get to vote on the town's $215.9 million adopted budget on June 17.

The town council set the referendum date Tuesday night, during a two-hour meeting that included a heated debate over a proposal from Republican council member Joe Visconti that Democrat Carolyn Thornberry compared to a witch hunt.

Visconti, who has announced his intentions to run against U.S. Rep. John Larson for the 1st District seat this fall, introduced a resolution asking that the town hire a third-party firm to review the town's spending. At first, Visconti said, he sought a forensic audit, but after speaking with Town Manager Jim Francis he realized it could result in "negative implications" for the town's image.

"We're not looking for fraud, we're not looking for any of that stuff," Visconti said. He argued that an audit would focus on cost savings for the town, in the form of consolidating services and reviewing line items such as food purchases.

Mayor Scott Slifka led the council's six Democrats in defeating the resolution, calling it "a bad idea."

"We are a Triple A-rated community ... that means we are considered to be above the top one-half of one percent of financial management in this nation, not just in Connecticut," Slifka said. "What we have in our budget, whether you're for it or you're not, is not a situation where we're wondering where the money went. We know exactly where it went. It's a question of whether people think it should be spent or not."

The 2008-09 municipal budget calls for a 6.9 percent spending increase and would mean an extra $42.95 in property taxes a month for the average homeowner with a $354,000 market value house after the 2006 revaluation. The West Hartford Taxpayers Association, which gathered enough signatures from registered voters to force the referendum, contends that the spending increase is too high and should be cut in half, according to group president Chris Torino.

But Mary Fleischli, president of the pro-budget group West Hartford FIRST, considers the spending necessary to maintain the level of services "that residents expect."

If voters defeat the budget June 17, the town council would need to adopt a revised plan before the fiscal year ends June 30, Slifka said.

The council Tuesday night also voted to implement a new rate at the Memorial and Isham parking garages in Blue Back Square to accommodate quick shoppers. Francis said he received complaints from some people who parked their cars for less than 30 minutes, but still had to pay the full $1.50 fee that the garages have charged for the first hour of parking.

Under the change, people will now pay 75 cents for the first half-hour. Francis said the new rate might cut about $10,000 from the town's parking revenue each year.