South Windsor Residents Call on Council to Invest in the Future

While South Windsor residents may be dealing with a bit of sticker shock while digesting a potential sizable tax increase for the 2013-14 fiscal year, there are also plenty of signs of support for the proposed budget.

Indeed, during the Town Council’s special budget workshop on Wednesday evening, several residents told the council that they were in favor of the $103.3 million budget, which would include a tax increase of about 6 percent not considering revaluation.

Last month, in a break from tradition, council members approved a $68.1 million school budget independent of the municipal budget.

Town Manager Matthew Galligan has proposed a $35.1 million town budget that includes $29.67 for general government spending. The spending increase on the town side would be $1.5 million.

The recommended tax rate to support Galligan's budget would be 35.05 mills, which represents an increase of 5.62 mills over the current mill rate, according to Galligan. This number takes into account revaluation.

On May 6, several Republican town councilors proposed adding an additional $812,000 to the town government budget to fund a new police position, athletic fields, parking lot improvements, an additional contribution to the employee pension account. It also makes adjustments to revenue projections, cutting in half the amount used from the fund balance to mitigate a tax increase from $800,000 to $400,000.

If the proposal is absorbed in the proposed government budget for 2013-14, it could require an increase in the mill rate to 35.33, or .28 mills over Galligan’s original proposal.

Galligan said on Wednesday that the one thing the Town Council did not want to do is raise taxes while cutting services.

While no one was excited about the prospect of a significant tax increase, residents said that they believed now is the time to invest in the town’s future.

David Joy, the chairman of the Board of Education, said Wednesday that, while he appreciated that the town’s stewards have been a bunch of “frugal Yankees” when it comes to spending, he supports Galligan’s budget as proposed.

“To reduce [it], would be a disservice to the town,” Joy said.

Resident Kevin Greer told the council that if it was going to do something, “do it now” to “keep property values where they should be.”

Resident Kevin Foley said nothing has changed with the infrastructure in town for the last 50 years.“Don’t just pander to select groups,” Foley cautioned. “We have 27,000 people in town. Build the town for the kids. … We were ahead of the game 50 years ago. Not any more.”

But at least one resident disagreed with one add-on to the budget: the athletic fields.

Mary Sullivan, who lives in a condominium complex near Nevers Road, said that she was concerned with the additional lights, noise and traffic from new fields. She also questioned the use of a 63-20 corporation to finance the construction of a new field.

“I’m not stupid and I don’t get it,” she said. “It sounds like a shell game to me.”

While the majority of those who commented at the meeting favored additional spending, there was an indication that some people were afraid to speak against the budget for fear of retribution.

But Town Councilor Dr. Saud Anwar urged people to “come forward and speak” and not be “bullied.”

“You can’t sit at home and watch TV … we need to make changes,” he said. “I am not going away. We are here to serve.”

The Town Council is scheduled to meet again on Monday evening at 7 p.m.