Submitted Henry A. Orphys, RTM District 7, Vice-Chair, Finance Committee
The opinions in this letter are those of the writer and do not represent the views of the RTM or its Finance Committee.
The Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET)’s decision last week to delay certain capital projects until a later year was correct.
Although our town has a reputation of being comprised of wealthy citizens, most residents have budgetary constraints. Questions such as “do we need to buy this item this year or should we wait until next year and spend the money instead on a more pressing need?” or “should we borrow to make this purchase rather than wait until we can pay for it with cash” are regular topics of discussion in most households.
It seems appropriate for our elected representatives, when making spending decisions for the Town, to ask themselves the same types of questions and exercise the same care and thoughtfulness that Greenwich citizens themselves exercise when making personal spending decisions. After all, at the end of the day the money the Town spends is that of the citizens themselves.
Many citizens of Greenwich go about their daily lives paying little attention to the details of Town government and trusting their elected officials to make thoughtful and careful decisions about how to manage the Town’s budget and how much of the citizens’ money should be taken in taxes to pay for that budget. Thus, when their elected representatives choose to spend community funds to purchase goods and services and to construct facilities, many citizens – unless they are actively engaged in the political process or closely follow the Town’s budget discussions – do not even know what those representatives are buying on their behalf and for which they will be required to pay.
It is appropriate for the BET and the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), as representatives of the taxpayers of Greenwich, to carefully evaluate proposed projects and decide which to fund in any given year. This approach requires asking such questions as “are we spending enough on maintenance of buildings and other facilities so that those structures do not require replacement sooner than they should?” “Are we throwing good money after bad by repairing a facility that is so close to the end of its life that it will soon have to be replaced anyway?” “Has the construction or renovation plan for a proposed capital project been thoroughly vetted to ensure that it will result in a structure that is well-designed, well-built and that will not result, a few years after construction, in problems such as leaking pipes in ceilings because of inappropriate construction techniques?”
These are the types of questions individuals ask themselves when determining whether to repair, renovate, expand, or construct a home. It is only appropriate for the BET and the RTM to do the same.
Those of us who serve in elected government should not forget that we are the “investment managers” for the citizens, investing their tax dollars in services and infrastructure that provides a “quality of life” return to the citizens on their money.
No part of Town government has a greater role in this than the BET.
The BET’s budget adopted last week demonstrates its commitment to ensuring that the taxpayers of Greenwich, many of whom are likely unaware of the BET’s decisions, have had their financial interests well and prudently represented.