After many adjustments and much deliberation, the Board of Finance at a May 25 meeting approved a $5,464,720 budget for FY2023-2024, which includes $1,850,260 for the general government, $2,140,288 for Hampton Elementary School, and $1,474,172 for Regional District #11, previously approved by tri-town voters at a May 2 referendum. The proposed budget represents a 2.71% increase over the current year and the first increase to the mill rate in over a decade.
Prior to the meeting, a public hearing was held with two dozen residents in attendance, many of whom spoke in support of the elementary school’s proposal of $2,151,403, a 5.49% increase. With the exception of one speaker, Luther Gerlach, who relayed that his family selected Hampton in large part because of the “beautiful, small school”, supporters of the school budget were members, and family members, of the Board of Education and family members of the Board of Finance. Irene Brown urged members of the community to work together and “put the nickels and dimes to rest”. Board of Education Vice- Chairman Mark Becker bemoaned the “constant battle to support the school”, advocating for improvements and expanded programs, and Chairman Rose Bisson explained that when she claimed she could run the school as efficiently as the combined model of Hampton and Scotland elementary schools that the towns researched last year, she wasn’t referring to costs. Bisson was responding to a remark made by school board member Juan Arriola, who served on the committee that researched the combined school model with Bisson, who had stated that Hampton Elementary could be run as efficiently as the combined school that stood to save, according to the report, approximately a half a million a year for each town.
Arriola was the only audience member to suggest that the school board could reduce its budget, basing this belief on the resignations of two staff members, both of whom served the school for 39 years and resigned after the board adopted its budget. Arriola claimed that a new teacher’s salary would be considerably less, and that the resignation of the principal was an opportunity to research different models for that position, combining administrative roles or sharing a principal with another small school. Bisson also countered Arriola’s suggestions on savings, stating that a combination principal/superintendent hadn’t worked in the past, and that hiring a new teacher for the combined class model the school employs would “cost the children to lose a year of education”. Due to the small population, the school groups two grades together in classes ranging from 14 to 17 students.
After the public hearing adjourned, the finance board met to discuss and adopt both the general government and elementary school budgets to present at the Annual Town Meeting. The board adjusted the municipal budget by $32,820. The line item for the Ambulance Service, which increased 69.25%, was reduced by $37,120, an amount to be covered with American Rescue Plan Act funds if approved by voters. Treasurer Ellen Rodriguez suggested that $4,300 be added to the budget to reflect the actual costs of certain items such as fuel oil. With these changes, the finance board approved the municipal budget at a 7.54% increase over last year largely due to increases in utilities, medical services, the replacement of fire department equipment, health insurance, a 5% cost-of-living adjustment for all town employees, and $100,000 placed in an existing Capital & Non-Recurring account toward the purchase of a new fire truck. First Selectman Al Cahill also explained the $300,000 reduction to the Grand List as the court case continues with the Solar Park which has yet to pay taxes the Town claims are owed.
The school board budget was subject to much debate. Chairman Donahue listed a number of statistics to support a reduction. The Minimum Budget Requirement, a figure issued by the State Department of Education which reflects the amount a school district is required to spend, was reduced by $142,975 from the current year due to the drop in student enrollment. Donahue also reported that the Governor’s budget reduces the town’s Educational Cost Sharing grant by $74,000. Although the State Appropriations Committee has suggested an extension of the freeze initiated during the pandemic, a decision on this temporary measure has not been reached. The ECS formula, developed a few years ago, will reduce Hampton’s State funds for education by $400,000 by 2030. Finance board alternate member Kathi Newcombe also noted that the Department of Education ranks Hampton 9th in the state for net current expenditures and 113th in town wealth.
Although Donahue was not proposing that the budget be drastically reduced to the amount the MBR allows, she reminded members that historically budgets with significant increases over the MBR were subjected to multiple referenda before voters approved them. She noted that recent reductions in staff had not reduced student programs, and that the latest actual expenditures distributed by the school showed some line item surpluses which could be applied to some of next year’s purchases. She also stated that the recent retirements should result in significant savings, and that the board could revisit the school’s administrative model in order to combine, or share, the principal’s position.
Much of the debate among members centered on the potential savings of the two retirements, both of which were submitted to the board on May 24, two months after the board adopted its initial budget on March 22. Since that date, other changes were made to increase the budget. These included a 5% increase to non-union staff raises, an additional student attending STEM Academy, and a 10% hike in tuition to that magnet school. The latest draft version of the budget, adjusted at the May 26 meeting, was $2,155,880, a 5.7% increase over the current year.
Nick Brown suggested the budget return to the original, March 22 proposal of $2,140,288, a 4.95% increase over the current year, reducing the final draft version by $15,542. Brown cited the effects of inflation on items such as oil and supplies and the fixed costs of tuition, noting that with the 5.54% decrease in Hampton’s assessment to Regional District #11, the total education budget would remain nearly flat. He also echoed school officials’ skepticism that the retirements, due to the demands of the positions and potential insurance changes, would save money. Brown was supported by Joan Fox, who suggested the removal of $100,000 toward the purchase of a fire truck to lessen the spike in the mill rate, and Ed Adelman, who stated that the MBR should not be viewed as a target. Brown appealed to individual members in the hope of reaching consensus, but Judy Buell expressed concern with the continued ECS cuts and confidence in the potential for savings with the retirements and voted, along with Donahue, against Brown’s proposal, which ultimately passed with a 4-2 vote.
The final decision will rest with the voters at a June 15, 2023, referendum.