A Democrat's Move to Cut Tax Collector's Salary Fails [VIDEO]

A move by the Board of Estimate and Taxation to cut the Greenwich Tax Collector's salary by 60 percent failed in a vote that went along party lines Thursday night.

Member Wiliam Finger, a Democrat, resurrected his motion made during the BET's Budget Committee deliberations that the Tax Collector salary be reduced to $40,000 a year rather than raised by 2 percent a year for the next two years to $94,197 for 2014 and to $96,081 in 2015. At its Feb. 28 vote, the budget committee voted 2-2, split along party lines, and failed to endorse Finger's proposed salary reduction.

Ironically, the tax collector's salary is the same as the Town Clerk, a position held for 21 years by Republican Carmella Budkins. Finger did not make any motions at the committee level or to the full 12-member BET to reduce that salary.

The motion and votes came during the BET's annual budget vote meeting which saw the approval of the town's proposed $427.8 million spending plan for 2013-14. The budget is about 6 percent more than the current combined town, school and capital budget of $404.3 million. If approved by the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) on May 13, the mill rate would increase by 2.75 percent to 10.675 mills per $1,000 of assessed valuation. (For budget details, please click here.)

Presenting his argument for cutting the tax collector's salary, Finger said, "I said we needed to change the salary structure in 2009…I want to note that there are 12 municipalities with populations of over 60,000 in the state … there is only one other than Greenwich that has elected tax collector — that is New Britain." Finger said he preferred an appointed tax collector and would offer a $40,000 to the appointee.

As incumbent Republican Tax Collector Tod Laudonia sat in the audience, Finger said his motion "was not personal."

"This is not directed towards the incumbent, it’s towards the position," Finger explained. "I do not want this to be perceived as against the tax collector or it’s personal. I did that with the previous tax collector (Democrat Lou Caravella)." (Please see video.)

Finger said, "I actually went to the tax collector's office this morning to tell him that this was what I was going to do ... it wasn't personal. He wasn't there." At that point, Laudonia attempted to interject but was ignored.

Budget Committee Chair Joseph Pellegrino said he was "uncomfortable" with the motion, especially with Laudonia in the audience. He suggested creating a BET committee to study the issue which would require a Town Charter change to convert the tax collector job to an appointed post.

The BET then took a vote on Finger's motion. The motion failed with a tie vote of 6-6, along party lines.

A subsequent vote to increase both the tax collector and town clerk salaries was 8-4, with Democrats Mary Lee Kiernan, Randall Huffman, Sean Goldrick and Finger opposing. Democrats Jeffrey Ramer and Robert Brady voted with all six Republicans in support of the raises.

Following the meeting Laudonia said, "I was at the Connecticut Tax Collectors Association convention attending seminars about the job they say I don't know how to do." He added, "I was in at 6:30 (a.m.) and left at 7:15 for the convention. He wasn't here then."

As the BET adjourned, Republican Town Committee Chair Steve Warzoha, who also is a member of the RTM's Budget Overview Committee, said, "This is a thinly veiled atempt at cheap election year politics that has no place during a vote on the budget..."