Finance board's $127 million operating budget would lower taxes

Written by Macklin Reid
Friday, 20 April 2012 11:17

“At the end of the day, we’re talking about a difference of one tenth of one percent on an $81-million budget,” said Marty Heiser of the Board of Finance.

On their way to a $127 million budget that would reduce taxes by 1.15% next year, the finance board on April 4 approved a $100,000 cut to the $81-million school budget request, after rejecting a $200,000 school cut proposed by Mr. Heiser. Even with the $100,000 cut, the school budget is a more than a $2-million, or 2.60%, increase over this year’s $79 million in education spending.

Economist Perna hopes Congress isn’t ‘suicidal’

Written by Jake Kara, Press Staff
Tuesday, 10 April 2012 04:36

The “great recession” is being followed by the “not so great recovery,” according to economist Nick Perna.

Economic indicators don’t all point one direction, but a “reasonable” expectation based on current information is continued recovery — if at a painfully slow pace. That’s the picture Mr. Perna, an influential economist who has advised numerous banks including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, painted for the Board of Finance last Tuesday night as that board prepared to decide on a 2012-13 spending plan to send to voters for approval.

Mr. Perna said that Board of Finance Chairman Dave Ulmer’s analysis that “we’re looking at sort of mixed signals” on a local level, was “a great backdrop” for an overview of the economy. He touched on similar themes as in a September Ridgefield Playhouse appearance, saying we’re still in the midst of the aftermath of the “great recession,” which he calls the “not so great recovery.”

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Numbers show town’s economy struggles to grow

Written by Macklin Reid, Press Staff
Saturday, 07 April 2012 04:44

The economic erosion of the last five years shows in statistics on Ridgefield — income down, unemployment up, conveyance taxes on real estate sales falling, foreclosures rising.

“The overall theme is caution, and that Ridgefield may be what economists call a ‘lagging indicator’ relative to what looks like a strengthening national recovery,” said Finance Board Chairman Dave Ulmer, who assembled the figures.

But the town’s basic fiscal strength and stability are also apparent in numbers and charts Mr. Ulmer presented at the Board of Finance public hearing last week. The grand list is continuing to grow, though slowly. The surplus “fund balance” has also grown.