My Comments for the 6/18/08 Final Budget Approval Meeting

I was unable to attend the meeting at which we approved the FY2009 Municipal Operating Budget, though I had been able to attend 5/6 of the 20+ hours of hearings that we ran. Here are the comments that I submitted in my absence.

Fellow Councilors and members of the public –

Unfortunately, I am not able to attend this evening’s meeting, due to a long-standing commitment. However, I would like to offer a few comments regarding the important matter before the Council this evening—the approval of the FY2009 budget.

I support the final recommendation of the Finance Committee to approve a budget of $51,303,134.

Sitting as the Finance Committee, we had the opportunity to go through the budget line by line over 6 evenings and many hours. I thank the members of the public who joined us and the Town employees who took time to answer our many questions.

The public schools represent about half of our total municipal budget. I was very impressed by the School Committee’s work on its budget. The School budget was organized around specific educational goals that set clear priorities that guided the Committee’s decisions. The School Committee’s process was a model for budget-making under tough constraints for other departments in Town. Their work gave me strong confidence in the soundness of the School budget.

There are a number of items in this budget that have received a bit of public attention, most having to do with salaries. Since what a Town does is provide services to its citizens, salaries are what drive the budget. However, it is only a handful of salaries that have received any attention, maybe even only one salary, that of the Chief of Staff.

It is important to look at salaries, along with other elements in the budget, in the big picture. In the School, DPW and Police budgets especially, we saw efficiencies put in place that will save the Town money while hopefully enabling it to provide better services. These efficiencies are the result of investing in quality personnel who can analyze our municipal operations and make effective decisions.

Part of our responsibility on the Council is to gauge the success of the Town departments in managing and delivering quality services to the citizens of Amesbury. From our schools to our library, from the Department of Public Works to Veterans and Youth Services, I saw substantial evidence of directed and planned activities and services. With very few but reasonable exceptions, Departments ended their year at or under budget and with substantial accomplishments.

Looking ahead, Amesbury will surely have a hard time next budget season, as we run right into our budget cap under Proposition 2 ½. We may face the prospect of an over-ride next year; but that remains to be seen. For this year, however, this is a responsible and thoughtful budget, representing lower budget from the previous year than the budget approved last year by the Municipal Council, in relation to the prior year’s budget. I commend the Administration and the School Committee for effectively controlling costs and finding efficiencies in operations and I urge the public to support and my fellow Councilors to approve this budget.