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All answered the same six questions.
On whether the town should bond for short-term or operating expenses, Jones said, "There's no simple answer ... It's basically using a credit card and it's something we need to be careful of."
Brachfeld said he would be strongly opposed to bonding for short-term needs such as paving roads or buying electronic items such as SmartBoards."These are all items that we should be able to budget for."
Brown said of bonding short-term: "Would I rule it out? No, but it would be a cause for discussion, absolutely."
Kiley said "Absolutely 'No' for bonding anything short-term or operational expenses." Ditto, for technology.
As to the proper amount of debt for the town, Brachfeld said he thought the level the town had now was probably the correct amount. "If we get our Triple A rating, not because we have a low amount of bonds, but because the agencies tell us that we are wealthy and can raise taxes, then, by definition, we've raised enough money with bonds."
Brown said, "I believe now the debt per capita is about $3,500 and I know we're well within the debt ratio that would be recommended."
Kiley said "Our current level of bonding is $26.6 million, which represents 10.7 percent of our current budget of $247 million. I believe, on the one hand, those figures are well within what the rating agencies would like to see for a town of our size ... That said, 10 percent is a relatively high number and I would not like to see it go higher ... The good news," said Kiley, is that some bonds will be paid off soon, beginning in 2010-11.
Jones said he would agree that 10 percent was appropriate."
Jim Brown was first to answer, "Do you view the Board of Finance as an appropriation board or do you view it as formulating fiscal policy for the town?"
Brown reviewed the past year's budget process saying that the $252 million budget sent to the board of finance was reduced by $5 million through meetings with department heads and examining line items and "I think that is appropriate."
Kiley took a broader view of the question and said the finance board had debated it many times in the past 12 years (the length of time he has been on the board).
"The board ... could add a tremendous amount of value to the town from a policy perspective and ... a business perspective."
Kiley said he would like to see the board involved in lease negotiations and negotiations between bargaining units and the administration.
Jones agreed, "Where feasible, where reasonable, I think, absolutely, yes."
Brachfeld suggested a board of finance web site, saying that "If Board of Finance members could agree on some philosophy and some goals and publish them ahead of time, they could influence what kind of budgets are brought to them."
Kiley followed up by saying that he couldn't agree more on Brachfeld's advocating for transparency and communication. "That was never more evident than in the past budget season, when during the course of an economic turmoil, with the financial markets melting down, the Board of Finance was faced with very difficult decisions on what to do with this budget. So, what did we do? We communicated more and we had more budget transparency and it worked. We got more people involved. We had longer meetings; we had more meetings ... We listened, we learned and in the end, we came away with what I believe is a good, fair, balanced budget.
Asked if candidates would support having the Board of Finance change line items in the Board of Education budget, Kiley said he would not and pointed out that state law does not allow such changes. Kiley said the finance board had a great deal of input during the budget process and "We give them a final number that encompasses all their requests and any changes that we make ... I would not feel comfortable giving them specific advice about what to do with their budget, once it is passed by the RTM and it goes back to the Board of Education."
All four gave a hearty "yes" when asked if the town should expand property tax abatements for seniors and veterans.
In his closing statement, Kiley said, "We must protect our seniors and keep them in town," and added that he had two children in elementary school and "I've worked to fund our schools to eliminate 46 portable classrooms and to build schools."
Kiley added that the budget presented to the board of finance this year had a 4 percent increase and that was reduced to 1.7 percent.
Jones, in his closing statement, said "We must continue to make appropriate investments in town assets, education, infrastructure and, I believe, open space."
Admitting he was not "a financial guy per se," he said, "I've spent countless hours with the town's budget documents and I'm not intimidated by them.
Brachfeld, a bond trader, said that he thought qualifications were all important and noted that he graduated from the Wharton School of Business and worked for many years at both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. He said he has been a member of the Town, police, and fire retirement pension boards for about a year and a half, "but arrived too late to impact the Madoff mess." He noted that he was on the Middle School Space Feasibility and Building Committees. He is on the finance committee at Mercy Learning Center in Bridgeport and founded a SEPTA scholarship program. Most importantly, he said he is independent in that "my only allegiance is to the town and the welfare of the taxpayers."
Jim Brown wanted everyone to know that there were at least two Jim Browns in Fairfield and he wasn't the one who wrote letters to the editor. He has four daughters, the oldest of whom is a senior in high school, so he supports the school system, but "I also have a mother on fixed income, so there needs to be a balance."
Brown said he'd lived in town for 30 years and was VP of Operations for a family - owned business.
