$101M Branford Budget Proposed

Branford’s budget season officially began last night as the Board of Finance (BOF) went to work on a town budget that for the first time in town history topped the $100 million mark, an increase of 4.6 percent over last year.

However, earlier in the day First Selectman Unk DaRos told the Eagle that ​“when all is said and done, I anticipate the increase will be under 3 percent.” He said most of the town department heads came in with budgets that did not exceed what he asked for, a 2 percent increase.

It turns out the steep increase is largely a combination of anticipated increases in pensions, employee and municipal insurance increases and a hefty contingency fund to manage the implementation of a new town employee and department head union contract.

The new union contract came about in large measure because of actions initially started by the BOF in the 2012 budget year and later advanced by an RTM committee, DaRos said at the time. Click here to read the story.

The town’s proposed $100.962 million budget, including projected capital protects, came to a total of $40.3 million while the school budget with capital expenses came to $52.2 million. The town’s contingency fund went up from $537,617 to $895,925. Debt service came to $7.486 million. DaRos also said in an interview that federal grants and federal financing in certain areas ​“are not there anymore.”

BOF chair Joseph Mooney said at the outset of the budget meeting that the 4.6 percent increase was ​“one of the highest” he has seen. The projected mill rate calculation in this opening budget would rise from 24.95 to 26.10, a projection that is expected to go down by the time it is set in May. The mill rate determines an individual’s property taxes.

The BOF meets Tuesday (tonight) and Thursday at 7 p.m. at the fire headquarters. Next Monday, the BOF holds a workshop where the numbers get crunched and the budget cuts are announced. The meeting was well-attended and included members of the Representative Town Meeting (RTM). 

At last night’s hearing the six-member BOF heard from a variety of department heads including fire, police and animal control as well as officials from the Board of Education. (A separate story will be written about the BOE’s budget).

One of the purposes of these hearings is to give the BOF, the town’s main financial board, an update on the needs of a department, what issues it faces now and in the future and how it plans to handle those issues. In short, the hearings provide the BOF with a road map for future discussions and direction.

In the aftermath of the December tragedy that claimed the lives of 20 elementary students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, the issue of school security became a reality for school districts across the nation and in the state.

Not surprisingly the issue came up but in the end it was not aimed specifically at school security. 

At issue was whether or not a school resource officer (SRO) was needed at Walsh Intermediate School. At a recent Board of Education meeting it was learned that an SRO had been requested last year but the effort went nowhere — -until Newtown.

But an SRO, while armed, is not a security officer per se.

Police Chief Kevin Halloran (center) said a SRO would be assigned to one school, in this case, Walsh Intermediate School. His or her purpose is to assist students through education, mentoring and counseling. Bullying issues, for example, would be addressed. The SRO has a plethora of different responsibilities, Halloran noted.

“We are looking at someone who will be a law enforcement officer, a counselor, a teacher,” he told a packed hearing room.

School officials did not budget for this officer, nor would they have given that the officer reports to the police department. But the police department did not budget for this officer either because they had not been asked to before their budget was completed. 

So Halloran agreed to the idea if the finance board agreed to add the additional funds to hire and train the SRO.

At this point, BOF member Kurt Schwanfelder, who previously served on the police commission, asked Chief Halloran to explain why the department would hire a school resource officer when it needed more men in the field. 

Halloran said the department is more technology driven when it comes to reducing crime. He also said a resource officer in the intermediate school would have a good effect on kids entering their teenage years. But he did not dispute that more police officers are needed in the field. 

BOF member Kenneth Kaminsky asked about the overlapping work of the SRO and the police youth officer now assigned to the school district. That officer, Detective Ron Washington is expected to retire soon. Halloran said there was some overlap, but that the SRO will be stationed at Walsh. Another officer is now being trained to replace Washington.

In answer to another question, Halloran said the SRO reports to the police department and not to the school district. Given the questions from the board, it appeared the funding for an SRO would be an uphill fight.

The BOF was also told that the police commission had agreed to raise Halloran’s salary to $110,000 a year.

“We looked at competitive salaries at surrounding towns and prior Police Chief John DeCarlo’s salary,” Richard Goodwin, a member of the commission, said in explaining how they reached the number. Goodwin asked the BOF to approve the raise. Halloran, a former captain, started as chief last year at a salary of $97,375, far below the norm. Goodwin said he was doing a superb job. 

After the BOF completes its work, the budget goes to the RTM whose committees examine the budget and look for ways to streamline it. They may cut the budget in a variety of ways, but they may not increase the budget from the number the BOF sets. In May, after the BOF formally reviews the RTM’s changes, the BOF will adopt the annual mill rate.

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