Capital Budget 8/21

The capital budget workshops began tonight. The Town Manager's proposed five year capital budget and current year capital budget were both discussed, but I don't think anything particularly controversial was discussed in the five year budget. It's the current year budget where actual money gets spent. That's where the controversy usually arises.

Tonight's meeting was relatively quiet.

The library is requesting a new computer system in the five year budget. The system is a book coding system.

The finance department is requesting a few hundred thousand dollars for each of two projects: a new financial/HR/payroll software package & a new telephone system.

Public works is requesting money in both the current and 5yr budgets for various sidewalks, drainage and road improvements. (By the way, I was told tonight that Harrison Road should begin within ten days and be completed within seven days.) To their credit, the DPW is beginning to use the "lowest lifecycle" cost concept, as compared to the "lowest first cost," on road projects.

The sewer plant & WPCA are requesting quite a bit of money, but that's nothing new. The two items they want for the current year are:

1) $500k for the Inflow and Infliltration (INI) study; and
2) $750k for the Lilac Road pump station.

Quick reminder... items that cost more than $350k in property taxes go to referendum. But if we spend $500k on the INI study, it will not go to referendum in November. This is because $250k would be from grant money, not property taxes. (At least that's the general idea.)

The Lilac Road pump station is also a bit unusual. The WPCA and wastewater treatment plant Superintendent (Dennis Dievert... as an employee, he's great. He really knows his stuff.) both want the pump station redone this year. The Town Manager suggested pushing the pump station back a year. (I think the reason was budgetary.) I'm not sure if Lilac Road will get redone this year or next. But there was a very serious request to put it back in the current year. Based on the comments tonight, my guess is that it will get put into this year's budget and thus be on the ballot this November.

The last item of note that was discussed was a $5,000,000 request for a sewer plant upgrade in a few years. This is not money for an expansion of the plant. It is simply for doing something that I think is akin to replacing parts in the existing plant.

My feeling is that the potentially controversial stuff will come up at Wednesday's meeting (6pm in Town Hall)... the ballfields and the smartboards. I don't believe the ballfields would pass this year. And I also have my doubts about doing the entire smartboard project. I'm not certain that the town has the appetite to spend $1,500,000 on something that is a nicety, not a necessity. I think having some smartboards could be good, but not necessarily one in every classroom. At least not right now.

Tim White
Cheshire Town Council, Budget Committee
TimWhite98@yahoo.com