Apr 21, 2008
Breaking News
Selectmen opt to remove $290,000 from capital plan
New police cruisers also removed from budget process completely
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At a special meeting Thursday, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to remove $290,000 worth of items from the capital purchase package, the remainder of which, along with a land purchase, are headed to a town meeting Monday night.
Though the total appropriation amount is for $1,448,000, the removal of these items means the total amount to be borrowed for the capital and land purchase package will not exceed $1,158,000.
The selectmen and Board of Finance have recommended the appropriation be paid for with BANs (bond anticipation notes, or short-term borrowing) pending long-term financing.
The town meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Redding Community Center.
“The idea is to keep things as conservative as possible and to adopt a very conservative approach to our capital spending,” First Selectman Natalie Ketcham said Thursday.
Items which were removed are the refurbishment of two middle-sized dump trucks, at a cost of $50,000, a new pickup with a plow, for $45,000, and $135,000 for a new excavator for road drainage work.
Two police cars - one deferred from the current budget, one that's part of the regular rotation plan for the 2008-09 fiscal year - were also removed from the capital plan at $30,000 apiece. In addition, they are not being considered for the operating budget, or any other part of the budget process.
The cars were to replace two vehicles currently used by police, one which has 87,800 miles on it, and the other, 78,352. One of the vehicles upon replacement was going to be turned over to the town facilities coordinator, and the other, as part of the town hall fleet.
Although the replacement of the two cruisers was a need, not a want, Police Chief Douglas Fuchs said, “There is no greater need than personnel and I feel it is paramount that I make every possible reduction in the Police Department budget prior to having any discussion which involves personnel.”
The Redding Police Department has received a grant for $6,500 towards the purchase of a hybrid cruiser.
“While I feel this is an extremely important project and the funding opportunity significant, at this time the match funding required is not possible,” Chief Fuchs said.
Items which remain in the capital plan include $600,000 for road drainage and resurfacing. It also includes $78,000 worth of school capital items -$50,000 for stair repairs and a paving project at the elementary school, and $28,000 for a middle school room conversion to a classroom that was proposed for the board's 2008-09 budget. There is also a contingency in the total for the capital items.
“If (the capital plan) does not pass, it will have to be added to the operating budget,” Ms. Ketcham said. With interest rates as low as they are, it is the most economical way to have the program funded, she said.
“And we have done it before,” Selectman Tina Miller said.
Approval of the appropriation will have no financial impact on the proposed budget, said Ms. Ketcham. She explained that the cost of a BAN is already included in the proposal, and since the town already plans to roll over a BAN next fiscal year, the proposed appropriation could be rolled into it.
Removing the capital items from the budget will reduce the tax impact on taxpayers next year.
The land purchase included in the appropriation going to a town meeting Monday night is the proposed 29-acre land purchase at 147 and 148 Poverty Hollow Road, also known as the Hanssen property.
The two parcels, which are across from each other, lie directly in the Centennial Watershed State Forest.
The proposal is for the town to once again partner with The Nature Conservancy to buy the land for open space. The price is $800,000. The town would split the cost 50-50, if approved at the meeting, with The Conservancy. It would also split the $40,000 closing costs, so the town is asking the meeting to approve an appropriation up to $420,000.
The Nature Conservancy is also applying for a state grant that would cover 65% of the purchase price. In the past, the state grant on other joint purchases with the town have been at just a 50% reimbursement.
If the grant is approved, the town's share would fall to $160,000, or $5,500 per acre, said Ms. Ketcham.
Due to negotiations, there may be another party that would share in the cost. If so, said Bill Alvarez, finance board chairman in a commentary in this week's Pilot, the town's share could ultimately drop to as little as $80,000.
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