Simple issues get confused

What was supposed to be a routine procedure nearly became a free-for-all Tuesday night as townspeople pounced on the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Wayne Dove for what they said amounted to poor financial management.

The argument occurred during a special town meeting in which voters were asked to approve two items.

First, the Board of Selectmen suggested townspeople approve tax-anticipation notes this year, so that the town can borrow against future tax receipts in the event of a shortage in the fund balance. The plan has been approved in previous years and allows the town to have a financial safety net for short-term borrowing. This would be of particular importance this year as the town’s fund balance stands to drop to less than $200,000 in the coming weeks.

Second, townspeople are being asked to buy a new fire truck for the Winsted Fire Department, which is suffering from old and outdated equipment. The cost is estimated at about $400,000.

The need for tax-anticipation notes was explained by town Finance Director Henry Centrella, who said the town’s fund balance is commonly used to pay for projects when grant money hasn’t come in yet. Unfortunately, and quite clearly, $200,000 or less isn’t going to cover a million-dollar expense, so backup funds are needed.

That’s not to say the fund balance won’t increase during the year. Grant money flows in throughout the year and could keep the fund balance healthy enough for spending projects, but there is no way to predict that. So the recommendation from Centrella was that the town reserve the right to borrow as much as $2.5 million against future tax receipts to pay for current bills.

The tax-anticipation notes would be issued by a financial institution, which would charge an annual percentage rate of between 1 and 2 percent, along with a one-time fee of $6,300 to launch the program. The notes would be used to pay current bills, and the money would be paid back with collected tax money.

In various states of confusion and anger, taxpayers cried out against the $2.5 million “borrowing� scheme, wondering aloud who would pay the money back. As had been explained before, however, the town would only face a 1 to 2 percent total interest, meaning the price to take out a short-term note of $1 million would be about $20,000. Centrella, a widely respected financial manager, stressed that the town does not intend to borrow anything near $2.5 million, but that the recommended maximum borrowing amount is a standard percentage (8.5 percent) of the total town budget.

Public comment went on for approximately an hour as taxpayers found different ways to indict the Board of Selectmen. Townspeople who have comparably little experience with Winchester’s budget figures called members of the board disingenuous in an ugly and embarrassing volley of words. At the end of the day, people seemed to become more confused about the issue than they were at the start of the meeting, and loud-mouthed political pundits did their best to keep everyone misinformed.

In the end, the issue was sent to a referendum, which will be held this Saturday, Sept. 11, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Pearson Middle School. The ballot will include a measure to approve the tax-anticipation notes and a separate measure to purchase Winsted’s new fire truck. Both items deserve to be approved by voters and put to rest.