Poorly Conceived Budget

I&M Question #1 For March 26th

Would you defend or criticize how the current selectmen have handled this year's budget deficit and their choices to date?

As the only candidate to attend all Board of Selectman meetings and most of the Budget Workshops, I have the following observations. The Selectmen continually tasked staff to make reductions, without making recommendations. They relied on the finance committee to make some of the more critical decisions. There was no prioritizing of what are necessary services. They moved the dollars around without any analysis. They did not consider the benefits of an override. Good budgeting and good planning is the result of looking at all possibilities and making smart decisions. Neither of these has been accomplished

All Town Departments were asked to make the same cuts without considering which departments needed to be increased or decreased in hard times. For instance, Health and Human Services was cut by 10% while its requirements and the community needs are increasing. They cut and then reinstated the Adult Community Day Care (ACDC) when its requirements were going up. They did not collect their fair share from the Airport. Finally, they dipped into Free Cash to bail out a poorly conceived budget.