Ask Jack Walton about Tuesday's budget referendum, and he has no simple answer. "That's such a mixed bag with me," said Walton, the Watertown-Oakville Taxpayers Association president. "It's not a simple yes or no on a budget. The decision was so complex it's staggering." Last year's b
udget required three attempts to pass. And while familiar divisions and opinions swirl around the current $61 million proposal, predicting the vote's outcome remains as illusive as agreement between those who most value limiting taxes and those who most support education. For Walton, the budget proposal evokes a mixture of principles, attitudes and forces that occasionally conflict with one another: the primary importance of education to prepare the next generation of leaders, an inadequate town tax base, the lack of local control over school funding in the face of state and federal mandates and binding arbitration rules for resolving labor disputes, and the strain of raising taxes on residents coping with a struggling economy. But while Walton said WOTA believes the town should not increase taxes, he said the group would not tell people how they should vote. "If you think the budget is satisfactory, you will vote yes," he said. "If you think it is too high, you go to the polls and vote no." The total cost of the budget being voted on at Tuesday's referendum reflects a 4 percent increase over the current spending plan. That includes a $24.8 million town budget, which increased by 6 percent only because of $1.4 million in debt payments for school construction projects. If approved, the $36.2 million school budget would increase by 2.7 percent. The proposals would raise residential real estate taxes by an average of 9.7 percent, a number that could vary greatly for individual property owners following the recently complete d revaluation. Council member Carl Mancini, the only member to vote against the proposal, believes the costs are too high. To read the complete story see The Sunday Republican or our electronic edition at http://republicanamerican.ct.newsmemory.com.
udget required three attempts to pass. And while familiar divisions and opinions swirl around the current $61 million proposal, predicting the vote's outcome remains as illusive as agreement between those who most value limiting taxes and those who most support education. For Walton, the budget proposal evokes a mixture of principles, attitudes and forces that occasionally conflict with one another: the primary importance of education to prepare the next generation of leaders, an inadequate town tax base, the lack of local control over school funding in the face of state and federal mandates and binding arbitration rules for resolving labor disputes, and the strain of raising taxes on residents coping with a struggling economy. But while Walton said WOTA believes the town should not increase taxes, he said the group would not tell people how they should vote. "If you think the budget is satisfactory, you will vote yes," he said. "If you think it is too high, you go to the polls and vote no." The total cost of the budget being voted on at Tuesday's referendum reflects a 4 percent increase over the current spending plan. That includes a $24.8 million town budget, which increased by 6 percent only because of $1.4 million in debt payments for school construction projects. If approved, the $36.2 million school budget would increase by 2.7 percent. The proposals would raise residential real estate taxes by an average of 9.7 percent, a number that could vary greatly for individual property owners following the recently complete d revaluation. Council member Carl Mancini, the only member to vote against the proposal, believes the costs are too high. To read the complete story see The Sunday Republican or our electronic edition at http://republicanamerican.ct.newsmemory.com.Source : www.rep-am.com/articles/2009/06/15/news/419626.txt
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