Bd. of Finance Has Some Wandering Eyes During BOS Budget Review

Wilton’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) joined the Board of Finance (BOF) for a special meeting Tuesday night, March 15 to review the BOS FY2023 budget proposal.

While the BOF review is a key step of the process of producing a BOS budget that will be presented to voters at the Annual Town Meeting in May, the March 15 meeting proceeded with little controversy over specific BOS budget items. The Board of Education (BOE) budget, on the other hand, came up several times during the meeting, despite the fact it was not even on the agenda.

In a sign of a return to business as usual, most of the board members met in person, at Comstock Community Center. The hybrid format allowed some members to participate via Zoom, along with members of the public who wished to view the meeting remotely.

BOS Budget Background

The BOF received the BOS budget proposal shortly after it was adopted at the BOS Feb. 22 meeting.

The BOS budget request is roughly $33.9 million, which represents a 1.37% increase over FY2022.

Vanderslice has emphasized that the budget is, from a historical perspective, quite conservative: it represents a 0.38% increase compared to the pre-COVID, FY2020 budget, and a mere 0.13% average increase over the past three years.

Prior to the March 15 budget review, members of the BOF submitted written questions about the proposed budget to First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice — to which she responded in writing.

GMW reviewed the 10 pages of questions and answers. They included some strategic questions — such as the timing of the proposed police station project and the potential risk to the budget from high levels of inflation on fuel and other budget components — and a number of simple questions for clarification on minor budget items.

As a result of the written Q&A, few specific budget issues were discussed during the meeting, and no new challenges to the BOS budget were presented. Indeed, the tenor of the meeting suggested the BOF members were generally satisfied with the proposed budget overall.

“I think we’re in a really, really good place,” Vanderslice told the BOF.

Eyes on BOE

Though the BOE budget proposal was not on the agenda, the BOF members turned the discussion several times during the meeting to the BOE budget.

At $87.6 million (a 3.26% increase), the BOE budget is significantly larger than BOS budget.

BOF Vice Chair Stewart Keonigsberg compared the BOE to the BOS in terms of budget management.

“Frankly, we have a wonderful school system, [but] I would say [the BOE’s] focus has not really been the same as the BOS in terms of spending every dollar as if it’s their own [and] finding savings in every area,” Koenigsberg said.

“My view is the BOE could utilize that kind of help, they need a chief operating officer type,” Koenigsberg continued. While he praised BOE members for their teaching and educational expertise, Koenigsberg said they are “not people who have looked top-down and bottom-up the way [the BOS] has… they could use some help in terms of having a more strategic perspective on spending.”

Vanderslice noted that Dawn Norton, Wilton’s new Chief Financial Officer, who serves as CFO for both the Town and BOE, will bring a strategic perspective to the BOE.

Norton was in attendance at the meeting — her first appearance at a BOS-BOF meeting since her tenure began on March 14. Vanderslice introduced her with praise for her depth of experience on both the municipal and school side — a unique combination.

“The job of the CFO is thinking strategically about costs,” Vanderslice said. “I’m confident in Dawn’s abilities.”

The topic of the BOE came up again when Koenigsberg raised a question about the union negotiation process for the BOE compared to the BOS.

BOF member Chris Stroup suggested the BOF dedicate some meeting time to work with the BOE to develop a deeper understanding of BOE processes, including how contracts are negotiated and structured, to be in a better position to offer guidance on strategies and tactics that would impact the budget.

Changes for BOE Capital Spending

Vanderslice updated the BOF on a key recent development that will have major budget impact for the BOE budget going forward.

After consultation with tax attorneys, Vanderslice has learned that certain expenses that were being planned to be paid from the BOE operating capital budget (such as replacing flooring and ceiling tiles) can actually be bonded projects.

The specific projects were discussed at a recent tri-board meeting of the BOF, BOS and BOE, including a site walk at the schools.

Details for bonding certain projects are still being worked out, but the ability to bond a portion of the identified projects would effectively reduce the $458,000 in operating capital budget that was initially being requested for 2022-2023 budget (and the $5 million that was identified over the next five years.)

Reminder

The BOF wants public input! The board is still welcoming email comments (using the contact form on the Town website) and will also be launching a survey for residents later this week. The survey will remain open until March 31.