Tiverton votes Saturday on competing budgets

Chabot, Lebeau aim sharp words at Katz budget #2

By Tom Killin Dalglish
Posted 5/16/18

TIVERTON — The Financial Town Hearing on May 3 laid bare some of the assumptions and conclusions made by the budgeters, especially the budget put on the ballot by repeat budget petitioner Justin Katz.

Proponents for each budget were allowed a few minutes each to make presentations on behalf of the budget each was putting forward. But when the public rose to have its say, many cut loose, with repeated opposition and sharp critiques of petitioner’s budget #2.

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Tiverton votes Saturday on competing budgets

Chabot, Lebeau aim sharp words at Katz budget #2

Posted

TIVERTON — The Financial Town Hearing on May 3 laid bare some of the assumptions and conclusions made by the budgeters, especially the budget put on the ballot by repeat budget petitioner Justin Katz.
Proponents for each budget were allowed a few minutes each to make presentations on behalf of the budget each was putting forward. But when the public rose to have its say, many cut loose, with repeated opposition and sharp critiques of petitioner’s budget #2.
Following are excerpts from comments throughout the evening:

Budget Committee Chairman McNalley
Among other recommendations, Budget Committee Chairman Brendan McNalley said his committee recommended two new snowplows, $335,000 for paving and drainage (as does Mr. Katz’s), and said rubbish and pensions were up respectively by 38 percent and 44 percent. “These big ticket items drive a lot of the costs on the municipal side,” he said.
On revenues, the budget committee recommended a withdrawal of only $75,000 from the general fund (by comparison, petitioner’s budget would withdraw $357,582). The budget committee anticipated casino revenues of $787,000, with a projected opening date of Nov. 1, while Mr. Katz, in proposing his budget, banked on $949,000 in casino anticipated revenues and a projected opening date of Sept. 1.
Petitioner Justin Katz
“Taxpayers are still looking for relief,” Mr. Katz lead off by saying, in defense of his petitioner’s budget (Budget #2 on the ballot).
Among other matters, he said his budget doesn’t fund a full-time planner (a $75,000 item), places a cap of $2,500 in donations to outside organizations (e.g. the Visiting Nurses and EastBay Community Action), shifting those funds to preventive maintenance for town parks that he said he views as more appropriate recipients of town largess. He also said his budget shifts stamp tax revenues to fund tax relief instead of to support open space. He also reduces the budget committee’s proposal for legal services by $43,000.
Noting increases in insurance costs for town employees, Mr. Katz said his budget encourages the town council to find some savings somewhere to make up for that increase, and to perhaps try to get concessions from employees during labor negotiations.
Joan Chabot
A council member for seven years, Joan Chabot said the town had added bonding debt in recent years for the library and improvements to the high school and middle school. “That’s an investment in the town’s future,” she said. Mr. Katz’s budget reduces services. She spoke of the need for a town planner, people in the building official’s office, and zoning enforcement.
If we don’t have support in these offices, she said, “then we have more and more litigation.”
“You want to have good customer service in town hall,” she said, “and the customer service we’re providing is for our taxpayers.”
“There’s a lot of things you’re not aware of,” she told Mr. Katz, “because you’re not there.”
“My only point is that I think the budget committee’s budget is the most reasonable budget out of the two, and that’s the budget that needs to be supported. If you’re looking out for the future of Tiverton, it’s the one you need to vote for. You can’t just keep cutting, cutting, cutting.”
Randy Lebeau
“It’s wrong, Justin. What you’re doing is wrong,” said Town Councilor Randy Lebeau of Mr. Katz’s budget (Budget #2 on the ballot]. “Being on the other side of the fence,” Mr. Lebeau told Mr. Katz, “this fantasy, that there’s tons of money that the town can move around, is nonsense.”
“Let’s spend that $3 million of revenue [expected at some uncertain time in the future from the casino] to get rid of our debt and stop trying to nickel and dime people,” Mr. Lebeau said.
“Listen, there’s a quality of life people need — they need their trash picked up, they need their roads plowed, they need an ambulance, you need police, you need fire ….”
Mr. Lebeau said that factoring in revenue that you don’t even have yet — as he clearly implied Mr. Katz did in his proposed budget — doesn’t make sense. “Now is not the time. This is not the way to do it.” ... “You just spent $900,000 [revenues anticipated by Mr. Katz in his budget from the casino] that we don’t have, to lower the taxes — to make a big mess. ... Wait till you get the check in your hand before you spend it. ... It’s reckless at this point, it’s reckless before the first year, it’s absolutely reckless. It’s like me spending all the money from my inventory before it sells” [Mr. Lebeau owns a retail gun shop].
Sanford M. Mantell
“The budget committee’s budget is preferable to yours,” Sanford Mantell told Mr. Katz. Mr. Mantell in the past has been critical of the budget committee’s proposals. “Your revenue is what I call funny money,” Mr. Mantell said to Mr. Katz, after several minutes of critical comments he made about Mr. Katz’s proposed petitioner’s budget. “I just want to say, that I am in support of the budget committee’s budget,” Mr. Mantell said, “and quite frankly I think that even the budget committee’s side of the budget is too low.”
“One other point,” Mr. Mantell said. “Something I noticed. This is very picayune. Taking the stipend away from the town council? That is quite ... I think the word is ‘cheesy.’ That is unconscionable.” [The Katz budget would completely eliminate the $17,300 stipend for town council members.]
Michael DeCotis
Clearly referencing Mr. Katz’s suggestion that the council could offset insurance benefits cost increases by asking for employees to pay for the increased costs, by agreeing to concessions in their contracts or during negotiations, Mr. DeCotis asked Town Solicitor Anthony DeSisto if such a proposal would be legal.
To which Mr. DeSisto said: “If that were adopted, there would almost certainly be lawsuits, because you’re dealing with contractual rights of the employees. There will be a lawsuit for that.”
Ruth Hollenbach
“Labor negotiations,” she began, meaning those between the town and the town’s employees. “You can’t tell the taxpayer that you cannot bring those labor negotiations down to where the taxpayer can pay for them. You are responsible to tell those people that you don’t have any more money to give them for those labor negotiations. You can do it. The hugest bargaining chip is to say that the town can’t pay for that.”
Patricia Hilton
In what may have been the most biting critique of Mr. Katz’s proposed budget, Town Councilor Patricia Hilton elicited from Mr. Katz that he had projected casino revenue estimates based on an opening date of Sept. 1, that he projected the casino would be operating 24/7, that based on these assumptions he’d added an additional $162,743 into the casino revenue estimates and an additional $81,118 into the police revenue estimates.
“The net result,” Ms. Hilton said, “is that you’re looking for additional casino revenue, above and beyond the budget estimates, of $242,861. This is based on an unknown start date, and unknown hours of operation … If those revenues and the ancillary revenues don’t materialize, what do you see as the plan for the town to cover its bills that it would be expected to pay with this money?”
Of the possibility that Mr. Katz would contemplate declaring an emergency, Ms. Hilton then noted that under Mr. Katz’s proposal, the unrestricted portion of the reserve fund would be $75,000, and that to go beyond that — to go into the reserves — the town “would have to declare a state of emergency and meet very specific public health, safety, and welfare criteria.”
“Underfunding your budget would not qualify as a state of emergency,” she said. “Personally, I don’t think relying on a worst case scenario so we can pay our bills is a really well thought out plan. And based on the idea that there may be some other things to come along and some unanticipated revenue from here and unanticipated revenue from there, it sounds like a lot of hope, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, hope is not a strategy.”
Referencing Mr. Katz’s budget proposal for “cutting the litigation budget,” Ms. Hilton said to Mr. Katz, “you are the president and treasurer of a political action committee that seems well intent on bringing the town into court on a regular basis. I’m not sure how these two things match up.”
“If litigation funds are an issue, I would suggest the town stop doing things that people will litigate,” Mr. Katz said, eliciting murmurs from the audience.
“There’s another side to that,” Ms. Hilton said, “and that’s whether people should be litigating things that aren’t really meritorious in litigation.” Joe Sousa
“To the people on the budget committee, appointed and elected, you have my respect,” Mr. Sousa said. “I thank you for your service ... although I think the budget was a little high, and I’m going to support Budget #2 [Mr. Katz’s], I still feel you people did a good service to the town and I thank you.”
Rob Coulter
“I want to begin,” Mr. Coulter said, “by echoing as a former member of the budget committee and town council, the hard work of the budget committee members.” Mr. Coulter then directed the first of several questions to Mr. Katz (and to others among the panel on stage) that seemed intended to elicit answers already known.
“Am I reading this correctly,” he asked Mr. Katz, “that your total proposed budget is $51,258,109?” To which Mr. Katz said, “yes.”
“That’s on page five,” Mr. Coulter said, “so if your budget passes it will be $51 million-plus that you’re supporting that we spend?”
To which Mr. Katz said, “correct.”
“That sounds like a lot of money for 16,000 residents,” Mr. Coulter said. “How far off is that from the budget committee’s?” Mr. Coulter then asked.
“About $263,000,” Mr. Katz said. “I would like to go further, but seeing the needs of the town I didn’t,” Mr. Katz said.
Mr. Coulter then said, “in fact, as a taxpayer, your budget might have have been a little more aggressive.”
Dave Perry
“We want a planner, we need a planner,” said Mr. Perry, who introduced himself as a member of the planning board.
“Well, I disagree with that,” said Mr. Katz.
Referencing what he said was an ability by the council to transfer funds between accounts, Mr. Katz said to Mr. Perry: “To answer your question about how much the town council can transfer, the spending budget is $21 million, and if the council has a priority that’s not funded in the budget, they might be able to find it in a $21 million budget.”
Sally Black
“I’m very surprised that there’s an alternate budget. ... this [the Budget Committee’s] is a great budget and I’m so excited about it, and I hope everyone supports Budget #1.”
Deborah Janick
After identifying herself as a member of the budget committee this year, Deborah Janick asked Mr. Katz, “is it your intention to bankrupt the town.” To which Mr.Katz answered “no.”
“Because you seem you’re going in that direction.”

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