May 21, 2012

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Please Vote YES on May 1

The budget referendum is almost here….Tuesday, May 1  

Please support this budget with your YES vote. 

We are grateful to the Town Council and the Board of Education for working together this year to produce a budget that minimizes tax impact while maintaining services for our schools, library, roads, fire department and public safety.  In advance of the election, please show your support for this collaborative effort. 

Follow this link and add your name to the list of YES voters:  http://tinyurl.com/yes-for-tolland  Please ask your friends and neighbors to do the same.

This year’s proposed budget will give the Board of Education a 3% increase in spending and the Town Government a .74% increase in spending.  The total proposed budget increase for the entire budget will be 1.85%.

The current mill rate is 29.73 and the proposed mill rate will be 29.99.  This will yield a .87% tax increase for this year.  This tax increase will result in a monthly tax increase of $3 to $8 per month for the average taxpayer.  You may calculate your exact cost increase by going to the Tax Calculator on the town website: http:///www.tolland.org/tax-calculation-form/

The polls will be open on Tuesday, May 1 from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm at the Hicks Gym in the Town Hall and the Senior Center near the post office.


Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community, Upcoming Events

Budget Fact Sheet for Tues, May 1 Budget Referendum

 Polls Open: 6 am to 8 pm

Poll Locations: Hicks Gym in Town Hall & Senior Center near the Post Office

To find out where you need to go to vote, visit:

http://www.tollandelections.org/

Current Mill Rate: 29.73

Proposed Mill Rate: 29.99

Proposed Mill Rate Increase is .87%

Overall Budget Increase: $934,572

Overall Budget Increase: 1.85%

This year’s Grand List growth is .89%

 

 

 

 

2011-2012 Budget

2012-2013 Budget

$ Change

% Change

Govt

$10,766,199

$10,845,344

$79,145

0.74%

BOE

$34,662,357

$35,702,228

$1,039,871

3.00%

Capital

$247,310

$171,877

-$75,433

-30.50%

Debt

$4,751,796

$4,642,785

-$109,011

-2.29%

Total

$50,427,662

$51,362,234

$934,572

1.85%

 

 

 

Market Value

Assesed Value

Annual Tax Increase

Monthly Tax Increase

Type I

$174,246

$121,972

$32

$3

Type II

$280,186

$196,130

$51

$5

Type III

$536,262

$375,384

$98

$8

 

http://www.tolland.org/tax-calculation-form/

(monthly amounts shown to nearest dollar)

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Upcoming Events

Message from Andy Powell, Chairman of the Board of Education

In response to our request,  Andy sent this reply

 

I believe that the budget proposal by the Town Manager provides Tolland with the resources necessary to continue our tradition of superior education. While the Mr. Werbner’s proposal is lower than our request, cost savings provided by the continuing efforts our dedicated staff and consultation with our partners on the Town council should offset the difference with minimal impact on our plans for 2012-2013. We understand and appreciate that Steve has to look at a larger picture than the Board of Education to provide affordable services to all of Tolland’s citizens.

Through conversations with the Town Council and Mr. Werbner, we will continue to explore financial opportunities that might provide additional savings as we move into our upcoming year. Depending on their magnitude, these savings could help us to expand services and programs that the district has lost over the past few years. Or, these savings could help to reduce the impact that increasing costs could have on us next year. This is the true value of partnership in the governance of our Town. Partnership provides us with the vision to look beyond one year’s budget and examine where we need and want to go in the future, rather than just focusing on a number. Partnership removes the political rancor that leads to “us versus them” rather than “we” in our conversations as a Town. I am committed to continue and expand the partnership with the Town Council, Town Manager, the civic organizations and citizens of Tolland. Let’s all get together behind Steve’s budget proposal, and make it “our” budget.
Andy Powell

Chairman, Tolland Board of Education

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Friends of Tolland Schools seeks BOE Statement on Budget

Friends of Tolland Schools is encouraged by the positive approach taken by our elected leaders toward working together during this challenging budget process. As previously stated, we support funding for the programs and services as proposed in the BOE budget. Town Councilors believe that this can be achieved under the Manager’s current proposal.

By next Tuesday, in advance of the Town Manager’s Public Hearing, we now ask for the BOE statement on the degree they believe that existing programs and services can be maintained under the Manager’s proposal. We thank the BOE and Superintendent for the spirit of cooperation toward achieving this shared goal.

As we come to a critical point in the cycle for the current budget process, we challenge our leaders to continue to look for further collaborative opportunities that extend through the coming year and beyond. Relevant and enduring issues for our education system include

  • Fair access to co-curricular activities (including an affordable Pay-to-Participate rate)
  • Curriculum development and delivery
  • Appropriate staffing (including teacher to student ratios and teaching teams)

These can only be successfully addressed on a multi-year basis. We are encouraged by the long-term approach being used to tackle technology, economic development, and other concerns and ask our leaders to approach essential education issues with the same intentionality.

School supporters are urged to participate in the remaining budget events. One of the most important meetings of the budget process is the Public Hearing on the Town Manager’s Recommended Budget this Wednesday, March 28th at 7:30 pm in the Tolland High School Auditorium. Please be there to hear the Manager’s proposal to the Council and voice your opinion about the priorities for our community.

We are hopeful that, on May 1st, Tolland residents will have the opportunity to vote on a spending plan that represents a balanced approach to meeting the needs of our community in a fiscally challenging period. We look forward to continued collaboration among residents and elected and appointed officials for a strong and sustainable Tolland.

On behalf of Friends of Tolland Schools,

Andrea Kuhn, Brenda Falusi, Deirdre Goldsmith, Diane Clokey, Erin Burns, Jackie Kolb, Jen Miller, Jennifer Avery,
Karen Moran, Kelly Pabilonia, Ken Kittredge, Sam Adlerstein, Suzie Lotreck, Trish Doyle

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Town Council Members State Their Intentions

March 23, 2012

The reply to this request is posted on Tolland Patch, Letter to the Editor:  http://tolland.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-statement-to-tolland-citizens-from-council-members

—————————————————————-

March 20, 2012

Dear Town Council,

Tolland’s students need your leadership. According to the Superintendent, the budget that the Town Manager has proposed to you will result in unprecedented losses in educational opportunities. If you refer to the “at risk” list that was presented at the February 17th Board of Education meeting (attached), every item on that list and more will not be funded under the Town Manager’s plan.

What Is Your Intention?

The effects of these losses will be immediate and far-reaching. Loss of the team structure at the middle school goes against all of what is known about the best practices for reaching students at this age in the most effective way. Dr. Willett can certainly describe this in more detail. TIS, a school with a high special needs population, will lose instructional staff. Class sizes at Birch Grove, already high for teaching foundational skills to young children, will be increased to levels that will exceed teachers’ ability to meet all state and federal requirements and reach all students. If any co-curricular activities remain, the costs will be so high that that they will be unreachable for many of the students for whom they would make the most difference. We already have in the school culture an unacceptable divide between “haves” and “have nots” when it comes to accessing these opportunities.

Losses in maintenance and custodial staff seem small, until you add them to the losses that have already occurred. Not staffing the buildings to properly care for them will surely come back to cost more in the long run.  Our community has already experienced the effect of less frequent cleaning of school buildings. This has occurred in the form of rising incidence of illness among the school age population.  The technology on this list represents baby steps toward what we will need to conduct mandated state assessments by 2015.

We are calling for action. Each of you named education as a priority when you were running for your current position. You recognized the important role of a strong, sustainable education system in a strong, sustainable Tolland community. The Superintendent and the BOE are telling you that the proposed funding will weaken this system in a way that will effect every student.

If you believe that there is a way to both avoid these losses AND support the Manager’s level of funding, please share that with the public and the BOE this week - before the Manager’s hearing on March 28th. If there are questions about the numbers - resolve them now. And be forthright with the town about what they will be losing under this plan.

It is essential that when the voters get their turn on May 1st, they understand that their leaders have given them a chance to vote on a budget that is in the best interest of ALL of Tolland’s residents. Under-investing in our community now means that we are all paying more for less.

FTS has been building both a website and a network of citizens that it communicates with regularly. We invite you to share your perspective on how you will approach the Manager’s budget. On behalf of Tolland residents, we request that each of you reply to this email by this Thursday, for us to share and help other citizens understand the issues as well.

Thank you for your service to our community.

 

 

Abbie Jeffries, Bob Rubino, Brenda Falusi, Deirdre Goldsmith, Diane Clokey, Jen Frese-Miller, Jennifer Avery, Jenn DiMaso, Jackie Kolb, Karen Moran, Kelly Pabilonia, Ken Kittredge, Lisa Harley, Sam Adlerstein, Suzie Lotreck, Trish Doyle

On behalf of Friends of Tolland Schools

 

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Town Manager’s Budget

Town Manager Steve Werbner’s budget proposal to the Town Council .pdf is here, and the entire budget is linked here http://www.tolland.org/government/departments/finance/2012-2013-budget-information/

What’s happened so far

  •  The Superintendents originally proposed a BOE budget increase of 5.98%
  •  The BOE reduced that budget to 4.64% and submitted that to the Town Council
  •  The Town Manager is now proposing that the BOE budget be reduced to 3.00%
 The town side of the budget is currently proposing a .74% budget increase.  That would result in an overall budget increase of 1.97%.  This would yield a .31 mill rate increase or a 1.04% increase over the existing mill rate.
Page 2 (pdf page 3) lists the typical impacts of this proposed budget on three different housing assessments:
  •  Houses with a Market Value of $174,246 would see an annual tax increase of $38
  •  Houses with a Market Value of $280,186 would see an annual tax increase of $61
  •  Houses with a Market Value of $536,262 would see an annual tax increase of $117

What happens next

The Town Council will be discussing the Town Managers Proposed Budget on the following days:
  •  Wed, March 14 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers (Overview of whole budget)
  •  Tues, March 20 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers
  •  Wed, March 21 @ 7:30 in Council Chambers
The Public Hearing for this budget will be on Wed, March 28 @ 7:30 in the THS Auditorium.  Your public comment at this meeting is your best chance to give elected officials direction for the budget they send to referendum.  The Town Council makes their decision at their April 3rd meeting.
Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Upcoming opportunities, March 2012 (updated)

It is budget season once again in our Schools and Town.  Through this process, we continue to ask our leaders to work together on complex, multi-year problems.  There doesn’t have to be two sides, “taxpayer” vs. “services.”  Innovative opportunities that benefit all of us best come from all of us working together, with a better future for Tolland in mind.  We can break out of long existing roles and patterns of interaction. Our Advisory Board met and elaborated on this situation, more here.  Here is what has happened so far:
  1. Each principal to submitted their budget based on request for greatest needs for 2012-2013.  The principals’ request totaled ~9% increase over the current year.
  2. The Superintendent adjusted principals’ request and presented it to the Board of Education. Locked in contracts increase the budget ~4%.  The proposal includes level service, other than small increases for computing & reduced pay for play fees.  The Superintendent’s budget increase over the current year totals 5.98%.  Details are here.
  3. The Board of Education struggled through reductions  and at special meeting on February 17th  submitted a BOE budget increase of 4.64% to the Town Council.   Read more here, on Tolland Patch.
  4. Town Council is now deciding in March what to send to referendum.
Your voice at the following meetings makes a difference.  Elected officials get limited feedback on what residents want, and they listen to the (usually few) taxpayers who speak up at their meetings.  More here, as well, on Tolland Patch
  • March 6 – Joint meeting between town council and school board; 7 p.m., town hall
  • March 13 – Manager submits budget to council
  • March 14 – Discussion of the Planning, Fire and Ambulance and Public Safety budgets; 7:30 p.m., town hall
  • March 15 – Advertise public hearing
  • March 20 – Manager discusses budget with council; 7:30 p.m., town hall
  • March 21 – Manager discusses budget with council; 7:30 p.m., town hall
  • March 22- Celebrate our Schools 7PM   TOLLAND HIGH SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
  • March 28 – Public hearing on Town Manager’s recommended budget, 7:30 p.m., Tolland High School
  • April 3 – Budget finalized – Council discussion; 7:30 p.m., town hall
  • April 12 – Advertise budget
  • April 24 – Annual budget presentation meeting; 7:30 p.m., Tolland High School
  • April 25 – Budget presentation; 12:30 p.m., Tolland Senior Center
  • May 1 – Budget referendum
  • May 10 – Council sets mill rate
  • June 30 – School board adopts final budget, dependent on expenditure/projected changes

Friends of Tolland Schools asks that our leaders continue to struggle through this difficult process, and each step of the way communicate to each other and all taxpayers, in no uncertain terms, the consequences if the budget increase would be 1, 2, or 3 percent.  We ask leaders to build trust and model collaboration within their work.  School cost increases outpacing funding sources is a complex, multi-year problem. As things are, the school board, the superintendent, the town council, the town manager, taxpayers, school staff, teachers, and students themselves all have their own story to tell. Leaders must work to bring their perspectives together. We all want a school system that works more effectively and more compassionately. We all want a sustainable Tolland. Please check our site to stay informed about our budget.  If you wish to be notified, sign up on the right –>

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community, Upcoming Events

Elected Officials Build Upon Where They Agree

Last night, February 15th, members of the Town Council and Board of Education came together to discuss and build upon where they agree.

Officials in attendance:  Karen Kramer, Mark Gill, Althea Gill, Josh Freeman, Rick Field, Jan Rubino, Jack Scavone, Christine Howard, Steve Clark, Tom Frattaroli, Bob Pagoni, Bill Guzman

What did they talk about?

The meeting started off with fairly low energy.  “I’m tired!” one participant proclaimed.  These officials spend most evenings at one meeting or another in service of our town.  Yet, as the meeting progressed, passions were activated.  Each of these people cares deeply about what happens to Tolland.  They feel responsible for making their best, positive impact.  They expressed concern that the current system isn’t working and drives divisiveness in town. They expressed concern that everyone is looking just at a number, a percentage increase to the budget.  They expressed concern that more residents don’t get involved and don’t come out to vote.

Officials drafted a goal statement

The instructions were to NOT make it pretty, rather to get the collective thoughts down.  Here’s the DRAFT goal statement participants agreed upon:

BOE, Town Manager and Town Council supports and town votes in a mutually agreed upon budget.

  • Our budget should be perceived as efficient and should include alternative ways of delivering services where appropriate
  • Our budget should be responsive to the needs of the residents and students of Tolland while being fiscally minded.
  • Our budget is a direct investment in our town’s future
  • Our budget should find the balance between delivery of service and fiscal responsibility
  • Our budget should be more easily understood by the public with respect to cost and priorities
  • We should have a plan for effectively communicating and disseminating information, building upon what we already are using.

 So….?

Reading this over, clearly it isn’t easy … otherwise, we would have done it already!  What is in the way?  Obstacles listed included

  • Not enough revenue increase to cover fixed cost increase
  • Voters are polarized either toward the BOE budget or the Town Manager’s budget
    • Some won’t bend, consider other points of view
  • Disengagement / lack of awareness of programs/services and their value
  • The economic picture
  • Unfunded mandates / public perception that the school budget is bloated
  • Lack of pride

And …

… with this list of formidable obstacles our officials went to work.  In groups, they began developing potential solutions.  These are IDEAS, possibility thinking.  While few are likely to be adopted “as is” one idea seeds another and through the creative process plans of action are developed.

IDEAS that might address polarized voters

  • The Board of Education and Town Council first unify within, THEN combined toward a mutually agreed upon budget.
  • More careful language mare made that don’t incite one perspective against another.
  • BOE and the town submit their budget to a third party, such as a board of finance.
  • We work to infect pride through sports, music, plays and coffee houses.
  • We engage well known residents and their networks.

Solutions to other obstacles were brainstormed

In the end, participants were please about this process.  What will be done next?  One participant remarked,

“Next year we need to begin this [collaborative process] earlier!”

Another remarked,

“I didn’t want to come tonight.  Now I’m glad I did.  This was good.”

 

Meeting handout (.pdf) is here

Photo credit:  Jayme Kunze

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Your Help is Needed Toward A Unified Budget

Through the budget process, Friends of Tolland Schools has continued to ask our leaders to present a unified budget to taxpayers.  We all need to understand, in no uncertain terms, the consequences if the budget increase would be 1, 2, or 3 percent.  We ask the Board of Education work with the Town Council, build trust and model collaboration within the budget process.   The further the budget process progresses, the fewer the opportunities become to break out of long existing roles and patterns of interaction.  The best opportunity for this collaboration is prior to the BOE voting on the budget at their February 17th meeting.  Our leaders have listened.  A collaborative discussion was scheduled for Monday, February 6th.  Unfortunately, that meeting was cancelled because of the limited number of elected officials who could make it.  We recognize that these hard working volunteers are involved in town business most nights of the week, yet …

We need your help, now! 

Please take just a few minutes today to send an email.  Let elected officials know the value you see in their meeting together prior to February 17th and developing their shared perspective.  School cost increases outpacing funding sources is a complex, multi-year problem.   We all want a school system that works more effectively.  We all want a sustainable Tolland.

Please send your email to the following Board of Education and Town Council addresses:

gblock@tolland.k12.ct.us;sclark@tolland.k12.ct.us;tfrattaroli@tolland.k12.ct.us;agill@tolland.k12.ct.us;
kkramer@tolland.k12.ct.us;rpagoni@tolland.k12.ct.us;apowell@tolland.k12.ct.us;ftantillo@tolland.k12.ct.us;
choward@tolland.k12.ct.us;jscavone@tolland.org;mgill@tolland.org;sbelsito@tolland.org;rfield@tolland.org;
jfreeman@tolland.org;jrubino@tolland.org;bstanford@tolland.org;swerbner@tolland.org;wguzman@tolland.k12.ct.us

Want more information?

 

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community

Friends of Tolland Schools’ Advisory Board held their first meeting

Last Monday, January 16th at St. Matthew’s Church, Friends of Tolland Schools’ Advisory Board held their first meeting.   Each Advisory Board member was selected based on helping balance the group’s perspective, subject matter expertise, and a history of service to the town.

Advisory Board Attendees were Sandy Chafouleas, Lou Deloreto, Mark Summers, Becky Ellert, and Dan Carmody. Town Leaders Jack Scavone, Andy Powell also attended.

Other Attendees, Suzie Lotreck, Bob Rubino, Frank Pasini, Brenda Falusi, Diane Clokey, Ken Kittredge, Jackie Kolb, role played other perspectives at one point during the meeting, including a senior on a fixed pension, a teacher, a high school student and a tuned out voter.

Participants worked on two questions:

  1. What are some of our biggest challenges to acting together?
  2. What are your necessary improvements to the budget process?

The notes below are based on what was captured on the flip charts, in a file here.  The meeting handout is here.  After comparing Tolland to this scenario (other districts have similar dynamics) participants discussed our biggest challenges to working together, and what they believe needs to change. The word “need” was offered frequently. Opinions may not have be shared by all present and were not prioritized. Specific budget increases FY 2012-13 was purposely NOT discussed.

Becky, Sandy, Jack, Andy and Dan, Lou and Mark discuss the budget process

Advisory participants felt that Tolland needs more clarity from the top.

People first don’t understand the repercussions if the budget fails. Folks need conversations like this, simple and efficient, to get on board. It was felt that some people want to get involved, but they don’t know how. Start by “changing the dance steps.” The Town Council and Board of Education have a predisposition, with roles that have formed over many years. We need our professionals to act in a different way from the roles they currently assume. As things are, our professionals speak a different language from each other and reach an impasse. They need to talk beyond just numbers, about services.  It has become all about the numbers and the Board of Education is seen as a cost center. Yes, the numbers are important, AND get to the content. It was stated, “we need to set aside what HAS been done and look at what NEEDS to be done.”

 “We need to set aside what HAS been done and look at what NEEDS to be done.”

Different roles bring a healthy tension, where each challenge the other. However, to be effective, it requires a healthy relationship and current dynamics are not effective. The complete change over of the Town Council brings an opportunity to develop different dynamics, now. We need more outside the box thinking with respect to folks working together. A great example was neighbors helping neighbors. It saved the town a lot of money and had other benefits. It helps us work toward breaking down where we are divided by age group.

Beyond that, it was felt that we are missing the bigger picture. We primarily focus from one crisis to the next.  The year-at-a-time approach doesn’t work because a significant share of the budget are locked in costs, from contracts that span years. A longer term approach requires learning from past decisions. For example, High School Geothermal was defeated. However, with today’s hindsight, we missed the opportunity to invest capital and achieve very short payback. Today we pay significantly higher operating costs. We need a way to reconcile dollars to services in a way that people understand in terms of value provided. Otherwise, years of skimping on the operating budget cause larger problems that later need to be addressed. As we look longer term, the numbers become quite large. Focusing on the changes from year to year and between options will keep the discussions more manageable.

With that, it was suggested that the Town Council and Board of Education together offer a simplified message to voters, reiterated in communication from our professionals. We need to come to some common ground on the value to the community of what Tolland schools provide.

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, School Budget, Tolland Community
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