Community Corner

Budget the Focus of East Hampton Tri-Board

Weintraub: We need to tighten our belts.

 

East Hampton budget process took a big step forward on Tuesday night with a tri-board meeting intended to lay the groundwork and inform the public on what they can expect over the next few months.

The tri-board, comprised of the town council, board of finance and board of education began with council chairwoman Sue Weintraub setting a tone that should be welcomed by residents.

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“While there are positive economic indicators released in the last few months citing more jobs, we must proceed with caution,” Weintraub said. “Money is tight, as we all know, and people are cutting back to make ends meet, learning to do without the extras. Energy and healthcare costs continue to go up. People are taking jobs for less money and companies and governments are still cutting jobs.

“There is a new playing field and we must adapt to it.”

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Last year, the 2011-12 budget underwent several cuts and failed on its first referendum vote before finally passing with a $235,903 reduction in spending over fiscal year 2010-11, or 0.62 percent less.

There was no talk of goals or zero-percent increases in spending on Tuesday, but there were assurances the town will do its best for the community and its citizens.

“I believe that by working together we can come up with a budget that not only fulfills the needs of our community but at the same time does not overtax our citizens,” Weintraub said, “and like the residents, we need to tighten our belts and do what is financially best for our community."

The board of education has proposed a budget of $27,238,340, an increase of $1,026,338 over this fiscal year, or 3.92 percent. The final budget needs to be adopted and submitted to the town manager by March 1. The board of ed budget is the largest item in a town’s budget, and in 2010-11 accounted for 68.9 percent of East Hampton’s.

“Our budget is already lean. Two years ago, teachers generously opened and renegotiated their contract,” board of ed finance committee chair Carol Lane said. “We are still realizing savings from that renegotiation today. Last year, we used stimulus money to fund early retirements. Both these actions brought the percentage increase in those years lower. No such help is on the horizon today. We have at present managed to retain our personnel, so important to the quality of the education.”

According to Lane, salaries and benefits account for 81 percent of the school district's budget.

School Superintendent Dr. Judith Golden also called this budget a lean budget, one that has gotten leaner over the years.

“We are working very hard to implement cost savings wherever possible,” Golden said. “We are trying to preserve the quality of our school system in these difficult economic times.”

The board of ed budget contains no reductions in staff.

“The board has committed to saving the jobs of the people in our school because we’re trying not to add to the problem of unemployment while still keeping costs down,” Golden said, adding that about 15 teachers were replaced since last year with young, new teachers which cost less.

Last year, budget meetings were poorly attended, which frustrated, among others, board of finance members who were forced to submit a budget to the town council without much input from residents. Tuesday night’s tri-board was a good first step, but also was attended by only a few.

Getting the word out on future meetings and on the budget itself is a priority.

Finance Director Jeff Jylkka said the town’s web site would be updated with budget information and that an ad would probably be taken out in The Rivereast. Finance board member Mary Ann Dostaler indicated that the board would be preparing a citizen’s guide to the budget to help residents understand the budget and otherwise provide information that will be “very helpful.” A calendar of budget meetings also is expected to be made available for publication in the near future.


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