Board of Finance Shaves About $985k Off Budget Proposal

From a $50 fax machine to $200,000 in salaries for Westport police officers, it was a night of cutting back in the Board of Finance's deliberations over the Town of Westport's 2010-2011 proposed budget.

Though First Selectman Gordon Joseloff requested a town budget of $63.1 million, which is a 7.6 percent increase over the current year, board members said they would work to reduce the budget to flat or even leaner than that.

In total, the board slashed about $985,425 from general government and public safety departments. Those departments can seek restoration next month before the budget becomes final.

"Quite frankly, I am trying to get to zero," board member Kenneth Wirfel said at the start of what became a six-hour meeting Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Cuts were made at the meeting to either return to 2009 levels or be consistent among departments, according to board members. Department heads said the cuts would lessen the quality of Westport services and public safety officials said the cuts would lead to dangerous consequences for residents. The board recommended four police officer positions be eliminated and $150,000 be cut from the fire department's overtime budget.

The board will reconvene today at 6 p.m. to continue the municipal budget process, beginning with the Public Works department. The board is scheduled to take up the Board of Education budget at 7:30 p.m.

There were a couple emotional issues throughout the night.

One was a proposal by board member Charlie Haberstroh to cut $55,000 from the Information Technology depatment's salary in an effort to consolidate IT services between the town and the Westport School District.

While some board members said they appreciated Haberstroh's efforts to find efficiency, they also said there is no way to execute it because the Board of Education would not be required to participate in that change.

First Selectman Gordon Joseloff called the proposal "uninformed" and "highly irresponsible," citing the town IT department's responsibility to maintain the 24-hour system for emergency services.

"If we could have done it, we would have," Joseloff said. "But the schools aren't ready to take on a 24/7 emergency operation backup."

Though some board members said they thought the proposal was a good idea, the motion  to cut the $55,000 position ultimately failed.

The second emotional issue of the night was when the board nearly adjourned the meeting at 1 a.m. before discussing the fire department's budget — a premature decision that led fire department personnel to head quickly and loudly for the door, after waiting six hours in the audience.

The board then changed its mind and asked the audience to return and the meeting continued.

By 1:30 a.m., the board made about 100 motions regarding their line-item budget decisions.

The process continues tonight but is not final until April 7.

That's when departments can address the board again and ask for restoration if necessary. At that time, the board would adopt its budget.