This letter to the editor was published in the Republican American on April 24th, 2015 by Barkhamsted’s Tom Palmer. A Riverton resident, Palmer, spent a great deal of time researching the facts and details behind this long-established budget process presented by the Region 7 Board of Education. His findings have the support of neighboring New Hartford town representatives and much of Colebrook’s who will be voting ‘no’ at the upcoming referendum in NW7 towns, where the NW7 BOE asks to pass this as written, despite Palmer and New Hartford reps who asked the BOE and others to revise this budget in recent meetings due to the apparent discrepancies . What Tom discovered can be read below which is how Mr. Palmer’s letter appeared in this established newspaper:
REGION 7 BUDGET LOADED WITH BLOAT AND HIDDEN COSTS
While taxpayers struggle to make ends meet and towns struggle to keep budgets lean, the Region 7 Board of Education continues a financial strategy to hide historical spending trends and propose another inflated budget.
The last three years alone, it has requested salaries and benefits funding $1.7 million more than what was used for all contractual obligations.
For other purchased services, the board requested $1 million more than was spent: that’s a total of $2.7 million more than was used in three categories.
Much of the artificial “savings” were spent on other areas.
After all spending was accounted for, year-end surpluses averaged $446,000, for a total of $1.3 million overpaid by hardworking taxpayers.
While the board argues the surpluses are eventually credited back to the towns, they never should have been collected first.
The board’s lack of financial transparency stands in sharp contrast to the board’s earned reputation for education excellence. Taxpayers expect a budget reflecting history and what is needed to build Region 7’s education reputation, not an inflated budget without history, which was presented at the April 20 budget hearing.
Only a referendum budget of $19.7 million or less — without the built-in surplus — deserves taxpayer support.
Tom Palmer
Riverton