Submitted by the Democratic Members, Board of Estimate and Taxation, Elliot Alchek, Matt DesChamps, Scott Kalb, Leslie Moriarty, Stephen Selbst and David Weisbrod
During the recent election campaign, Republican candidates frequently decried the dangers of one-party rule. Government requires balance and a diversity of opinion. Nowhere today is this balance more precarious than on Greenwich’s powerful finance board. Although six Democrats and six Republicans comprise the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET), the party which receives the most votes overall has the power to break ties. For 98 of the last 100 years, that’s been the Republicans.
Now we’re witnessing a century of collaboration and consensus that used to characterize the BET dissolve, and it’s endangering our town’s financial and governmental stability.
Operating budget guidelines developed in secret
Budget season recently kicked off as the BET released guidelines to help town departments draft their operating budgets and financial plans. But this year the guidelines were drafted by the BET budget committee chair without normal input from committee colleagues.
• There was virtually no public discussion or debate in the budget committee.
• No vote was taken to approve the guidelines in the budget committee.
• Statements to “work together” were hollow as evidenced by a preemptive motion to approve the initial draft only 8 hours later.
• Every single motion by Democratic colleagues to acknowledge and identify the Town’s financial challenges was rejected by the majority, using their tie-breaking vote.
The guidelines that passed were so late as to be of little benefit, in part because town departments and the Board of Education had already finalized their plans.
A looming capital budget deficit “out of sight, out of mind”
At the same time, we are hurtling toward a pay-the-piper moment for our capital expenditures, with no plan for how to do it. That’s because our finance board has approved necessary projects like the replacement of a failing Central Middle School building, but the Republican majority on the BET hasn’t identified ways to pay for them. This is just irresponsible planning.
We believe the only way to avoid sharp tax levy increases in the future is to address this capital budget shortfall issue now. The longer we delay, the fewer options there will be to address what could be over a $16 million shortfall in 4 short years.
• The shortfall is driven by capital projects that have already been approved but the Town has not yet started repaying debt on those projects.
• New capital needs are missing or inadequately priced in the capital budget and include many important town infrastructure needs such as a new ice rink, flooding mitigation for neighborhoods and the water treatment facility, and school renovations.
• When it comes to operating budgets, they are tough to shrink given inflation, new mandates, labor contracts.
Yet, since 2020, the Republican caucus has refused to hold a meeting on the issue. We urge our colleagues to convene the debt policy committee to address this problem. This committee is required to meet every two years. It’s our job, and we owe it to taxpayers to protect their personal finances from unexpected and large tax increases.
There are ways to address these problems
We recommend seeking cost savings through improving productivity, reducing energy consumption and waste, grant funding, and collecting all available federal and state monies for capital projects, among other measures.
Prudent planning requires bipartisan collaboration
We must work together on improving the operating and capital budget process.
We must explore project pricing accuracy and completeness, funding options, including amortizing costs across years for large capital projects. We are ready to take on these challenges, and we have the expertise to address them, so we urge our Republican colleagues, the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education to join us in these efforts.
The taxpayers of Greenwich deserve nothing less.
The time for fiscal leadership is now.
Elliot Alchek
Matt DesChamps
Scott Kalb
Leslie Moriarty
Stephen Selbst
David Weisbrod
Democratic Members, Board of Estimate and Taxation