Rep. France Calls for New Methods to Old Practices

HARTFORD – State lawmakers are considering two proposals by State Rep. Mike France that could change the way municipalities handle their school budgets and charter revisions.

France told the legislature’s Planning and Development Committee that H.B. 5085 would grant Boards of Finance greater oversight and control over Board of Education non-educational expenses.

“Prior to being elected as a State Representative, I served for three years as a Ledyard Town Councilor and Finance Committee Chair,” said Rep France. “During that time, I observed many opportunities for the two boards to work together and create significant long-term savings for residents and taxpayers. Unfortunately, this never happened.”

“In many cases, the Board of Education budget is over 70% of the total town budget with very little oversight once the budget has been approved,” added Rep. France. “Providing an opportunity for greater oversight of non-educational expenses by Boards of Finance, Boards of Selectmen or the appropriating authority would result in direct savings to the taxpayers without sacrificing educational needs.”

Another of Rep. France’s money-saving bills is HB-5087, which will allow minor or technical changes to be made to Town Charters without exposing the entire charter to substantive changes.

“Charter revision processes are lengthy and do not allow for the Charter to be revised unless the entire document is opened to scrutiny and potential update,” said Rep. France. “The cost of this process is significant both in time and money, especially considering that at least two public hearings and a printed newspaper announcement are required to finalize any changes. This results in narrowly-defined revisions, which are relatively minor, being deferred for many years and therefore are rarely made to avoid the cost of revising the entire Charter.”

The next step of these bills will be decided by the Planning and Development Committee.