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Fairfield Trims Paving, Staff To Lower Tax Increase

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Cuts to road paving and staffing at the Fairfield Senior Center and the First Selectman’s office helped bring Fairfield’s projected tax increase for this summer lower than 4 percent Monday.

From left: Selectman Kevin Kiley and First Selectman Michael Tetreau discuss Fairfield's budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

From left: Selectman Kevin Kiley and First Selectman Michael Tetreau discuss Fairfield's budget for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Photo Credit: Greg Canuel

The Board of Selectmen voted on Fairfield’s spending for the 2013-2014 fiscal year Monday afternoon. They cut nearly $5.8 million from the budget First Selectman Michael Tetreau first proposed in February.

“The budget [increase] that the Board of Selectmen is looking at right now is less than the budget we passed last year,” Tetreau said. “I think that starts to move us in the right direction.”

The total spending approved Monday was about $281.4 million, which is 3.36 percent more than the town’s budget for this fiscal year. Because of changes to the senior tax relief program that offered more exemptions, Fairfield would need to raise its tax rate by 3.94 percent this July to cover the added costs.

About $3.6 million of the cuts made Monday were previously discussed and will not affect the town’s services. They included changes to the town’s estimated payments for employee healthcare and pension funds and other accounting adjustments.

The largest piece of the new reduction came from the Department of Public Works’ paving budget. Fairfield planned to spend $3.5 million on road maintenance next year. The selectmen decided to reduce that by $500,000.

The selectmen also decided put off hiring a new director for the Fairfield Senior Center for six months. At the recommendation of the Senior Center’s “Top 10 Committee” for improving the center, the town had planned to hire a full-time director at the center this July.

The three instead decided to hold off on that hiring until January 1, saving half a year’s salary and giving the new Human and Social Services director more time to organize the department. The First Selectman’s office will also reduce the hours for a secretary that it shares with the Finance Department. By switching that person to part-time, the move saves about $41,785 combined in salary and benefits.

The Board reduced Fairfield Public Schools’ funding by more than $1.7 million on top of the $1.1 million Tetreau had decided to cut in February. Those changes came from the town’s lower estimates for healthcare and pension costs. The board decided not to make any further cuts that would have affected school programs.

“[The school board] really did a phenomenal job in recognizing that this wasn’t the year to try and bring forward a bunch of new initiatives,” Selectman Cristin McCarthy Vahey said.

Other cuts included putting off buying some equipment for the Fire Department and Public Works for a year, trimming the town’s legal fees and reducing Fairfield’s payment to its reserve funds by $250,000. The selectmen also took Police Chief Gary MacNamara’s advice to put off hiring three new officers to see if those salaries could be covered by a grant.

The selectmen also agreed to a small cut of $1,260 for McCarthy-Vahey and Selectmen Kevin Kiley. The two decided to give up their 3 percent raises and $300 each in travel reimbursements for next year.

“It’s not a lot of money,” Kiley said “But for me it makes sense to practice what I preach, and that is to be tight with money, be conservative and achieve a shared sacrifice.”

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