by Dave Ulmer
It's March madness, springtime, and budget season again in Ridgefield. On Monday, March 26th, the Board of Finance will hold a meeting for public comments following presentation of proposed budgets from the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen. After review by the Board of Finance, which takes into account forecast revenues, voters will be asked to approve, separately, FY2008 School and Town operating budgets and, under several initiatives yet to be determined, requests for Capital Expenditures.
Capital Projects often receive less attention, even though they are an integral part of the public infrastructure improvements upon which Ridgefield voters must decide. I believe they should accompany the operating budgets on the May ballot, unless they occur for especially large amounts, such as the School Bundle in 2000, or due to special immediate-need circumstances, such as the Bennett's Pond purchase in 2001.
The Board of Selectmen is currently reviewing Capital items for the next five years. Those requests total almost $40 million, including improvements to our library, police station, schools and other buildings; paving of roads and replacement of bridges; equipment for highway, police, fire, and parks & recreation departments; a synthetic turf field; golf course and clubhouse renovation; town hall modernization; and various engineering or other projects. After being finalized by the Board of Selectmen and reviewed by the Board of Finance, only about $7 million (M) of capital expenses will be presented to the voters for FY2008.
Voter approval creates long-term debt to be paid by future generations of Ridgefield taxpayers. Since the 2000 "Bundle", Ridgefield has issued $135M in principal obligations, of which $81M was for schools, financed with 15-20 year bonds at interest rates around 4-5%. Currently, total town indebtedness is still $120M principal plus $40M interest, with over $105M total payable between 2012-2025.
Debt servicing, both principal and interest, will amount to $14-$15M annually for at least the next five years, about 13% of Ridgefield's current annual expenditures. Any new bond issues will add to our debt servicing requirements and increase our mill rate. Very roughly, for every $4M of new debt, voters will see the following year's mill rate rise by an additional one point of increase (currently 24.23 mills), or if the mill rate would rise by 3 % due to operating budgets, $4 million of new bonds would make it 3.4% instead.
As a result of voter approved infrastructure projects, Ridgefield ranks
near the top among Connecticut towns in average debt per capita. In the
past, Republican candidates have likened this debt to personal "credit
card" expenditures. However, debt has been incurred for a variety of
purposes. The Democratic view is that perhaps a better analogy is to
mortgage payments, as long-term debt has been used judiciously for
improvements to our beautiful home (town). Facing multiple future
requests, elected officials should be cautious in recognizing the
difference, but ultimate approval lies with an active and educated
electorate. Please examine capital needs requests and vote on these
choices on May 8th 2007.
Dave Ulmer serves on the Board of Finance