East Windsor Budget for the Whole Community

On Tuesday May 14th, East Windsor votes on a budget which contains improvements that will benefit everyone in town.  It directly affects the public health and safety of all residents by investing in ambulance, fire departments, road maintenance, emergency preparedness, and school safety.  This budget satisfies contractual obligations and includes proposals to strengthen public safety. It includes $50,000 in funding for the non-profit ambulance association.  This is nowhere near the total cost to run this non-profit organization but helps ensure they can maintain a fully functional fleet and are able to respond promptly to all calls.  If they are unable to respond we must rely on nearby towns, wasting time and potentially threatening the health and well-being of residents. The budget implements the longtime recommendations of both fire departments to supplement our volunteer fire fighter base with paid part time firefighters for the day shift, a need for years.  Current day shifts don’t always have volunteers available to respond.  Again, nearby towns must respond, wasting time and potentially threatening the safety and well-being of residents. The proposal increases funding for our emergency management/civil preparedness and provides resources to ensure quick, safe, and organized response during hurricanes, blizzards, or any other public emergency. Included is an increase in funding for road repairs and maintenance, an area neglected due to budget cuts in recent years.  We must provide Public Works the necessary resources to stay ahead of the deterioration of our infrastructure. An increase in our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is included.  This year’s CIP reflects the common theme of the budget - a commitment to public safety. A significant portion is for safety and security oriented improvements at town government, public safety, and school facilities.  Increased CIP is also necessary to maintain our aging facilities.  The CIP is our investment in long term planning and infrastructure maintenance.  It’s also important to mention the property revaluation  which will impact all property owners differently. The reduced grand list is compensated for by an increased mill rate to equal the same dollars.  The proposed budget is a 1.3 mil increase over the revaluation adjustment and provides significant improvements for that increase. Overall the budget proposal is broad in scope and takes significant steps to strengthen services, protect public safety, improve infrastructure and affects the entire community.  Please support this budget which benefits the whole community of East Windsor. Tom Clynch Bill Schultz Cathy Simonelli