Community Corner
Why don't Woodbury Board of Finance Chairman and First Selectman make real spending reductions?
Why don’t the Woodbury BOF Chairman and First Selectman make real spending reductions? Answer: They can’t afford to disappoint their supporters. So, I Still Say No To Proposed 2014-2015 Woodbury Budget! Woodbury Board of Finance (BOF) Chairman DeSorbo and First Selectman Butterly removed their Smoke and Mirror increases in LoCIP revenues, (already approved state grant monies and phony expenses incurred for town projects). This inflated the total expenses in the budget, raising amount voters were asked to approve, when these monies were to be paid by the State. Result, increasing the tax amount and mill rate they sought to collect. The new formatted budget of $9,276,770 removes these items. It includes some $100,000 in questionable projected cuts, without consideration of this year’s reported surplus of $291,000. This is being squirreled away to assist in getting lower bond financing rates for project(s) not in this budget and a Bond Vote later this fiscal year. This surplus should be used to reduce their requested $9,276,770 to less than $9,000,000. A real reduction in spending for over payment of taxes this year. Finally, Mr. DeSorbo and Mr. Butterly refused to consider reducing the $60.000 pay plan, stating that they were not adding any new full or part time town employees. This money was needed to maintain the required level of employees at the Public Works Department and Library. Mr. DeSorbo expressed that the BOF should not be telling the First Selectman, how he should run the town by reducing expenses or services. This is very funny, since this was exactly what Mr. Butterly did, as the last BOF Chairman, to First Selectman Stomski during last year’s budget go around. If that was the process used then to obtain reductions in spending, it should be the same this time around. What say you? I say we should say NO once again on July 23, 2014 to obtain further reductions!!!
Art McNally