Monroe First Selectman Explains Town Budget Increase

MONROE, CT-- First Selectman Steve Vavrek sent the following letter to voters in the Town of Monroe, explaining the proposed 2016-2017 Town budget.

"As discussed last budget season, this is the second year of our newly formatted Monroe budget presentation. The process has been designed to bring you step by step through the development of the budget. This format depicts the actual yearly needs of the departments as presented by our Department Heads, which are then adjusted through the budget review process by your elected officials. By the time you, the voters, vote on the budget, it has already been assessed and adjusted through my office, and is presented to Town Council. After Town Council's review, the budget is submitted to the Board of Finance. The Board of Finance evaluates the budget and ultimately delivers it back to my office no later than March 21st. Once I have completed my final review, our proposed Annual Town Budget is submitted to the Annual Budget Referendum to be voted on by you. The referendum will be held on Tuesday, April 5th. From start to finish, this entire budget process takes approximately 3 months to complete.

Revenue

Revenue is anticipated to be relatively flat year over year. A notable exception to this is the Education Cost Sharing Grant (ECS) we receive from the State of Connecticut, which is anticipated to decline by $103,120. This is the result of the budget cuts which have been taking place in Hartford and are impacting every community in Connecticut. This ECS Grant accounts for approximately 62% of the Town's non-tax revenue on an annual basis.

This budget includes projected revenue from the collection of prior year taxes, and interest on these delinquent taxes, of $725,000. We have also projected revenue of $500,000 for the collection of supplemental motor vehicle taxes. The total of these projected amounts are $175,000 above what was budgeted in the prior year, which we based upon historical data and how current collections are trending. These amounts are reviewed in greater detail with the Tax Collector once the budget is delivered to the Board of Finance.

This budget requires the collection of $72,889,218 of current year taxes, which represents a 1.57% increase over the current fiscal year's operating budget.

Expenditures

The Town's operating budget (including debt service) as proposed has a total increase in expenditures of $596,432, which represents a 2.17% increase over the current fiscal years approved budget. The Board of Education operating budget as proposed has an increase of $833,012, which represents a 1.55% increase.

The increase in expenditures on the Town portion of the budget is driven by the following:

1. The projected costs to keep Chalk Hill open for the year $ 50,000

2. An increase in funding of the Town's OPEB Liability $ 79,000

3. The projected increase in Insurance (Health, W/C & LAP) $ 46,090

4. The projected budget impact of all salary increases $ 410,626

5. An increase in funding Emergency Medical Services (EMS) $ 156,992

The Board of Education increase is driven by a projected increase in salaries and benefits of $812,664.

Debt Service and Bonding

Total Debt Service is projected to decline slightly ($47,457) from last year. This includes an increase in principal payments on existing debt of $460,000, which will be largely offset by excess bond proceeds left over from the Masuk and Fawn Hollow Roof Projects of $409,400. These excess proceeds have been assigned to debt service by the Board of Finance.

By June 30, 2016, the Town will have made principal payments on existing bonded debt of $4,585,000 for the current fiscal year. It is anticipated that we will issue approximately $2,700,000 in new bonds for various projects later this spring. It has been the practice of both the Town Council and the Board of Finance not to approve any new debt in excess of what has rolled off in the prior fiscal year. This has been done in recent years in an effort to keep the total outstanding debt of the Town relatively flat at current levels. The projects, which will be bonded for later this spring, will be vetted by both the Town Council and the Board of Finance through their budget review. Details of the proposed projects can be found in the Capital Section of this budget.

As you will find, this budget provides the total long-term debt of the Town at the end of the past 10 fiscal years and what it is projected to be outstanding at the end of this fiscal year. This displays how the Town's debt has remained relatively flat over this period of time. This budget shows how the Town's General Fund Balance (both Unassigned and Total) has steadily improved over time, which has helped the Town maintain its Aa2 Bond Rating with Moody's.

Conclusion

My proposed budget will keep us on track of providing a safe community, improving our roads,educating our children, maintaining our buildings and parks, and continuing to offer the many programs and services we currently provide to the citizens of Monroe. I feel this has been accomplished while continuing to maintain the current fiscal health of the Town. The Department Heads are to be commended for their budget submissions, which addressed the many needs of the community. After meeting with each Department Head, I have attempted to bring this budget to a fiscally responsible level without compromising any services or obligations of the Town."

Click here to read the entire 16-17 Budget

Steve Vavrek, First Selectman
www.monroect.org