Town of Braintree

Comments

It is no secret that our town leaders expected State Aid to last forever. So they funded these expenditures out of State Aid money instead of putting in the controls to use the one time monies for capital uses. That's the price we pay for listening to the Foley's and Sweeney's of the world, in my opinion.

Now, we have a finance director who tells the school folks and selectmen that is not fiscally responsible to use one time revenue sources to fund services and what happens? The sc ignores him completely and is trying to push a 1% raise on a one time funding source. This is what Ted Langill is objecting to.

Town Meeting needs to reject this irresponsible contract that the sc has crafted, and any other contract that uses one time monies for raises, and send the message back to our officials and employees that it is time to put our fiscal house in order. The Finance Director has laid out the plan, everybody should follow it.

By TMM1

Insightful Analysis of Taxes

TMM did a great job exposing how our tax dollars have been eaten up. Nice effort. You should run for office with efforts like that. Whether you want to research further on revenues is a bit much. Obviously, if we had the revenue stream we used to from the state, then our issues wouldn't be as magnified as they are now. I do know the Romney administration renegged on the Lottery receipts by capping the monies from lottery sales going to cities and towns to balance the state budget with the residue. There isn't really much incentive to have the revenues grow at the Lottery if that isn't overturned, now is there.
Good job, TMM. Wish more insights about our tax dollars were shared with us residents.

these are the times

that try mens souls.Whether you want to research further on revenues is a bit much.I find his research to be insitefull and much needed.further infomation shall show the trend in escallation of school costs.the town can ill afford these increases,demanded by greedy teachers unions,allong with other benefits received they are better compensated than any who live in town and work elswhere.

Town Budget Revenue Sources

The finance committee's town meeting books provide annual town budget revenue source analyses. As asked, the FY96 town budget was $56,886,147 and of that amount, net state aid received by the town that year amounted to $7,188,554 or 12.64% of the total town budget. In FY04, the total town budget amounted to $84,734,842. Net state aid received that year was $8,794,416 or 10.38% of our total town budget.
Taking the analysis a bit further, as state aid dollars decline, budgets must commensurately decline or tax revenues must be increased to maintain a level 'flat line' of town services. A FY05 town budget of $85,442,876 voted last May had but a projected net state aid of $8,644,329 or 10.12%.
Let's face it folks, the school budget alone this fiscal year received a 2.07% increase in dollars that amounted to $760,000 more than last year's budget. If state aid didn't increase, we had to absorb that increase somewhere and it came from flat lined other budgets. Town Meeting was giving away the store when it didn't own the groceries to do so.
That's why, to a large part, we are in the fix we're in today. Either we say no to raises this fiscal year or we're going to have to eat lay off pie big time. Then the Quinn Bill faux pas, well that's another chewy subject for another day when the facts are exposed by our secretive town officials. That could cost another $500,000 to $600,000 in February to resolve. Our fiscal watchdogs were napping.

By TMM12