The budget process

                    May 2, 2008, Vernon, CT

                    The Vernon town meeting was called recently to discuss the 2008-09 budget. Some of the questions raised and comments made at this meeting should be clarified.

 

                    The question was asked as to why I never called for a referendum when I was mayor. When I was mayor it was the Vernon Taxpayers Association that called for referenda. The mayors had never, to that date, taken the initiative and called for a public vote on their budgets.

                  In a letter to the Journal Inquirer, one taxpayer asked how a Republican Town Committee member could call for a referendum on a budget proposed by a mayor from his own party. The answer is that the Vernon Taxpayers Association, which circulated the petition, has never been a political organization. It has always called for votes on the budgets of both Democratic and Republican mayors. Calling for a public vote on this budget reinforces that position.

                     The association neither accepts nor rejects any budget. Its only purpose is to give all taxpayers the opportunity to vote on each budget.

                    But there are factions in town that oppose citizen participation in this process. These factions have strong feelings about where tax money should be spent. They also fear that any reduction in a budget will come from the cause or causes they support.

                    The short notice between the filing of the petition and the town meeting came from Mayor Jason McCoy’s last-minute efforts to reduce the budget as far as possible. A petition could not be circulated without a budget number provided by the town clerk’s office. We had to wait for McCoy’s final budget.

                    I have spoken at the citizens forum many times and presented my views as to how money could be saved. However, my ideas are not mainstream and not readily accepted. But I will still make my views known and hope that someday they will be considered.

Joe Grabinski, Vernon, CT

The writer is a former mayor of Vernon and a member of the Vernon Taxpayers Association.

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Footnote: The article was submitted by Joseph Grabinski of Vernon, CT.   Mr Grabinski is a graduate of UMass University with a Doctorate in Education. Mr Grabinski taught as a Professor of Electronics for the State of Connecticut for 30 years.

Carl Slicer, Blog Editor, www.VernonGop.com , “It’s only your money !”      

Tags: Budget 2008-2009, Joseph Grabinski, Vernon Taxpayer Association, Vernon Town Budget