Wednesday, July 1, 2009

News Article - FTM

Article from the KCT on last night's Financial Town Meeting:


Residents approve Coventry budget

Tuesday, 30 June 2009
HANNAH PIECUCH
hclarkin@ricentral.com

COVENTRY — With lines wrapping around Coventry High School and all legal parking spots taken well before 7 p.m., a crowd of 1392 residents showed up for the Financial Town Meeting to set the budget for fiscal year 2010, as counted by the Board of Canvassers.

Given the choice between no tax increase, as presented in the budget prepared by the town council, and increases presented in amendments, the residents chose no increase.Tax bills in 2010 will be identical to those that went out in 2009, according to figures projected on the screen at the meeting by Finance Director Warren West. Since it is not a revaluation year, there will be no change in property taxes. The school department was level-funded in the council’s recommended budget, coming in at $41,580,728 in local contributions and a total of $62,895,882 including state and federal aid, grants and other revenues.

Before the budget was adopted, resident Joel Johnson offered an amendment to add $750,000 to the total school budget, in order to preserve Oak Haven Elementary School, he said.That amendment, after discussion, was modified by resident Bruce Desrosiers to amount to $600,000 — the amount that Superintendent Kenneth DiPietro said the schools needed to keep the school open.Although there was a loud cheer when this amendment was proposed, not all residents wanted to add the amount into the budget. An even louder cheer and applause rose in the high school gymnasium when resident John Assalone commended the council for presenting a budget without an increase.“This is the first time in maybe 30 years that the council has brought before you a budget with no increase. Everyone is taking a hit — municipal workers, police, sports,” he listed. “I move we reject adding an increase for 2010.”

Since increasing the budget by more than $175,000 requires an all-day referendum, as mandated by the town charter, Moderator Gregory Laboissonniere called for a paper ballot to determine if the proposed amendment would pass.After an hour of voting with paper ballots, the amendment failed with 438 supporting the amendment and 836 voting against it, according to the Board of Canvassers.The school budget passed as presented by a voice vote.

The municipal budget was recommended at $20,580,728 by the council — 6.6 percent less than the 2009 budget. When it came up for discussion, resident Wayne Asselin presented an amendment to add $113,651 to the municipal budget, which would restore funding to charities and civics organizations. Local sport leagues, the Johnson’s Pond Association, Coventry Veterans associations and the Greene Library — among other organizations — would all have had their funding restored under this amendment. Desrosiers tried to amend the amendment to include $30,000 a year for Human Services, but as author of the amendment Asselin did not allow the change. Not everyone wanted funding restored, pointed out one resident. “I think there are a lot of people who are in this room because this is the time for a zero increase in the budget. I feel really bad that people have to make sacrifices,” she said. “If you want money for your little league team, then come to my house and I will give you a donation because I can afford it. Don’t put that burden on our tax bill.”After discussion the amendment was voted down by a voice vote.

The voice vote for the municipal budget as presented went to those in favor, but Laboissonniere made the call without taking a voice vote for those opposed.Resident Nicholas Gorham made a point of order and requested that those opposed have a chance to vote, but Laboissonniere said that his call held.

A school capital improvement budget of $250,000 to install new roofs at Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School of Coventry and a municipal capital improvement budget of $109,138 to purchase a new recycling truck passed with few objections.

The finance director was authorized to collect taxes and the tax levy was set at no more and no less than $59,000,000. The meeting began at roughly 7:45 p.m. and lasted until 9:50 p.m. The paper ballot took nearly an hour and the rest of the meeting was discussion of amendments.
After the meeting the gymnasium emptied quickly as residents returned to their cars.This crowd was the biggest that Board of Canvassers Chairman Frank Perry had seen in years, he said. “Maybe the last time this many people showed up was 1992.”