From Dave Holman, Guilford, CT – 5/15/2024
Fact-based Or Even Logical?
At the Guilford Board of Finance (BOF) meeting on 4/24/24, the Board voted to reduce the total Guilford Town Budget by $1.15 million ($315,000 from the General Town Government Operating Budget and $835,000 from the Board of Education Operating Budget) before it goes out to referendum on 5/21/24. Chairman Michael Ayles announced that $650,000 of this reduction would be made up from $650,000 in medical insurance savings for fiscal year 2024-2025. This means that the actual budget reduction the BOF voted for was only $500,000.
Also at this meeting, the BOF rejected using $953,000 in unanticipated, unallocated and unbudgeted grants that Guilford will be receiving from the State by the end of the fiscal 2023-2024 fiscal year (June 30, 2024) to reduce the 2024-2025 proposed budget because these grants were onetime grants received in fiscal year 2023-2024 and could not be anticipated in fiscal year 2024-2025. Rather than using these grants to reduce the tax burden on Guilford taxpayers, the Board instead will assign this $953,000 to the “undesignated (rainy-day) fund balance” which is already fully funded. In fact, as of June 30, 2023, the Guilford undesignated fund balance was a whopping $14,205,854.
But is this reasoning by the BOF fact-based or even logical? A 4/30/24 article in the CT. Mirror entitled “Billions more in taxes coming into Ct. than expected” stated that “State budget surpluses would top or approach $1 billion through 2026 … $1.2 billion in 2024-2025 and $910 million in 2025-2026. With projected surpluses like these, isn’t it reasonable to expect that Guilford will be receiving unanticipated state grants approaching the $953,000 it received for fiscal year 2023-2024, in fiscal year 2025-2026?
Bottom-line, even after the BOF $315,000 reduction in the Guilford General Town Government Operating Budget, the Town Operating Budget will still be increasing by $1,057,512. The $953,000 in unanticipated State Grants needs to be used to eliminate this increase. The hard-working taxpayers of Guilford should not be burdened with additional taxes unnecessarily.
Please vote on 5/21/24, and please share this post with all your neighbors, friends and family.
Dave Holman