RTM OKs $358 Million Town, School Budget

In a marathon 5-plus hour annual budget meeting that literally went into overtime, the 230-member Representative Town Meeting early Tuesday approved a $358 million spending plan.

As expected, discussion focused on the lightening-rod issues for the 2011-2012 spending plan on whether to build the first phase of the Music Instructional Space and Auditorium (MISA) at Greenwich High School and to fund relocation of Central Fire Station staff and equipment in preparation for construction of a new facility.

What wasn’t expected was a prolonged discussion on whether the town should spend $39,973 in annual dues to belong to the lobbying group – the Connecticut Council of Municipalities (CCM); spend $100,000 on a study to replace the pool and upgrade Byram Park; and whether cut $1 million from the Board of Education’s administrative budget line.

By the time the clock ticked 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, all appropriations survived … except for the $39,973 for the CCM dues. The school board budget totals $136 million; a $45 million capital improvement budget, with the rest on town-wide spending.

The impact of what the spending plan will mean to taxpayers will be determined by the Board of Estimate and Taxation which is scheduled to meet Thursday evening to set the mill rate for the 2011-12 tax season.

Supporters of the MISA project were satisfied with the vote with several saying they were too exhausted to even have a reaction, given the late hour and the amount of time and work they put into working on adoption of the plan.

“This is wonderful news for the community and for the children,” said Jeffrey Spector, chairman of the Greenwich High School music department. Proponents of the project which will eventually include more classroom space for band, choir, music and performing arts classes, have for several years argued the auditorium has poor acoustics, sightlines and does not provide enough space for full-scale productions. Opponents have criticized the project saying it is too grand and expensive, citing a variety of price estimates, ranging from the projected $28 million to upwards of $50 million.

“I am just thrilled – it has been a long time in coming,” said GHS PTA co-chair Lauren Rabin. “I’m exhausted. I want to sleep,” she added when asked how she would celebrate the vote of 60 to 134, with 8 abstentions, to reject a motion to eliminate the MISA project from the Capital Improvement Plan Projects.

The MISA vote was the second time Monday night that the Board of Education was in the budgetary crosshairs. Earlier in the meeting, which was held in the Central Middle School auditorium, there was a move to cut $1 million from the board’s administrative budget line.

Several members spoke in favor of the reduction to force the education board’s administration to cut what was perceived a burgeoning administrative force with too many assistant principals, psychologists and social workers.

Board of Education Chairman Steven Anderson defended the assignment of assistant principals in each school. “We have one social worker for 11 elementary schools. In many schools there are two managers – a principal and an assistant principal with 60 teachers and support staff and 400 students. In private industry, that is a very lean operation,” Anderson said. When questioned by RTM Moderator Thomas Byrne, Anderson said the first time he heard of the $1 million proposed budget cut was at the meeting.

The motion by District 7 member Lucia Jansen to make the $1 million cut was to with defeated by a vote of 76-133, with 3 abstentionsn.

In other action, after more than a half-hour of debate  the RTM voted to retain a $100,000 appropriation to pay for a study of how to replace the pool at Byram Park and renovate and upgrade facilities at the waterfront park. The Junior League of Greenwich sought approval of the study so that a proposed private-public partnership can investigate how the replace the aging pool which has major leaks. The town’s actual financial burden with the study is $55,000 because of $45,000 in contributions to the town’s Parks and Recreation Department Foundation are earmarked for the study’s cost.

The pool originally was a residential pool that was part of the former Rosenfeld state the town purchased in the 1970s as a park. Pool capacity is 40 people and during hot summer days, a 20-minute limit is placed on swimmers.

The only item cut from the budget was the allocation to pay annual dues to the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. First Selectman Peter Tesei defended the expense saying the group gives the town a lobbying voice in Hartford and provides information and insight to the town on state legislative issues. The cut was approved by a vote of 129, with 75 against and 7 abstentions.

Another proposed budget cut that defeated involved cutting a $6 million bond for sewer improvements. Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman Steve Walko explained that eliminating or delaying the bond would force the RTM to also reduce the town’s operating budget by the same amount. In doing so, it would prevent the town from keeping a consent decree with the federal government to improve sewage transmission lines. Some of those lines failed in recent years, causing millions of gallons of raw sewage to be pumped into Long Island Sound. The town has paid $200,000 in fines because of the sewage spills.

The plan to relocated the Central Fire House to temporary quarters at the Horseneck Lane commuter parking lot also was passed.

As the clocked ticked closer to the midnight bewitching hour to adjourn the meeting, member Chris von Keyserling of District 8 was successful in having members vote to suspend rules and allow a half-hour extension to the midnight deadline.

However, as tallies were counted on the budget approval vote, most members had left, leaving moderator Byrne with a sparse crowd in the auditorium that less than an hour earlier had been nearly filled.