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The Granby
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Published by Citizens for a Better Granby a non-profit 501(c)3 organization
Volume XLVIII, No. 1 • September 2017
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Governor’s executive orders could decimate municipal aid By Michael B. Guarco, Chair, Board of Finance As the new state fiscal year opened on July 1, high drama intensified in Hartford. Governor Malloy took aim at changing the overall municipal aid categories given to towns while simultaneously looking to prod the legislature to do its job in passing a budget. In late June, an executive order came down from the Governor’s office and is still in place that reduced state aid to Granby by $3.1 million from the $5.5 million budgeted in April. The $5.5 million built into our local budget was based upon the executive budget proposal put out by the Governor back in February. Then in mid-August, the Governor threatened to impose a new executive order that would essentially reduce our overall state aid to ZERO! Brinkmanship at its best—or worst—as Malloy endeavors
to force the Democrat-run legislature to finally pass a budget. These actions and words signaled his intent of forcing a balanced budget partly by shifting major money away from the towns to the cities and help close the budget gap. The impact of a revenue loss of this magnitude is severe to say the least, and follows the already built-into-thebudget reduction in state aid of nearly $1 million based on the February executive order. It is the equivalent of roughly a 15 percent increase in property tax if we only deal with this part of the budget. This has prompted sharp criticism from municipalities across Connecticut. These midstream revenue cuts have come months after local budgets were approved and set in place statewide. They have also prompted local governments to develop contingency plans to offset the proposed loss of money from
State budget
cont’d. on p. 3
Celebrate Granby scheduled for Sept. 21–23 The Granby Chamber of Commerce and its sponsors will host the annual Celebrate Granby event Sept. 21-23 at Salmon Brook Park in Granby. The event has been well attended in the past with its many offerings, including: a business expo, a crafters’ expo, food from local restaurants, a carnival, a classic car show and a beer garden. Local band favorites— The Bus Drivers and Outta Whack— will provide live music, and a fireworks display will cap off the celebration. “Every year this event brings our community together to celebrate all that we love about Granby, everything that makes it unique,” said Rob Gangi, co-chair of the Chamber’s Celebrate Granby Committee. “We are looking forward to experiencing this excitement, and to witness, once again, the camaraderie and our collective love of our corner of Connecticut that puts our town on the map.”
Onboard in town hall Newly appointed Town Manager John Ward is immersed in Granby government, having been on the job since July 13. See story on p. 3. Photo by Shirley Murtha
Inside PTO Corner....................... 14 Granby’s bird carver........... 17
Open Farm Day................. 33 Maple View Farm............... 36
Is he gone yet? A tiny chipmunk peeking out of gap in the stone wall photo bombs this photo of a kestral taken by Peter Dinella.
Town manager institutes spending freeze by Shirley Murtha At the August 21 Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Manager John Ward announced a freeze on discretionary spending and non-essential hiring until it is known that the state has finally produced a budget and how that budget will affect Granby. Ward received a letter from the state on Friday, August 18, which spelled out the various funds that the town would not receive if no state budget were reached. Most significantly, the town would not receive anything from the Educational Cost Sharing Fund that last year gave the town $5.5 million. It was although budgeted at $3.9 million this year. Granby would not receive the expected $850,000 from the Special Education Fund but are expected to receive grants under the prior Special Education Excess Costs, estimated to be $152,000. Also pulled would be funds from the Mashantucket and Pequot Funds (distributions from the state casinos) and the Municipal Revenue Sharing Account, among others. The total loss in income to Granby from these cuts would be $5.5 million. In addition, this is the year that Governor Malloy has proposed that cities and towns pay one-third of the cost of teacher pensions, an expense to Granby of $1.5 million. At the meeting, Finance Board Chairman Mike Guarco noted that the $5.4 million represents 15 percent of the town’s property tax levy. He said that with state budget in place, these reduc-
tions would not be as drastic, but faced with the possibility of the dire reduction in income, there are three actions that could be taken. First, the spending and hiring freeze as instituted by the town manager. Second, use reserve funds to attempt to cover the losses. Finally, a supplemental property tax bill and revised vehicle tax rates could be established. The board approved a call for a Three Board Meeting on Sept. 5. At that time, the boards of selectmen, education and finance will discuss what the town’s options would be to deal with a potentially large loss of revenue from the state. The chairman of the board of education has directed the superintendent to institute the same temporary spending and hiring freeze as that implemented by the town manager. First Selectman Scott Kuhnly noted that state income has fluctuated in the past, but the situation has never been this extreme. He asked residents to contact the governor, senators and representatives to push for cooperation in formulating a budget. He remarked that Granby (and other towns) are being punished for prudently managing their taxpayers’ money. The very negative budget news was in contrast to the opening of the previous BOS meeting on Aug. 7 when Ward noted that he was about to say some words that would probably not be repeated often: “There is good news on the budget.” There is $685,131 more in the general
Spending freeze cont’d. on p. 2
Photos by Peter Dinella