Volume 16, Issue 10
Serving Durham, Middlefield and Rockfall
All creatures great and small
Teachers union votes ‘no’on furlough; BOE cuts $118,090 in staff and programs By Stephanie Wilcox Town Times
On Saturday, June 13, Erik Stanzel, 11, spotted this bald eagle, above, flying near his house on Lake Beseck. As neighbors watched it fly around for several minutes, and even perch atop a nearby tree, his dad Craig was able to snap a picture of its magnificence as it soared over the water. Meanwhile, the hummingbird directly above has been visiting Oliver Smith Jr.’s home in Durham every day, flying back and forth, back and forth, according to Smith, who took this photo of his inquisitive and persistent guest.
In this issue ... Calendar ................................................................................4 Durham Briefs ................................................................15-16 Grads with Honor & Distinction (most of them!) ..5 & 20-25 Libraries ..............................................................................18 Middlefield Briefs ...........................................................12-15 Obituaries ............................................................................19 Scouts ...................................................................................30 Sports ...................................................................................29
Friday, June 19, 2009
Faced with the problem they were hoping to avoid, the Board of Education nickel and dimed their way to cut $118,090 in programs and staff at the June 10 meeting after the teachers’ union voted earlier that day not to take a one-day unpaid furlough for more savings to the district. According to Superintendent Susan Viccaro, if the teachers took a furlough day, the support staff, custodial and cafeteria unions had voted to follow suit, which would have saved the district $90,000. Last month the nurses and administrators unions, as well as five non-
union central office employees, agreed to the furlough, saving the district $7,800. In a written ballot, the teachers union voted 136 to 23 not to take the furlough day. Board chairman Tom Hennick said his understanding was that the teachers’ union was fearful of taking a furlough day for two reasons: if they approved it and the budget didn’t pass, then they’d subsequently be asked to give back more; and second that the contract, which was negotiated through binding arbitration, already reflects that the union has given enough back. Betsy Bascom, District 13 teacher, spoke up during public comment.
“I think my colleagues are concerned with a number of issues, but I voted for the furlough,” she said. “I thought living in this town, it was the right thing to do.” (*See end of story for quotes from three union presidents that responded by press time to the question “Why did or didn’t your union agree to the furlough?”) Because the board ultimately has no control over the “no” vote made by the teachers, they had to move on with what they dreaded doing — cutting programs and staff. Viccaro presented a list of proposed cuts that she and the administrative team
See BOE cuts, page 10
Middlefield BOF cuts constable and assessor hours, youth and family services, lifeguards, public works overtime By Chuck Corley Special to the Town Times Because the town budget referendum failed on June 9 by a vote of 128-237 (12 percent of registered voters actually voted, at a cost of $8.22 per vote based on the $3,000 cost of a referendum, according to finance director Joe Geruch), the Board of Finance held a special meeting on Thursday, June 11, to make a number of significant cuts to the budget. All told, they eliminated over $150,000 by the time the night was through. These cuts came off a budget that called for the same mill support (6.35 mills) in the upcoming year as in the current year. However, the Board of Finance took themselves into uncharted territory and ended up with an approximate mill rate of 25.66 mills – a drop
of .22 mills from the 2008-09 budget. This number will receive further adjustment by Finance Director Joe Geruch to factor in the benefits also lost by the reduction of hours for various town employees. Just where did these cuts come from? One of the most significant came from the Town Assessor, whose fulltime position was cut down to a 20-hour work week. This will result in over $15,000 in cuts before counting in benefits. One of the police constables will also have his hours cut down to a part-time position. In both cases, this was partly justified by a comparison to Durham, with Board of Selectman member Mary Johnson pointing out that Durham only has a part-time assessor, while the fact that Durham only has one constable was also noted. (Editor’s note:
Durham plans to spend $86,075 plus benefits and office expenses on a part-time assessor, one full-time and one parttime assessor’s office assistant. Middlefield’s full-time assessor and office expenses were slated to cost the town $63,415 plus benefits in the budget submitted by First Selectman Jon Brayshaw in March.)
Public Works also received a number of cuts, with the $36,000 devoted to overtime completely removed from their budget. Another $10,000 was removed from seasonal labor. Finance board member Paul Pizzo explained that while the money is coming out of those line-items, the amount removed is meant to match up to cutting a position’s salary by half. Fellow member Alice Malcolm also felt that the department See Mdfld. BOF, page 11