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01/18/2016 11:00 PMIt’s that time of year again: budget season. With many costly projects in the line up for the 2016-2017 budget and the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) in its inaugural year, town officials are hard at work piecing together the final numbers.
First Selectman Tom Banisch, who is experiencing his first budget cycle in his new position, said there are some challenges ahead, but that he is getting creative when it comes to funding. The town is using a program called Grant Finder, provided by the Connecticut Department of Municipalities.
“Basically you tell them what it is you are trying to fund and they look to see if there is anything that matches up,” he said. “Whether it be a communication project or something for the ambulance or something for the fire department.
“We are applying for a couple grants...the STEAP grant, as we always do,” Banisch said, “and there is another one we are applying for which is a transit-oriented grant based on the fact that our train station is so close to our downtown.”
The town is facing rising costs, such as a 15 percent increase in health insurance, with no matching rise in the town’s Grand List of Taxable Property, which has some residents concerned that tax rates will rise just to maintain current town services.
“You have got to deal with it, so my focus is trying to improve our revenues in whatever way we can,” he said. “The best way is to broaden the tax base, but in a town like Madison it can be difficult because we don’t have an awful lot of commercial development available.”
Banisch said working to improve revenues and adding to the Grand List is a balancing act when it comes to a town like Madison.
“I have to tell you that I am hearing from people that they are concerned about what is going to happen with taxes, but at the same time nobody wants to have services cut, so it is a challenge and we are working very hard at it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the CIP Committee is working to prioritize the budget and meet with all departments that currently have capital requests, according to Committee Chair Jean Fitzgerald.
“Public safety is always going to be a major priority,” she said. “In addition, there are some items that are in an established replacement cycle, that we will continue to fund, for example the ambulances and fire trucks.”
As of now, the Beach & Recreation, Police, Ambulance, and Fire departments as well as the Board of Education all have requests for major purchases in with the CIP. There is also a request for the proposed library reconstruction.
Fitzgerald said time has been the biggest obstacle with the new program.
“Because the committee was not formed until after the election, we have had some struggles with gathering all the information needed to make an informed decision,” she said. “What the committee has responsibly decided to do is to, when appropriate, move forward certain projects to the Board of Selectman and the Board of Finance with an asterisk that identifies where we believe there needs to be further discussions with the boards prior to recommendation and possible approval.”
Overall, Fitzgerald said she has been pleased with the new process and public input.
“We are pleased with the overall process and the ability it provides us to have a comprehensive and responsible plan for the capital needs of our town,” she said. “The finance director and her staff have been an intricate part of the initial success of the CIP. We are looking forward to having more input from the public.”
The next public meeting for the CIP will be held Thursday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Polson Middle School.