Cut The Budget!

The Finance Bd plays stupid ass games with minuscule cuts in  Public Works 

when: 

The revenues are off because there is NO BUILDING GOING ON IN 

MIDDLEBURY.

So why do we need to pay salary and fringes to three building inspectors?

That one is correct.  We need deeper cuts to the Public Works in order to bring down taxes.  If I am not mistaken, the PW budget is much higher in Middlebury than it is in other towns our same size.  Why?  Was it not former First Selectman, Ed St. John who built the Middlebury PW empire?  Why is the budget still high?

The PW budget proposal was $1,457,233, with an increase of $35,421.43.  With a new administration the hope was that this budget would be decreased, not increased.  The budget will never be passed unless there are some cuts here.

What about the MVFD?  It is one of the largest departments in Town with the smallest budget. The budget shows a reduction of $71,279.48.  That may look like a big cut, but in reality it is not quite accurate.  Some years ago Mr. St. John put the hydrants in the MVFD budget for some reason.  Hydrants are more a function of public works than Fire.  In fact, NFPA 2008 has taken out hydrant testing from the National Standard.  In this budget, hydrants were taken out of the MVFD line, which was the correct move.  To my knowledge the actual FD budget may have been cut slightly, because the high-band radios are still under warranty, so there is little reason to have a line item for maintenance of those radios.

If you look at the Library budget it is over twice the size of the Fire Department’s budget. Why is that?  Why is there an increase of $77,980.27?  If the Fire Department runs using volunteers, why can’t some of the costs be reduced at the library using volunteers as well? I was told that the librarians must be trained and certified.  Well, firefighters must be trained and certified as well. It is a 160 hour course.  EMTs must be certified also.  Another 160 or so hours. Our volunteer firefighters in Middlebury save the taxpayers over $4,000,000.00 a year.  How much could volunteer librarians save the Town?  Mr. DeAngelis used to be a Librarian.  He would be a perfect person to look into this tax savings for the Town. 

As for the Building Department, why does a Town this size have three building inspectors?  Why do we need three?  What is the matter with having one?  Just asking.

The taxpayers of Middlebury cannot be asked to step-up-to-the-plate year in and year out for these increases.  Government should get smaller, not larger.  In your personal life, if you do not have enough money to pay all your bills, what do you do? You do without some things.  Middlebury may have to do without somethings as well. Just because it is listed in the budget does not mean it cannot be taken out. 

The Town of Middlebury does not generate the money to feed this bloated budget.  Town Government does not make a penny.  It just taxes those who allow it to exist. It is the residents who have to get up each morning and go out and work to earn a living.  They should not be working for government. Cut the budget.