Residents of Springfield VT got their first glimpse at a proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year Tuesday night complete with a 2.8-percent increase to the town’s current budget.
ycnnow.com
http://ycnnow.com/2015/12/30/springfield-unveils-11m-budget-proposal-for-2017/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/flDMk8DemCE
Springfield Unveils $11M Budget Proposal for 2017
Posted on 2015-12-30 by yankeecommunications in Vermont News // 0 Comments
Residents of Springfield VT got their first glimpse at a proposed budget for the 2017 fiscal year Tuesday night complete with a 2.8-percent increase to the town’s current budget.
Town Manager Tom Yennerell unveiled the $11-million dollar proposal during a regularly-scheduled meeting Tuesday night in which he broke down the budget from department to department.
If approved by voters in March, the budget would include four-percent raises the town’s union employees, and cover a six-percent increase in healthcare costs for town employees.
Taxpayers would face an increase of slightly more than three-percent from their current rates, with nearly $1-million dollars in taxes needed.
Residents can breathe easy as far as Springfield’s school budget is concerned, however, with the 2017 proposal coming in at around $6,000 dollars less than the district’s current $28.9 million dollar budget.
Both budgets are still susceptible to revisions before being put to voters in March.
The 4% wage increase is not for union employees, it is for non-bargaining unit employees
ReplyDelete"Give" 'til it hurts, Springfield...
ReplyDeleteSo, on a $4,000 tax bill, a 2.8% increase will be $112, or a cup and a half of $1.39 coffee per week. I don't know if I can stand for this sort of oppression. Where's my musket and powder horn?
ReplyDeleteChuck, the problem is that every year "it's just another cup of coffee." I would imagine that you are a man of significant financial means for which I congratulate you. You seem to always support increased taxation "for the greater good" so therefore you must be able to afford it. Many of us who work very hard just to make ends meet cannot afford another cup of coffee. In fact, many of us are making difficult decisions just to stay afloat. I say this to you sincerely and without disdain. So when you say it is just $1.39 per week, that is $1.39 that has to be taken from someplace else in an individual's budget. You probably find that hard to believe, but it is true.
ReplyDelete11:30, it's a matter of values. I had a friend who had very, very bad dental problems and no way to pay for treatment. I reviewed options he had, one of which was to end his cable service (about $150 a month at the time), which would have given him the needed $1,500 in only ten months. He bridled at the thought. "No way am I giving up cable!" he said.
DeleteI can afford my property taxes in part because I refuse to have cable and I choose not to own a car, which means I save about $8,000 a year in those areas alone. In exchange for high taxes in Springfield, I have access to a town pool, a great library, good police and fire department coverage, great after-school programs for my son (back when), sound water and sewerage systems, and nice parks, among other things. The next time the listers come by my place, I expect my property taxes to at least double if not triple because of the improvements, but I view it as part of the price one pays for citizenship. Patriots pay taxes.
Our property taxes went up 247% in 1983 as a result of "shareholder value" Wall Streeters coming in and ripping out the heart of our capital base. Unless we take steps to keep that from happening, we will have it happen again and again-- how much will we lose when the Ivek and Black River Produce payrolls are gone?
Your observation about Springfielders barely getting by is exactly right. Most of the people who live and work in town are working for less than they need to get by; a large number of the better-paid live elsewhere, and they don't have to pay Springfield property taxes (see the Town Plan). What can we do to change either of these situations (Wall Street impunity and naturally low wages of householders)?
My goodness Mr. Gregory, you do drone on don't you
ReplyDelete... in hopes that for somebody somewhere a light turns on.
Delete