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Community Corner

Windsor's 2013-2014 Budget - When Old Business is Called New Business

Via E-mail, on Friday, I received a copy of the agenda for the Monday, August 5 Town Council meeting.  I was not surprised to see agenda item 12c which appropriates $630,000 for one-time items that were dropped in deliberations for the initial budget referendum.  The TC said then that they would come back with a budget addendum that would restore expenditures "dropped" from the budget, regardless of where the final level of approved expenditures ended up at.  My only surprise was to see this under "NEW BUSINESS" rather than "UNFINISHED BUSINESS."  I think there is more transparency if this is viewed as Unfinished Business.  ......... Under New Business I had hoped to see an appropriation of $290,000 for free multicultural responsiveness training offered by the CT State Department of Education (the cost is for substitute teachers for when they attend the two day training) for BOE staff.  Rosie Miskavitch and I have advocated for this training in front of both the BOE and Finance Committee of the TC.  Regardless of where your views are with respect to closing the achievement gap, this training will eventually be part of any solutions adopted.  The BOE should not be locked out of additional spending this year; the BOE has contributed to the $15 million "General Fund Unassigned Fund Balance" over the years.  And, the multicultural responsiveness training is a one-time expenditure for existing staff (and would be additional costs in future years for new staff only).  ............ Another New Business appropriation that I had hoped to see was an appropriation of approximately $500,000 (or more?) for the initial funding of the $18 million unfunded liability for the OBEP benefits (other benefits except pensions - post retirement medical benefits).  The Windsor pension fund is fully funded, maybe slightly more than 100 percent funded  There is currently no OBEP fund.  If the discount rate (interest earnings rate) used for the pension plan (8 percent) is used for the OBEP fund, this $500,000 would earn $40,000 a year (excess earnings, or shortfalls, are amortized over 15 years).  Unfunded post retirement benefits are the millstones around the necks of many states and municipalities.  Those with well funded plans do not face guaranteed tax increases in the future.  I had a brief conversation about this with the Town Manager this spring, and made a pitch to the TC Finance Committee in June or July.  .............  Do any of you have ideas regarding other one-time expenditures out of the $15 million fund balance?  It will still be $15 million, since the FYE June 30, 2013 surplus is expected to be $1.2 million.

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