MY TAKE - Wallingford budget passes with additional cuts

So as two points of reference you have the blog post I put up on Monday May 13th titled Wallingford Budget to be decided upon at the 5/14 Town Council Meeting and the story that ran in the Record Journal on Thursday May 16th titled Wallingford budget passes with additional cuts.
 
For clarification purposes from the article I am going to first address the following:

Town Councilor Jason Zandri, who supported Sullivan’s amendment, said increasing the tax rate to balance the budget instead of cutting education money would only mean an additional $5 a month for the average household.

“The lesser of the two evils here is to charge a little more in taxes,” said Zandri, a Democrat.

I want to have full context and explanation around this because as printed it is not fully clear.

The comments I made of "an additional $5.00 a month per average household" would be the TOTAL additional taxes charged IF we saved the additional Board of Education cuts AND included the increase in taxes that Mayor Dickinson already approved.

Mayor Dickinson approved $46.00 a year of additional taxes for median assessed homeowners and we were discussing an additional $14.00.

The "lesser of two evils" (further tax increase) comment came AFTER we had proposed other alternatives. I would rather pass on $14.00 of additional taxes than cut the Board of Education budget further. 

We offered to raise the revenue side (income) calculations and proposed some other cuts to totally negate the tax increase and save the additional cuts to the Board of Education budget. This was voted down 6 to 3.

We offered to use an additional $280,000.00 from the rainy day fund to offset the additional cuts to the Board of Education budget. This current budget already included $4.3 million dollars from that fund allowing $6 million to remain behind - an additional $280,000.00 was easily handled. This was voted down 6 to 3.

We offered to up the taxes an additional $14.00 a year to avoid the additional cuts to the Board of Education budget. This was voted down 5 to 4.

At the end of the day, three ways to get the job done were proposed and all were rejected. It is pretty clear that the intent was to make sure this cut stayed since they went through so much trouble to keep saying "no" to every solution provided. If they wanted to correct the problem another way they could have offered it. They didn't. They had their solution already there - add further cuts to education.
 
If you favor this outcome then you've voted the correct people into office in 2011 and they have represented you well.
 
While I am disappointed with the cuts I am content with the process at how we arrived at this outcome; the people that did show up to vote, elected officials to perform this work on behalf of them and they carried out that duty.
 
If you think one of the other solutions provided was better or something else should have been suggested then you need to consider more like minded people when you go to vote in November.
 
As a follow up to that - only 37% of the registered voters showed up to vote in the last local election; the minority of about 6,000 voters is having their say for the majority of all Wallingford residents (approximately 45,000) many of whom cannot vote like the children in the school system.
 
More food for thought. At the end of the day, your local elections are at least as important as the Presidential ones (where Wallingford voters turn out at 85%). They impact your property taxes and the type of local services you receive, from Police and Fire to town operations. It also impacts the public school system where your children and grandchildren go to learn and become productive members of society.
 
It is important to vote always; to me there is more impact being one voice of 25,000 (the number of registered voters in Wallingford) over one voice of 150,000,000 (the approximate number of registered voters in the United States).

 

Keeping posted, post-Sandy, in Wallingford

I am going to do a recap of what I have for news from all the sources as I have them.

Some of this data is from prior posts of mine and a bulk load of the information is from the Record Journal which has adapted quite well in driving real-time, local information for Wallingford.

So here we go:

https://twitter.com/SalMenzo
Dr. Sal Menzo‏@SalMenzo

All Wallingford Public Schools are open 10/31 except for Sheehan High School. Sheehan High School will be closed 10/31 and 11/1. #wpschools

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Portion of roof blown off Sheehan High School in storm

By Laurie Rich Salerno
Record-Journal staff
lsalerno@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@LaurieSalernoRJ

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HURRICANE SANDY - Electric Division - System Restoration
http://jasonzandri.blogspot.com/2012/10/hurricane-sandy-electric-division.html

http://www.town.wallingford.ct.us/News/newsView.asp?newsID=40968208

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Wallingford Electric Division working on power outages; 3,200 customers or 13 percent

http://www.myrecordjournal.com/wallingford/article_d129ebd6-2296-11e2-9496-0019bb2963f4.html 

By Laurie Rich Salerno
Record-Journal staff
lsalerno@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2235
Twitter:@LaurieSalernoRJ

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WALLINGFORD and CONNECTICUT; Outages by the numbers (as I have them at about 3:00PM 10/30/2012)

http://jasonzandri.blogspot.com/2012/10/wallingford-and-connecticut-outages-by.html 

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Keeping up to date:

I do the best I can keeping my blog up to date at Jason Zandri Wallingford Town Councilor but this is just me and a singular effort that happens as I get the information and as I have the time to post it.

I would recommend MyRecordJournal.com as they have the professional staff doing the digging.

From the social media side of things there are two Facebook groups I would recommend staying plugged into:

Concerned Parents Wallingford CT Board of Educ. Budget for the school related stuff (goes beyond the budget these days but that is how it was originally formed).

Wallingford CT Community Forum for town-wide general stuff.

My thoughts on the school roof solar plan

There was a story in this morning’s Record Journal (Friday April 27, 2012) titled Council passes school roof solar panel plan.

I voted in support of this plan for at least the two high schools but there was an option on the table to do the two middle schools in town as well.

There were funds from DEEP that can be applied for by the town. Wallingford could fund the solar panels through fines levied against Covanta by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Councilor Fishbein brought up the point and said DEEP may give the fines, totaling more than $400,000.00, to the town for energy conservation projects.

The money is there to grant but only if there are these energy conservation projects to claim against.

The council discussed adding solar panels to the two high schools, which would add $120,000.00 to the project after receiving nearly 50 percent reimbursement from the state. If we went for all four the cost would have been about twice that.

All of that remaining cost, after the 50 percent reimbursement from the state, could have been paid for out of that $400,000.00 Covanta fine.

So basically, if we applied for and received the fine award of $120,000.00 there would be no cost for the panels for the two high schools. If we went for all four schools we could have gotten the same.

The reduction in energy expenditures realized from the use of the system and the resulting energy bill reductions would be a direct savings to the school system and those monies, potentially, could be directed to other expenditures within the schools – perhaps things slated to be cut or things that otherwise went unfunded.

Unless we have other, future, energy conservation projects to make claims against the funds will end up not being used and the monies could be potentially lost to other entities that have some rights to the Covanta fine (as applicable to them).

To me, that is a lost opportunity and I am disappointed that others did not see it the same way. 

I will take it in consolation that we did get two of the schools but we are leaving behind that additional money and I do not believe we will have the same opportunity in the future to apply for the funds again.

Maybe I’m wrong about that – guess we’ll see.

FROM WALLINGFORD – Education is a bargain

This was originally written by me back in 2009 and published in the Record Journal. I felt it timely to re-publish it with the upcoming budget hearings.

I am also considering writing a letter to the editor to update the numbers a bit.

As that comes out I’ll make sure to post it.

 

As published online via MyRecordJournal.com Friday August 28, 2009 for Sunday print publication in the Record Journal

I was engaged with someone in conversation recently about the cost of education in Wallingford as a reflection of the taxes we pay. Their chief comments were generically that about 60 percent of our entire budget went to pay for public schooling, and he felt that now that his kids were out of school he should pay a smaller portion of taxes.

I asked how long he owned his home in Wallingford, and he said, "about 30 years now."

When I asked how many kids he put through the school system, he said, "three."

His thoughts piqued my curiosity, so I looked into the details.

Here are the facts:

The FY10 budget for the Town of Wallingford is $140,379,869 and $85,057,113 (basically 60 percent) is for the Board of Education’s portion of the budget.

The expected student enrollment for FY10 is 6,573 for Wallingford public schools.

If you simply divide the budget by the students this comes to just about $12,940.38.

If you were from out of town and wanted to pay to send your child to Wallingford Schools you could apply to do so and pay the per pupil expenditure/applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment, $9,743.00 for middle school, or $10,604 for high school.

According to the City Data website, the estimated median home value in 2007 in Wallingford was $303,694.

Houses equaled 17,306 (16,697 occupied: 12,132 owner-occupied, 4,565 renter-occupied).

For the sake of the remaining discussion, let’s use the smallest rate I can: the applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment and the estimated median value for a Wallingford home.

Taxes are assessed at 70 percent of the fair market value of the property at the time of valuation which we do every five years.

The current mill rate is set at 23.2.

70 percent of the estimated median cost of a home in Wallingford would be $212,585.80, and when you apply 23.2 mills you get a tax bill of $4,932 almost on the dot. (I am forgoing car taxes in this discussion.)

If we assume that the cost of taxes on homes would rise equally with the rise in the cost of education then we can just use constant dollars.

We can assume 2 children per household for households with children (and my friends would be quick to point out that my family is skewing that number).

Skipping kindergarten and assuming not repeating a grade, a child is in the public school system for 12 years.

12 years times 2 kids times the applied tuition rate of $9,455 for elementary school enrollment (only) equals $226,920 in total education costs.

Divide $226,920 in total education costs by the annual tax bill of $4,932 means that in basically 46 years the cost of educating two children from the same household is covered in taxes collected.

Only that cost – no consideration for any other town services consumed in those 46 years – just educating those two kids.

I realize there are many variables, but for every pro there’s a con.

Businesses are taxed, but they don’t send kids to school; they may consume a larger portion of other town services.

Not everyone has children; those households pay into a pot they don’t use – many people are renters and the tax offset of the landlord does not equal.

I could go on and offset continually – the main point of the column was to bring the costs to the surface of what we actually get as a community for the taxes paid.

(By the way, 17,306 households times the median tax bill of $4,932 equals $85,353,192.)

Remember, the BOE budget this year was $85,057,113.

It is a community’s responsibility to educate its students – in the classroom and beyond.

You can’t put a price on an education. No matter how one gets it, by my math we are paying a bargain rate in taxes for the privilege.

Lyman Hall and Sheehan bands still in running for Pepsi grant

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday December 27, 2011

By Melissa Chicker
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — The marching bands at Sheehan and Lyman Hall high schools have teamed together to encourage the community to vote in a contest that could result in a $50,000 grant for new uniforms.

“Combining our efforts gets more people of the community involved,” Sheehan band director David Giardina said. “We thought if we combine the two schools in this competition, we will get a lot more votes and give us a better chance to win the grant.”

The schools are competing as one against 322 other groups around the country in a contest sponsored by the Pepsi Refresh Project, which gives away millions of dollars each month. The top 10 groups in the competition that ends on Saturday will receive $50,000.

“Grants are for wide-reaching ideas and with groups and organizations putting in significant time and effort,” officials said on the Pepsi Refresh Project website.

The grant would go toward about 125 uniforms for each of the two marching bands. Each new uniform costs at least $500, setting a steep total price of up to $140,000.

Uniforms, said Giardina, typically last 10 to 13 years. Sheehan’s uniforms are between 15 and 17 years old.

The Sheehan and Lyman Hall bands were in second place Monday — they have been among the top five the entire time, including some time at No. 1. Giardina believes the effort to get out the word is the key.

“We spread the word through our band parents’ organization and throughout the schools,” he said. “Word has spread quickly and I think this is why we have been so successful so far.” The competition began Dec. 1, and both band groups have been working since the start to urge people to log onto the site and cast their vote. Supporters have passed out fliers at Stop & Shop on weekends, created a Facebook page and sent emails to family and friends.

“The schools have always been rivals, and while it’s good to have a rivalry, this is a great way to foster the community spirit and work together for a common goal,” said Heidi Belcourt, co-president of the Sheehan Music Parents Association.

Voters can vote up to three times per day until Saturday.

Pepsi Refresh Project: FINAL WEEK - Replace parts of 17 year old band uniforms at 2 Wallingford High Schools

VOTE VOTE VOTE

http://pep.si/vTCmA8

We slipped to third place this morning (Tuesday December 27th). This is a make or break week. 

Not only is it the last week but MANY people who might otherwise vote are not online as much as they might normally be as they are off from work. (Our supporters included).

If we can stay organized, focused and keep getting the word out we can do this!

Vote every day. Email the link to your family and friends.
 

VOTE NOW WALLINGFORD!

YOU CAN VOTE ONCE EACH DAY!

Pepsi Refresh Challenge: we are back in first place. HELP KEEP US THERE.

We slipped last night to 2^nd place but as of this morning (12/15) we are back to first.

Help keep us there! VOTE EACH DAY!

http://www.refresheverything.com/wallingfordbands

Pepsi Refresh – Let’s keep Wallingford’s schools at the top through 12/31

You can vote daily. Let’s all try to do this and get this money for Wallingford’s high schools and their bands!

We are in first place – c’mon Wallingford; let’s keep us there!

VOTE! http://pep.si/vTCmA8 VOTE!

Pepsi Refresh Project - Replace parts of 17 year old band uniforms at 2 Wallingford High Schools – HELP KEEP US IN FIRST PLACE!

VOTE NOW WALLINGFORD!

YOU CAN VOTE ONCE EACH DAY!

Wallingford board seeks parent input on school budget

By Russell Blair

Record-Journal staff 

rblair@record-journal.com

(203) 317-2225

WALLINGFORD - Parents who want their voices to be heard as the school budget is built for 2012-13 are encouraged to attend a forum next week.

On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., a parent budget forum will be held at the Lyman Hall High School's vo-ag community room. Board of Education member Chet Miller said it's important to get parent input as the school board prepares its budget.

"They're more in touch with specific problems and issues they feel are in danger than we are at the board level," said Miller, a Republican. "We see things on a broader spectrum, whereas they might be in touch with a sport or an activity."

Miller said that parent input is crucial because the budget process will be beginning shortly.

"We like to know going in if there are areas that need attention," he said. "It's harder to change things after the fact."

School Superintendent Salvatore Menzo said he hopes to hear specific areas of the budget that parents would like to be examined.

"We want them to share with us areas they'd like us to consider in the process," he said.

Menzo said that the district uses its strategic plan to help build the budget. The six areas covered by the Wallingford plan include community outreach, curriculum and instruction, district climate, facilities, finance and technology.

"We're taking each one, and want to see things that they want continued and possible changes," he said. "We use that as another piece of information."

Menzo said last year's budget forum for parents was the first, and while only about a dozen parents attended they all came with ideas and questions.

"It's so important to hear from parents," Menzo said. "This is not my budget, it's not the Board of Education's budget, it's the town's budget for the children."

The 2011-12 education budget was $4,779,296 less than the $91,573,029 the board had proposed to the mayor. Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr.'s budget represented a 0.42 percent increase over the 2010-11 budget; the board has sought a 5.95 percent increase.

School officials have said that if the district receives no increase in its budget for the next year, it could face a shortfall of several million dollars.