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: Picking Priorities (Dec. 6, 2018)

Chairman’s View: Picking priorities

DECEMBER 6, 2018 BY JOHN ENGEL. CHAIRMAN, TOWN COUNCIL

“I do have to pick my priorities. Nobody can do everything.” — Ray Kurzweil

We held the first joint offsite meeting among the four funding bodies (Board of Selectmen, Town Council, Board of Education, Board of Finance) in over 10 years, an important step toward approaching our town and school budgets with a spirit of cooperation.

Critical takeaways: 10 of us think that the budget is driven by the Board of Finance, 10 believe we all share it, and nine votes were scattered among Town Council, Board of Education and Board of Selectmen. It’s a shared responsibility but clearly, the BOF is driving the bus. Most of us believe that the budget should come in at an increase of between 0% and 1% this year, a big change since last year’s debates between 2% and 3.5%. We agreed a joint meeting should bookend the budget process every year: November and May. And, support was nearly unanimous for conducting a professional town-wide survey.

We had our last forum on town buildings in April. It is time to listen again. The Town Council is scheduling a public hearing for Wednesday, Jan. 9, to solicit input from the public and discuss our buildings within the context of the 5-year Capital Plan. Why is it necessary and why now? In April the focus was on preservation of important buildings and the need to decrease building expenses. There have been several articles over the last six months floating different possibilities for the Library, the repurposing or demolishing of Irwin House, purchasing the Covia Building, renovating the old Police Station (or repurposing it as housing), selling the Vine Cottage and renting the Outback. These options are interrelated and now we know the costs. Some of these initiatives should be put in the Capital Plan and others removed. We need to get serious and specific about our priorities and make sure they are accurately reflected in the Capital Plan and this year’s budget, reflecting the towns people’s appetite.

The Library was put in the 5-Year Capital Plan for $5 million by First Selectman Robert Mallozzi. It would help the Library board secure additional private funding and allow them to “think big” if we put the Library in the plan for $10 million. That is incredibly hard to do during the revaluation, but if we were to plan for a matching gift, 2-1 behind private donations, and stretch that commitment from three years to potentially five years it works within current Board of Finance guidance. I believe a $10 million earmark has the support from the majority of the selectmen and Town Council. If the Library cannot raise $20 million then Town Hall is not committed. But, by signaling a cap of $5 million in the capital plan, the Board of Finance is essentially killing the project. If you feel strongly that a new library will be transformational to the health of our downtown, let the Town Council and Board of Finance know.

Chairman's View: Improve our Planning for Town Building Maintenance (Oct 18, 2018)

Chairman’s View: Improve our planning for Town building maintenance

OCTOBER 18, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER

New Canaan Town Council Chairman John Engel’s weekly guest column. New Canaan Town Council Chairman John Engel

First, let’s talk about the 100-point Pavement Condition Index (PCI). When a road scores above 86% PCI it’s excellent, requiring only corrective maintenance: crack sealing at about a $1 per square yard. Between 85% and 75% PCI a road is “good” and requires micro-thin overlays and cape seals at approximately $5 per square meter. When a road falls below 75% the road shouldn’t merely be patched, it must be repaved or reconstructed at a price of between $22 and $60 per square yard. “Very good” roads should be maintained for minimal investment and stretched to over 30 years of life.

In 2003, New Canaan’s roads scored 77% and in danger of needing reconstruction. Our Public Works department presented a 20-year plan in order to get our score back to 85% with the greatest efficiency. Unfortunately, between 2004 and 2008 the price of asphalt rose with the price of oil from $50 to $92 per ton and even with steady investment New Canaan’s average pavement quality declined to 74% below which roads need complete rebuilding.

And yet every year we challenge Tiger Mann, the head of Public Works, with questions designed to cut that road budget. Every year he patiently explains the math behind our most efficient system to get the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) from a score of 74% in 2009 to a score that is currently 81%. Every year our roads naturally deteriorate 2.5%. If we spend $2 million then the road quality stays about the same. Spending $2.5 million per year has allowed our PCI to rise about a half-point per year toward that goal. The Eversource road-paving investment amounts to about $3 million over five years and allows us to finish our 20-year plan in about 18 years, hopefully by 2021.

We have not managed the maintenance of our buildings with the same discipline and consistency we have applied toward our roads. This has caused some of us on Town Council to ask the obvious question, “Can we put together a building maintenance program, consistently funded at $1 to $2 million per year, that allows us to chip away at our $20 to $40 million obligation to repair and restore the 56 buildings that the Town owns?” 

First, 50% of that budget is Waveny House. If we are serious about Waveny we must wrap our heads around $1 million per year for the next 20 years. The second step is to identify the buildings that the Town should not own. Legally protect (with conservation easements) and then sell those buildings which are inefficient and inappropriate for a town to own and maintain: the Vine Cottage, the Police Station, the Outback, the Irwin House and Irwin Barn, the Gores Pavilion and the New Canaan Playhouse head that list.

Chairman's View: Town Inconsistent When Partnering with Private Funding (Sept 13, 2018)

Chairman’s View: Town inconsistent when partnering with private funding

SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 BY NEW CANAAN ADVERTISER

[UPDATED WITH CORRECTION Sept. 14.] Town councilman Bill Bach gave us the Bach amendment in 1997 (Article 2, Chap. 125 of the Town Code) outlining how New Canaan should think about capital projects. In short: “Take no donation that comes with an open-ended liability” or at least costs not fully understood. We do not understand the Bach amendment. Nor do we use it consistently. Consider:

A guest column from New Canaan Town Council Chairman John Engel.

Turf Fields. It’s clearly a Town responsibility to provide fields, yet private money built Dunning Field. This year private money paid for 78% of two new turf fields (Water Tower 2 and 3), zero for the replacement of the original turf field (Water Tower 1), 53% of new baseball fields, and about 17% for the new track and field. 

The Town Council will create a new Enterprise Zone in October that lays the foundation for a public / private mix of fields improvement and maintenance. The goal is to lay out clear standards and responsibilities, encourage optimum use and save money for replacement.

1. Library. Town is paying 74% of operations this year. Their capital budget has always been 100% their own. Now, the Town has helped purchase adjacent land and pledged to be a partner in the new building. Good. How much is fair? And can we afford 74% of a world-class library? Can we afford not to?
2. Irwin House. The first selectman wants to rent it to non-profits as they are priced out of the downtown. What would Mr. Bach say? Irwin capital needs are substantial but we don’t have many options here. It’s not a joint venture; it’s a rental in a park. Same with Brick Barn. Public Private Partnership rules shouldn’t apply to rentals. 
3. Irwin Barn. Could this be the permanent home of Summer Theater of New Canaan? They say they can raise the capital, an exciting proposal. We should be encouraging this kind of proposal in our parks, unlike the… 
4. Brick Barn. The Preservation Alliance proposed trying to take on 100% of the capital needs and ongoing maintenance. The Council split on the vote. The Selectmen promised to work with the Alliance, keeping an open mind if this space could be a community asset.
5. Waveny Conservancy. When the Council slowed trail improvement the Conservancy was there to see it through. This sets an odd but not unwelcome precedent. When Town doesn’t pay, private funds will.
6. Paddle Court. Town agreed to pay $70,000 when it had assurance private donations would pay about $30,000.

Let’s not imply that a high private-money percentage guarantees Town support. While there are no hard-and-fast standards, the Town must provide private partners with more clarity. We should draft a memorandum explaining the considerations the Town Council will take when we consider investment or co-investment.  

The requirement of an endowment fund is too high a bar, whether we are talking new fields or old barns. We need flexibility to achieve common sense results.