The Rutland City Board of Alderman on Tuesday passed the City Budget funding article to be placed on the ballot as a whole. Meaning the voters would vote on the overall budget, instead of voting on a department by department basis. The latter would have allow the voters to decide which departments they support and which ones they may think are overinflated. The Board decided to vote as a whole so the voters would not pit one department against another.
The voters overwhelming supported allowing them to approve the city budget last year at town meeting day.
The voters should have the final say on which departments they would like to have their money spent on. This would not pit one department against another, it would pit the voters against a department or departments. After all, it is our money and should be able to decide where and how much we would like to spend.
The final budget number claimed by the Board of Alderman to be voted on will be $17,601,335.
Now this will not include all the bonds, special projects, school funding increases, etc..... It is projected if all theses projects are approved a household value of $150,000 could have their taxes increase by approx. $450.00 per year. The tax rate is the information that needs to be made public. Many people are unaware of by voting yes to these articles, how much there taxes will go up. Some very good questions to be asked at the Public informational meeting to be held in the near future by the Board of Alderman and Department heads.
The BOA's final budget number of $17,601,335 does not include the $300,000 of Social Services monies that were shown on the FY 2010 comparable budget. According the FY2011 budget is up approximately $1.3 million over the prior year. If that budget is approved by the taxpayer's and they also approve the "Cent for the Center" as well as similar amounts for the social agencies then we can expect a municipal tax increase of approximately 11.5%. That would be most unfortunate for the seniors who have had no SS increase this year and who's interest on any savings has shrunk to almost nothing.
ReplyDeleteOne way to save the City some tax money is to eliminate the City's pension plan for all new employees. Did you know that since 1987 new federal employees do not qualify for the Civil Service pension plan but come under the FERS retirement system. An internet search of FERS will give you the particulars.
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