In many Connecticut towns, the annual budget referendum is a rite of marking the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Some salesmanship, and an attempt to exercise fiscal discipline is required by the town administration, because after all, the voters will make the ultimate decision.
However, in some towns in Connecticut, there is no automatic referendum. For example, consider this article in the Courant about recent events in posh West Hartford:
The West Hartford Taxpayers Association has decided to petition for a referendum on the town’s $215.9 million budget.[...]
The association has 25 days from the budget’s enactment to collect about 2,400 signatures from registered voters and deliver the petition to the town, West Hartford officials said.[...]
The taxpayers’ group is asking that the town cut its 7 percent spending increase in half, to 3.5 percent, according to Torino. He did not specify what kind of cuts could be made.[...]
At Tuesday night’s council meeting, Democrats described the budget as a painful but necessary “maintenance” plan that will preserve the town’s cornerstones — good schools and public safety — in difficult economic times. The Republican minority rejected the plan, saying homeowners won’t be able to afford to live in town because of rising property taxes. Town officials project that many homeowners will face a minimum 6.9 percent increase in their tax bills.
I still maintain that the state would be well-served by permitting towns more flexibility how they derive their revenues. Rather than being so reliant on a one-mill-rate-to-rule-them-all property tax, let towns decide (via referendum) to shift some of the burden to sales taxes, piggyback off income taxes, or have some flexibility in applying different mill rates to different classes of property.
I can easily believe that given economic pressures, a town would need a 7% hike in spending to maintain service levels. However, I can also believe that perhaps some services could be delivered more efficiently with less cost, or that some services might not be necessary, especially considering what a property tax hike could do to a family that may have already been hit by (among other things) an ARM mortgage rate reset.
If a town’s residents’ belts are tightening, shouldn’t the town government itself be considering some austerity of its own?
