What Will the 2012-13 Budget Proposal Be?

Monroe has a storied history of budget battles, but last year voters approved the 2011-12 proposal with only one referendum — for the first time in 17 years. A modest 0.35 percent spending increase helped to break the cycle.

First Selectman Steve Vavrek and town departments have more to consider as they crunch numbers for the 2012-13 budget proposal Wednesday night. Bonding for the Monroe police station building project and Chalk Hill School being moved to the municipal side of the ledger among them.

"Priorities are our roads and infrastructure," Vavrek said during an interview in his Town Hall office Tuesday. "When you wait longer for maintenance, things break down."

The first selectman said that leads to higher costs down the road as roads need to be paved, buildings repaired and equipment replaced. Paying for these needs may also have a ripple effect on services as officials cut back.

"Nobody wants to pay higher taxes, but they deserve services," Vavrek said of Monroe residents. "And I think they will support certain increases if they see the money is going to support maintenance and these services."

The first selectman said the budget proposal was still being worked on, so no proposed increase will be made public until his presentation during a Town Council hearing in the Council Chambers of Monroe Town Hall at 6:30 on Wednesday night.

"This is not a good economy," he said. "People want it as low as possible. We've passed higher budgets in past years. Unfortunately, we let so many things go in the community and we have to pay for it now or it will cost more later."

Among some of the mill rate increases approved over past years were 8.44 percent in 2006, 5.21 percent in 2007, and 4.6 percent in 2008, according to data released by the First Selectman's Office.

The current $76.9 million town budget has $51.43 million for education and $17.65 million for municipal expenditures. The mill rate is 28.8 mills.

One of Vavrek's goals is to keep Chalk Hill, which was closed as a school and turned over to the town by the Board of Education last year, open.

The Parks & Recreation Department has offices in the building, Monroe Volunteer Emergency Medical Services uses it for training and the Monroe Early Learning Center, a daycare business, is headquartered there.

"There are so many assets to keeping that building," Vavrek said.

The Board of Education had a one dollar increase last year. A salary freeze for teachers will be lifted in the new fiscal year. The Board of Education is proposing a $52.35 million budget for 2012-13 — a 1.79 percent increase over current spending.

New superintendent of schools, James Agostine, will present the budget alongside Vavrek on Wednesday night.

"We're not at that level where we can say, 'What can we cut?'" Agostine said Tuesday afternoon. "I'm looking to make an appeal tomorrow night to the Town Council, then to the Board of Finance, to keep us whole. We need to work together on a budget townspeople can support."

Contractual obligations for benefits and salaries account for just over 80 percent of the Board of Education budget, according to John Goetz, who had served as interim superintendent of schools before Agostine was hired. Agostine said the fraction of the budget the school board has control over is small.

Agostine praised the Board of Education for its past negotiations with unions. It has gotten significant concessions from employees on health insurance premiums and last year teachers agreed to a one-year wage freeze.

"The board has been very good in past negotiation sessions in maintaining costs," he said. "It's done an excellent job, but with a work force of over 500 people those costs do add up. They certainly do."