Chairman's View: Cap Town Spending for Three Years (Mar. 28, 2019)

Chairman’s View: Cap town spending for three years

MARCH 28, 2019 BY JOHN ENGEL, CHAIRMAN, TOWN COUNCIL

Town income is dependent on real estate values and the taxes they generate. Our revenues currently grow at 1% per year.

I propose that we cap spending at 1.50% per year for three years, beginning now. We must limit our spending growth more closely to our revenue growth. The town budget is growing 1.43% while the school budget grew 1.85% ($1.4 million). My proposal means cutting $340,000 from a $91 million Board of Education budget. This is not a criticism of the school budget or their priorities. It is simply the recognition that 2.8% average annual growth we’ve seen for the last 10 years is unsustainable.

The reputation of top-performing schools causes school-age families to move in. The No. 1 reason people move out is affordability. That is particularly true of our empty-nesters and seniors whose taxes developed the school system that we all currently enjoy. It’s the responsibility of the Town Council to make sure we maintain that balance between excellent schools and long-term affordability. We cannot ignore the effects SALT deductibility, revaluation, and pressures from Hartford have had on property values. We must cut spending growth in all budgeted areas to a level New Canaan can sustain.

New Canaan currently plans capital spending of $17 million, $18 million and $18 million in the next three years while retiring only $11.5 million to $12.4 million of debt per year. Those figures don’t meet the needs of our Police Department or library, but they do include a $500,000 fire rescue truck, $210,000 ambulance, $550,000 school planetarium, $6 million Waveny restoration, $200,000 Irwin House restoration, $250,000 Nature Center restoration and $3.2 million in the selectmen’s budget to buy land for new parking lots. We must get serious about re-prioritizing our capital needs within the $13 million cap. Doing so will result in debt service savings of $282,529, $426,047 and $842,239 in the next three years and is necessary if we are to decrease debt service toward the 10% guideline set by the Board of Finance in the fall of 2018. If we don’t limit new capital spending below $13 million, then we will never reach the 10% target.

Two years ago, New Canaan and Darien both claimed mill rates in the 16s. This year, Darien has a mill rate of 16.08 while New Canaan’s will grow from 16.96 to 18.11 and possibly exceed 19 in two years. We need the mill rate to return to levels near that of Darien and Westport, our closest rivals. I am confident that with proper planning we can do this while maintaining school excellence and the current level of services. And, as a Realtor, I am confident that real estate prices will recover and when they do we will be able ease the caps.

John Engel is chairman of the Town Council. The views expressed in this column are those of the chairman, not necessarily the entire council.

Chairman's View: On Bags and Budgets (Feb. 4, 2019)

Chairman’s View: On bags and budgets

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 BY JOHN ENGEL, CHAIRMAN, TOWN COUNCIL

The Town Council is considering a proposed townwide ban of supermarket plastic bags. Letters are starting to pour in. Supporters of the ban cite the environmental impact. Opponents of a ban say we are chipping away at freedom and personal choice.

Greenwich, Stamford and Westport banned the bags; Darien will be next. Will New Canaan’s decision rest on the more successful write-in campaign? Fewer than 25 people have weighed in. We all want to get greener but do we need more laws? We want to hear your thoughts.

The Budget. The First Selectman declared victory this week, proposing the lowest budget increase in a decade, up 0.16%, with two highlights: One is the way we look at contingency, consolidating department contingencies into one account at the town level. The second is a hiring freeze. Both seem sensible. If passed the mill rate will increase from 16.96 to 18.32 this year. Unfortunately, next year our debt service is forecast to rise and I fear the mill rate may rise with it, making us less competitive with Darien and Westport.

Our Superintendent of Schools brought in a school budget, up 2.05%, and believes we are done because they met Board of Finance standards published in the fall. We are not. Board of Finance models were based on changing assumptions. The whisper number from the Board of Finance and Town Council is we need another $1.5 million (from a schools budget that only rose a modest $1.4 million). Sound impossible? It may be too hard to turn the ship in one year. We did not get to this point in one year and we may not solve it that quickly. 

Consider that over the past 13 years spending increased 42% while enrollment was flat. In the last seven years spending increased 24% while enrollment decreased 3%. 

Consider that Darien teaches 4,726 students with 767 teachers and administrators whereas New Canaan teaches 4,113 with 749. If we managed to Darien’s ratio of 6.16 we would have 81 fewer staff across our schools. 

This is not a criticism of our schools or a statement that their budget is “fat” It is not. It is simply recognition that to meet Board of Finance debt targets of debt service below 10% in a period of rising interest rates we will have to make long-term systemic changes. If zero growth is too much in one year then perhaps a 3-year plan growing 1% per year is something the Board of Education and Board of Finance can agree on together. Such a plan would bring the mill rate back to a level below 18, reassure a jittery housing market, provide less stress to our schools than year by year cuts, meet Board of Finance long-term debt guidance and would be consistent with “stable but slightly decreasing enrollment” projections from our demographer.

Chairman’s View represents the views of the Town Council chairman and not necessarily those of any other Town Council member.

TOWN OF NEW CANAAN PRESS RELEASE TOWN COUNCIL APPROVES FY2020 BUDGET OF $150.94 MILLION -- DECREASE OF 0.43% IS THE LOWEST IN LAST 10 YEARS FUNDS TO BE RAISED BY TAXES DECLINES 0.56% -- FIRST DECLINE IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS

The Town Council on April 4th approved a Total Expenditure Budget of $150.94 million

for fiscal year 2019-20, representing a decrease of 0.43% over the current fiscal year’s amended

budget expenditure of $151.58 million. This is the first decline in more than a decade. The

funds to be raised by taxation declined to $139.23 million from the current year’s $140.02

million, a decrease of 0.56% -- the first decline in more than 10 years.

The Town Council budget will be filed in the office of the Town Clerk and will become

effective eight days after publication unless a notice of intent to file a petition for a referendum

has been filed in the office of the Town Clerk within seven days after publication (Town Charter

Sections C4-13 and C4-14).

The Total Expenditure Budget includes Board of Education operating expenses of $91.43

(up 1.86 %) , Town department operating expenses of $39.92 million (up 0.56 %), debt service

of $16.84 million (down 9.29 %), and tax-funded capital projects of $1.73 million (down 40.32

%). To fund this budget, the amount to be raised from taxation is $139,230,687 (down 0.56%).

“We have much to be thankful for. Town leadership really came together to deliver the

tightest budget in over a decade, one which accurately reflects our priorities as a town: the #1

school system and among the lowest taxes in what most experts agree is still the best place to

live in Connecticut,” said Town Council Chairman John Engel.

The Town Council’s budget takes into account the 2018 Revaluation as of October 1,

2018 where the town’s 2018 Grand List declined 7.64% to $7.71 billion from the 2017 Grand

List of $8.34 billion. The decline in the grand list was primarily due to lower valuations of homes

valued at more than $2 million. The overall average decrease in residential property values was

7.2%. Commercial properties increased on average 10.8 %.

The reduction in the Grand List will result in an increase in the mill rate from the current

16.960 to an estimated 18.259. The final mill rate to be set by the Board of Finance on April 9.

Attached is Board of Finance FY 2019-2020 Budget Summary showing further details of

Town Department and Board of Education (BOE) year-over-year budget changes.

For further information, contact: Lunda Asmani, Budget Director, 203-594-3026.

Chairman’s View: Seeking More Transparency from School Leaders, column for June 6, 2018

Chairman’s View: Seeking more transparency from school leaders

JUNE 6, 2018 BY BY JOHN ENGEL, TOWN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN, AND CRISTINA A. ROSS, TOWN COUNCIL

When the Town Council met earlier this year to review the upcoming Board of Education budget for 2018-19, we paid great respect to the challenge they face in providing excellence within 2% guidance alongside rising health care and labor costs. We wanted to approve the administration’s bold experiment to propose an ‘Alternative High School’ within the former Outback building, but it felt premature and the budget did not contain the detailed financial information we needed about a proposed Alternative High School for it to gain approval.

School leaders urged parents to attend the Town Council meetings to support the budget as presented, threatening that extra-curricular activities such as Model UN and favorite classes would be affected if any cuts in the budget were implemented.

Given the reductions in the budget request, it came as a surprise to learn, through the Board of Education (BOE) meeting last week, that the administration was moving ahead with their original plans for an Alternative High School. 

Seeking transparency, finding surprise

I thought we agreed to reduce headcount through attrition. I thought we agreed to start the conversation together about how we could work together for long-term savings. We see job postings for Alternative High School openings are online. We thought we were shedding real estate, and then we read in the newspaper that BOE is discussing real estate for the Alternative High School program in private, because publicity of that could adversely affect the price. The price of what? Where is the transparency in this process? Where is the spirit of cooperation?

Connecticut statutes empower only the BOE to decide how their budget gets appropriated once approved by municipality funding bodies. The Board of Education members have delegated most of that responsibility, which is entrusted to them by their Bylaws, the New Canaan Charter and the state statutes, to the school administration, and those meetings are not open to parents, the press or Town government. 

New Canaan residents and at least a few members of the Town Council are left wondering where did the money for these programs come from.  

At a time of uncertainty with regards to property taxes and taxable deductions, we need to ensure that every dollar we collect is warranted. The approved education budget was not supposed to negatively impact the current special education program. We thought the budget would allow the school administration to continue current programing without any cuts.  

If you really need an Alternative High School please have these conversations in the open. Invite the public and the Town Council in. Provide us some of the supporting documentation of its mission, approach, financial sustainability and success measures. 

The BOE needs to follow its own bylaws with transparency, and when seeking financial support look to quantify the financial impacts. We need to implement prudent, fiscally conservative changes with success measures that are financially responsive to the needs of our community.

Chairman’s View: Urging School Board to Resolve Security Camera Issue, column for May 24, 2018

Chairman’s View: Urging school board to resolve security camera issue

MAY 24, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN TOWN COUNCIL CHAIRMAN JOHN ENGEL

I wrote this column in February and pulled it before publication, because I thought we were making progress. Instead I wrote to the superintendent of schools on Feb. 27. I received no reply. 

For the last several years the New Canaan Police had viewing access to the interior and exterior cameras of all New Canaan Public Schools from their dispatch center. They could select a specific camera if there was an incident. About a year ago police access to the interior cameras was cut off. The police chief was told that the superintendent / Board of Education was concerned about student privacy and cited FERPA laws.

Subsequently the superintendent sent the police a very restrictive memorandum of understanding (MOU), which the chief would not sign. When asked, the chief has said, “These restrictions were not workable especially in an emergency situation. Logging into the system during an emergency is not realistic.”

The police chief revised the MOU months ago to be workable from a student safety perspective. Police access to all school cameras is the next step (albeit small) to ensure student safety. The issue remains unresolved.

One Town Council member defended the right of the superintendent to make that decision saying, “The BOE has made a policy decision that’s entirely within their authority.” How do we know? The BOE does not discuss these important policy changes at their public meetings. 

The main argument is that courts have ruled that security video footage of a public school should remain classified as an educational record under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It seems crazy to suggest that a live-feed to the police is the same as making security camera footage available to the public. We don’t need to know the details of your security plan, but we expect our police to be involved and consulted on all matters of security. After all, we do not have two police forces — a private one for schools and one for the rest of us. 

We expect police to be involved with drug-sniffing dogs and underage drinking, too — any suspected crime where the police think they have a problem. Chris Hussey raised this question of unannounced police access at a recent Board of Education meeting and learned “they [police] had to give the school notification.” 

The Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that police are permitted to use dogs to sniff out contraband during unannounced, random searches. While the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure the Court ruled that students do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in schools. These issues are related. Please do not keep the police at arms length.

As much as the schools prefer to handle things themselves within their walled garden, school security is not their decision alone. Work with the chief of police; solve this impasse.

Top 10 Reasons New Canaan is Unique

1. 44 miles to New York City. New Canaan has exits from the Merritt Parkway service New Canaan making it convenient to all areas of town. No other town in Fairfield County has this kind of access to the parkway which is a much better commute than I-95 because there are no trucks.

Empty Seats: The Train Starts Here

2. Next Station to Heaven. In New Canaan your seat is waiting. Metro North trains start and end in New Canaan. 66 minutes express to Grand Central versus 57 in Darien. The train is waiting in the morning with assured seating and returns you to the village at night. Truly a unique arrangement. The folks in Darien and Westport will brag that the "main line" has more trains but who cares if you can never get a seat on the train?  

3. Schools. We have the top school system in the state and New Canaan has been called by Forbes Magazine one of the top 3 in the country for towns in which the average home costs more that  $800,000. Niche Magazine rates us number 2 in Connecticut. Unlike other rankings which use AP data as the sole datapoint, Niche's methodology includes grading for academics (50%), health and safety (10%), student culture and diversity (10%), survey responses(10%), teachers, (10%) resources and facilities (5%), extracurriculars (2.5%) and sports/fitness(2.5%). This methodology appears to be a more well-rounded, holistic approach to ranking.

New Canaan graduates 98% and the average SAT is 1910

4. Taxes. Four towns distinguish themselves with low taxes: Darien ($15,350), Greenwich ($11,270), New Canaan ($15,980) and Westport ($18,260).  The numbers represent the taxes paid on a $1.428 million house in each town last year. New Canaan enjoys one of the lowest tax rates in the county yet maintains excellent services for all our residents. Compared to Wilton ($26,830), Fairfield ($24,790), Stamford ($25,430) and Ridgefield ($26,010) these four just present better value for the real estate dollar. Compared to a comparable home in Bronxville ($42,300) the New Canaan taxes are a bargain.

5. Village. The charming village is our pride and joy and clearly sets us apart from other towns which share our demographics. Our town center is free of the traffic of US-1 and so affords all the ability to walk, shop, dine and enjoy the unique ambience. School children can be seen walking down South Avenue toward town after school.

6. Restaurants. We're the destination of choice for fine dining in the county. According to Trip Advisor we have 37 ranging from Indian to Asian and from American to the Farmer's Table. We host to the #1 ranked Asian/Fusion restaurant Connecticut, Ching's Table. Because New Canaan is so centrally located in Fairfield County we can reach most restaurants in surrounding towns too, bringing about 200 choices within a five mile radius. My new favorite watering hole? The tea house at Grace Farms. You heard it here first.

7. Clubs. The Country Club of New Canaan, the Lake Club and Field Club for summer sports and paddle, The Winter Club for hockey and skating, Racquet Club for indoor tennis and the YMCA which is one of the finest in the country.

8. Waveny Park and Other Town Assets. Designed by the landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, renowned for designing Central Park, Waveny boasts over 250 acres of woods, meadows and running trails as well as sports fields, paddle tennis courts, Carriage Art Barn, The Powerhouse Theater, Lapham Community Center and Spencer's Run, New Canaan's off-leash dog park. Our Town Pool is only a few years old, now heated and located in Waveny and is a recent addition to our wonderful town facilities.Mead Memorial Park with baseball fields, playground, and snack bar, Kiwanis Park boasts a large swimming pond, playground and snack bar, Irwin Park has 36 acres and features a newly designed and surfaced trail for jogging/walking/biking. Some of these facilities require permits which are available at the Recreation Department in Waveny Park.

John Engel at the River Building

9. The Arts and Architecture. No other town in Fairfield County can boast having a world-class art destination and we have two. Since 2007 Philip Johnson's architectural masterpiece, The Glass House has been open to the public (with a reservation) from May through November. And now, as of last year, The River Building at Grace Farms, designed by the prestigious Japanese architecture firm SANAA, is open to the public year round. Don't take my word for it. Read the recent articles in Travel & Leisure, the New York Times and over 40 other publications raving about this building, calling it "the coolest building in Connecticut"

But its not just the presence of these two famous buildings. New Canaan was the home of the Harvard Five and other notable architects of the midcentury modern movement in architecture. Together they built about 90 distinctively modern homes in New Canaan in the 50's and 60's and those homes are an important part of our community. See the video.

School Spirit: The Annual Turkey Bowl Football Game 

10. Community Spirit. From Christmas Caroling on God's Acre to our Memorial Day Parade down Main Street, to the Ice Cream Social at the Historical Society and our spectacular 4th of July celebration complete with fireworks at Waveny Park, we above all share the guiding belief that all are welcome. While young families move in, our baby boomers and seniors seem to be staying on, making our community rich in its diversity.

New Canaan Schools Rank 4th in Connecticut for SAT Scores

http://www.courant.com/data-desk/hc-connecticut-sat-scores-by-school-20141007-htmlstory.html

 "The Fairfield County high schools in Darien, Wilton, Weston, New Canaan, Westport and Ridgefield recorded the best SAT scores among public high schools in the state in 2014. With an average score of 600 in writing, 611 in math and 588 in critical reading, Darien High School had the highest combined scores in the state"

Observations:

-New Canaan was number one in the state in 2012. In 2011 Forbes called us #2 in the nation.

-We rose from 5th in 2013 to 4th in 2014.

- Now, all three scores (Math, Reading, Writing) trail those of Darien and in the case of Math they trail by a considerable margin (611 in Darien vs. 594 in New Canaan)

-The ACT is now a more popular test than the SAT and the SAT is being redesigned this year. These rankings could change dramatically next year with a redesigned SAT.

Questions parents are asking in New Canaan:

-How has our early adoption of Connecticut's common core standards affected these scores?

-Why have New Canaan's math scores decreased consistently each year for the last few years?

- Did we slip because of all of the curriculum changes of the last few years?

New Canaan ranked #17 in Connecticut according to U.S. News and World Report earlier this year. There was an outcry and the school administration has responded by changing the policy with respect to who takes AP classes and the AP tests. While it shouldn't be a major indicator of school quality, it has become the major driver in the U.S. News rankings. If instead of looking at AP scores as an indication of "college readiness" we looked at only the Math Scores or Reading Scores New Canaan ranks higher than rival Darien with scores of 98% and 98% proficient vs. 97% and 96% proficient.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/connecticut/rankings

It will be interesting to see if Dr. Bryan Luizzi can raise those SAT math scores and regain the number one ranking. I'd like to see those AP participation numbers continue to climb as long as US News continues to exert the influence it does. Its important to note that Dr. Luizzi has been our superintendent of schools for less than a year. Give him time, he will get it done.

Recent NCHS Grad Supports John Engel

I grew up and graduated from New Canaan public schools this Spring, experiencing New Canaan’s change these last few years, particularly the loss of something in our downtown.

I don’t take for granted that the Gramophone will always be there, or that Waveny will stay a park. Will New Canaan remain the same town I love? My NC roots are why I identify with John Engel’s candidacy. John is third generation New Canaan, worked in Mead Park, Baskin-Robbins and Walter Stewart's. He knows New Canaan fundamentally better than Nick Williams. John is a businessman, parent, veteran and, like us, an alumnus of New Canaan High School. To the Class of 2011 this is an important distinction. He knows first hand what is being lost, and will restore some of what is essential, bringing back some life to my town.

Lauren Ross