Know Your Rights When Redeeming Gift Cards

IF IT’S BROKE, FIX IT

Connecticut has charged numerous task forces with fixing the Educational Cost Sharing Formula. But who’s counting? Members of the Education Committee, that’s who.

“Over the years there have been six ECS task forces. I hope this one will advance the work,” said and member of the Education Committee.

The ECS formula is supposed to level the educational playing field by considering differences in both student need and a towns' ability to pay for education. But flaws in the funding formula mean state aid doesn’t always match local need, according to advocacy groups and legislators. Come February the General Assembly needs to address

“That’s one of our most important issues,” said Jim Finley, Executive Director of the Connecticut Conference on Municipalities.

That’s because the current formula uses outdated and misleading sources of data, according to the CT Voices for Children, a Hartford-based advocacy group. Right now ECS is partially based on income data from the 2000 decennial Census. It includes dorm and prison residents in town population counts, thus distorting the wealth measure for those towns.

Moreover, some students are counted twice in cities where the student attends a magnet or charter school due to delayed payments, said and a member of the Education Committee.

“The formula has been broken for a long time and needs to be fixed,” Kupchick said. 

In addition, current funding statutes don’t allow flexibility in town budgeting even though school enrollments are decreasing statewide. The formula also lets towns shift local education funds to non-educational purposes, according to CT Voices.

“There's towns like Fairfield that send a high percentage of our tax money to the state and get a very small amount of ECS dollars,” Kupchick said. “Some will say Fairfield is affluent and doesn't need the money, but I would counter that Fairfield has provided services to a wide range of student needs from English as a second language, special education costs which increase every year, and increased student enrollment which Fairfield consistently faces. Fairfield is a diverse town and many people up in Hartford think everyone in Fairfield is wealthy.”

The same holds for Stamford and Norwalk, two cities with widely divergent income levels, Lavielle said.

“They don’t end up getting a fair shake because the wealthy neighborhoods distort the formula,” Lavielle said. “They’ve got to try and sort that out.”

Drawing data from income tax returns could help fix the formula, said CCM’s Finley. While the Department of Revenue Services strives to protect privacy, Finley said “there are ways to get that information without compromising confidentiality.”

For example, in 2012 tax returns will be collected and sorted by town rather than zip code, Finley said.

“Zip codes straddle towns and can skew data,” he said.

ALL THE TRIMMINGS

CCM also has its eye on storm recovery efforts.

“The major disaster declaration is a good thing, it means towns will recoup up to 75 percent of the money they spent after the October storm. That’s been very helpful,” CCM’s Executive Director Finley said.

CCM is worried about the sheer volume of tree limbs and general storm debris. Finley said he’s raised the issue with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

“I want them to loosen their restrictions on disposal and getting the stuff to the dump, maybe even allow burning. It costs too much for the municipalities,” Finley said.

Going forward Finley said Connecticut must figure a more equitable solution over who bears what burden regarding tree trimming. 

Next Tuesday night will give constituents a chance to weigh in on the issue. He’s hosting a post-Thanksgiving Day forum with representatives from CL&P, and Denis McCarthy, Norwalk Fire Department Chief and Director of Emergency Operations. 

DO LOOK A GIFT CARD IN THE MOUTH

Lavielle offered these Connecticut Better Business Bureau tips for using and redeeming gift cards during the holiday season.

1. Know your rights. Recent federal rules are designed to protect consumers by restricting fees and changing conditions regarding gift card expiration dates.

2. Fact check: Check out any business to ensure you’re buying from a known and trusted source.  Avoid online auction sites that promise “full value guaranteed” gift cards.

3. It’s what’s on the inside: Beware of gift cards appearing to have been removed from their packaging, are nearing their expiration date or are already expired.  Verify that no protective stickers have been removed and that the protective layer on the back of the card hasn't been scratched off to reveal a PIN number. Report damaged cards on display to the seller.

4. The back-up plan: Give the recipient the original receipt in case they lose the card or it gets stolen.