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The proposed package would not increase the tax mill rate.
"This is a budget with a short-term benefit [and] with long-term consequences," resident Maureen Farrell said of the $50,963,366 package, which is 1.7 percent below current spending.
Finance board Vice Chairman Robert Belden explained during a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation that the grand list declined for the year that ended last September, marking the first time that had happened in recent memory, and that other municipal-related revenues have fallen, as has aid from the state government.
The finance board's recommendation from last month allocated $33,619,488 for education, a 1.4 percent decrease over current spending, and $17,343,898 for town government services, a decline of 2.4 percent below current spending.
During its regular meeting April 1 and at a news conference last Friday, school officials said that of the 91 school districts that have reported their proposed budgets for the next fiscal year, per capita Brookfield has the lowest increase.
Superintendent of Schools Anthony Bivona said last week that reductions of this size have an impact on morale in the school district, since there is the potential that some of the newer, non-tenured certified staff may not have positions during the next academic year.
He said that the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which granted a 10-year reaccreditation to BHS last year, will be seeking follow-up information on school spending, which could have an impact on how it views the performance of the school, which was ranked 32nd in the state recently by Connecticut magazine.
The school board received four options on addressing the proposed decrease in funding from its administrators last week. School board Vice Chairman Wayne D'Orio said last week that the" template" for reducing the budget $1 million from the school board's recommended budget that was approved in late January would probably be largely based on the "balanced approach," in which 13.7 staff members would be slashed and there would be $273,000 in reductions in programs.
Former Municipal Building Committee Chairman Chip Brown said he is concerned about "the annual assault on our education system."
"You're boxing us in," parent Carol Dores told the finance board regarding its proposal. "There must be a middle ground."
Some municipal officials have said that in some years there has been a disconnection between the comment at the public hearing in April and the results in the first budget referendum on the third Tuesday of May. For example, in 2002 a large contingent of parents turned out to call for more education spending and it took five referendums for the budget to be approved. Last year there was strong support at the two public hearings held by the finance board of a higher budget figure, yet that package was soundly defeated at referendum about a month later.
Finance board Chairman Ernesto Nepomuceno, who has held the post for more than seven years, said he takes the comments this week "seriously" and that the board would consider them as it develops its revised recommended budget, which will be formally presented May 5 at the annual town meeting. "I think in Brookfield there are a lot of people who have lost their jobs, who are worried about making their mortgage payment and who are concerned about foreclosure," he said after the public hearing, which lasted nearly three hours.
Former Selectman Art Kerley said the recommended budget appeared to be directed "at the naysayers in town" who consistently vote against the proposed municipal budget in the referendums.
Some residents expressed concern that Brookfield, which has the lowest equalized tax rate of any of the suburban towns in the Greater Danbury area, is allowing capital needs to unattended, such as its roads.
The finance board's recommended budget calls for $355,000 for that.
Former longtime Town Controller Raymond Bolek, who retired last year, has said the town should be spending up to $1 million a year on road repairs.
"Last year I said stop the downward spiral, and this proposed budget accelerates the downward spiral," former Selectman William Davidson said.
"It will send us on a downward spiral," said Amy D'Orio, the wife of the school board vice chairman.
"I would be willing to spend $120," she said, making reference to the average cost for a taxpayer in a median-valued home in Brookfield between the proposed budgets adopted by the Board of Selectmen early last month and the finance board's proposed package.
Former longtime Zoning Commission member William Schappert said that the proposed reduction by "one-third" for the recording secretaries in the land-use office is "unrealistic." He said the reductions in the office secretarial support also would hurt the functions of the land-use commissions.
Mr. Schappert said that the land-use commissions already have eliminated the position of land-use manager and reassigned the duties to the enforcement officers, creating a savings of $55,000, as well as making other cost-cutting measures.
Regarding the schools and the impact on real estate values, parent Debbie Brooks said that her family moved to Brookfield 10 years ago because of the reputation of the schools.
She said that with lower budget increases in recent years, such as last year when the school district received just a 0.12 percent spending hike, some people are considering leaving town.
"House values are going to reflect that," resident Collette Sturm said regarding the potential impact of lower school funding might have on property values.
Resident Sylvia Malinski said that foreclosures of homes are having a larger impact on property values in Brookfield.
Some residents urged the finance board, which approved this initial recommendation on a 4-2 vote, to increase that plan and allow the voters the chance to approve a package that would retain more town and education services.
"People want money put back into the budget," Selectwoman Joni Park said.
"We're not even getting the chance to vote on a zero spending budget," resident Dave Propper said.
Parent Kerry Swift thanked the non-union school and municipal employees for not taking pay increases for the next fiscal year.
Mrs. Farrell, who recently made presentations to the selectmen and the finance board on health services in town, said that Brookfield is one of a small number of towns in Connecticut that do not have a full-time health director and that the position is long overdue.
Regarding the town's bond rating, Mr. Belden said that the fund balance, one of the factors that is considered by the rating agencies, is below 5 percent after being at 7 percent or above since the mid-1990s.
Brookfield has had a coveted AA2 bond rating since 1997.
Town Treasurer David Scribner has said that maintaining that level will be important as the town enters into long-term financing later this year for the $31.875 million BHS renovation. He said in a recent interview that only 14 municipalities in Connecticut have a better bond rating.
Mr. Belden said that the agencies recommend a fund balance of 10 percent and that many of the municipalities with the even higher AAA rating are well above that.
"It limits the rates that you can borrow at," the finance board vice chairman said regarding the impact of lower bond ratings.
